Simon the Sorcerer: Origins – Hands-On Review of a Vintage Point-and-Click Classic Reborn

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The world of point-and-click adventure gaming is experiencing a vibrant resurgence, and leading the charge for nostalgic fans is the highly anticipated prequel, Simon the Sorcerer: Origins. Developed by Smallthing Studios and set to launch on October 28, 2025, this title promises to transport players back to the sarcastic, spell-laden fantasy realm of the ’90s cult classic. Our recent hands-on time confirms that this is not just a loving homage, but a genuinely fresh and polished experience.

A Prequel That Answers Thirty Years of Questions

Simon the Sorcerer: Origins is an official prequel, taking place just weeks before the events of the original 1993 game. It aims to reveal the untold story of how the grumpy, sarcastic teenager Simon first stumbled into the Magical World and acquired his iconic purple robes. The narrative begins with Simon’s family moving into a new house, an event immediately complicated by a school expulsion and an ancient, world-altering prophecy. This setup provides an intense, emotional, and humorous journey that simultaneously grounds the character in his teenage angst while propelling him into a destiny he would rather avoid.

• Setting the Stage: The game masterfully blends the mundane challenges of a forced move with the immediate onset of magical chaos.
• The Tutorial Masterpiece: The initial puzzles are cleverly disguised as typical teenage chores, punctuated by hilarious, nagging instructions shouted from Simon’s off-screen mother—a running gag that serves as a modern, meta-aware tutorial.
• Core Mystery: The adventure swiftly transitions from domestic absurdity to a full-blown fantasy plot involving an eerie marsh, dark forest, and the subtle machinations of the series’ legendary antagonist, Sordid.

Visual Sorcery: Hand-Drawn Animation Meets Modern Fidelity

The first and most striking aspect of Simon the Sorcerer: Origins is its utterly gorgeous visual style. Gone is the classic pixel art, replaced by a new hand-drawn art style explicitly inspired by late ’90s and early 2000s Disney animation. The artistic talent is undeniable, with animators who worked on the Oscar-nominated film Klaus contributing to over 15,000 hand-drawn frames and cinematic sequences.

This commitment to traditional 2D art ensures that the game’s aesthetic feels both nostalgic and utterly modern. The fully animated cast of 15 unique characters and 50 meticulously crafted backgrounds pop with color and expression, making the fantasy world more vibrant and alive than ever before.

Key Visual and Audio Highlights:

• High-Fidelity 2D: The transition from high-quality cutscenes to in-game graphics is seamless, maintaining a stunning, cartoon-like consistency.
• Iconic Voice Acting: Fans will be thrilled by the return of Chris Barrie (known for Red Dwarf) as the voice of Simon. His signature, sardonic wit and perfect comic timing are completely intact, breathing authentic life back into the world’s most sarcastic wizard.
• Original Soundtrack: Composer Mason Fisher delivers a whimsical and emotionally rich score, perfectly blending jaunty fantasy tunes with moodier pieces. The surprising inclusion of Rick Astley’s “Together Forever” in the opening cutscene further cements the game’s wonderfully anachronistic ’90s charm.

Refining the Point-and-Click: Gameplay for a New Generation

Developer Smallthing Studios has thoughtfully refined the classic point-and-click mechanics to appeal to both veterans and newcomers. While the spirit of old-school, logical (but often absurd) inventory puzzles remains, the clunky multi-verb interface of the 90s has been replaced by a streamlined, contextual smart cursor.

The core gameplay features that make this a truly modern adventure game include:

• Contextual Clicks: Hovering the cursor over an item auto-selects the appropriate action: a magnifying glass for ‘Look At,’ a hand for ‘Use/Pick Up,’ and a speech bubble for ‘Talk To.’
• Direct Character Control: Unlike older titles, players have direct control over Simon’s movement, adding to the immersive feel, complete with a handy run function and an amusingly bouncy walking gait.
• Quality-of-Life Features: The inclusion of a hotspot highlighter (scan button) and a “map of displacement” for quick travel ensures that players who get stuck can find their footing without resorting to constant trial-and-error.
• Puzzles and Dialogue: The challenges are clever and satisfying, from combining an unlikely assortment of inventory items in Simon’s much-bigger-on-the-inside wizard’s hat to an unexpected dialogue-based puzzle that requires quick wit and persuasive charm.

Strong Puzzle Design and Humor:

The game doesn’t shy away from being challenging but assures players that the solutions are always logical, even if they’re delightfully off-the-wall. One early puzzle involves using a fridge magnet, a pull-string toy, and scissors to retrieve a key from a sink’s plug hole—a perfect example of the brilliant, circuitous logic the series is famous for.

The humor, the lifeblood of the Simon franchise, is razor-sharp. It mixes Simon’s sarcastic inner monologue with absurd encounters, funny book titles on optional hotspots, and pop-culture nods like a barbershop named “Sweetey Todd.” The dialogue remains the most entertaining feature, ensuring every interaction is laced with the eponymous wizard’s legendary sharp wit.

A Promising Return for a Beloved Franchise

Simon the Sorcerer: Origins, set for release on PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, is shaping up to be far more than just a nostalgic cash-in. It successfully modernizes the mechanics and visual presentation of the classic adventure genre while remaining completely faithful to the sarcastic, whimsical spirit that made the original a beloved hit. Smallthing Studios has delivered a truly gorgeous, well-written, and intuitive point-and-click experience that both rewards long-time fans and serves as an ideal entry point for a new generation of gamers. If you are looking for a top-tier interactive storytelling experience filled with clever puzzles and laugh-out-loud humor, mark your calendars for October 28, 2025. This is the fantasy game revival we’ve been waiting for.

Pre-order the Deluxe Edition now to secure a copy and dive back into the Magical World. This title is a strong contender for the best adventure game of the year, delivering on its promise of a glorious return for a truly vintage classic.