While Sierra and Lucasarts seemingly owned the adventure game scene in the 90s, a few other classics made it through.

Broken Sword. Beneath a Steel Sky. Toonstruck. Discworld. And yes, Simon the Sorcerer. Each followed the vintage formula of moving your mouse around the screen, clicking on points of interest, finding unique and interesting things to pick up and use them in unconventional ways.

These games are often filled with humour and in-jokes, even fun little easter eggs but the beautiful thing about the Simon series is the really prominent British humor. Where Sierra and Lucasarts games follow very classic American humor, the Woodroffe brothers got Red Dwarf legend, Chris Barrie, to play the lead and threw out lines like ‘Knickers in a Twist’ and had characters called ‘Dodgy Geezer’.

The first two Simon games were, unquestionably, series highlights. There was a lot of inspiration from pop-culture and classic literature, with the second game even called The Lion, The Wizard and the Wardrobe, obviously heavily inspired by C.S Lewis classic novel.

And fortunately for us, Origins, this latest instalment is much more like the previous games and less like the later versions which went down the 3D route and lost a lot of the magic, humor and charm. The difference being is the series has moved away from the pixel style to a much more vibrant, colourful and stunning vibe.

Smallthing Studios have painstakingly built a distinct style for Simon that feels authentic, from the exasperated facial expressions to the oversized fantasy characters and fun spins on known and beloved creatures. The world-building feels distinctly like a classic adventure game mixed in with vintage fantasy strewn setpieces. It just works so well for the franchise and offers a more modernised approach.

It’s a bit like the later Lucasarts games – Day of the Tentacle and Full Throttle – hand drawn and beautifully designed with a stunning colour palette and it just makes the game feel more evergreen and lasting, moving from the rather novel but dated pixel art style.

The thing that really struck me, though, is Simon Origins mostly does a good job of maintaining the games’ sense of humor. The jokes don’t always land and some of the writing feels a tad awkward at times, and yet it feels very respectful of the source material, like when Simon is pretending he’s already met a character and breaks the fourth wall, even though it’s a prequel. And Chris Barrie acts as if he never left the role, even 30 years on. He’s brilliant.

Simon Origins puzzles are definitely tricky and there’s a good balance of tough and challenging, mixed in with solutions that genuinely make you feel smart and make sense. Past adventure games have definitely been admonished for ridiculous, over the top solutions, and while Simon Origins has its moments, it never feels too out of pocket. Particularly considering its setting.

There’s really something about Simon Origins that just hits that nostalgic note for players who grew up in that 80s/90s adventure game boom period, and where the excellent Old Skies that launched earlier this year  successfully added some smart new ideas to freshen up the formula, this just feels like a true throwback that’s been made for a 2025 audience. And I’m absolutely more than ok with that, particularly with the amount of content and story on offer.

Verdict

Simon the Sorcerer Origins is a wonderful trip down memory lane and a mostly solid reimagining for the franchise for modern audiences. It does a great job of being fresh for new audiences and great nostalgia for older, and its puzzles and story are mostly coherant and enjoyable enough throughout. Some janky narrative and quirky puzzles aside, you’ll have a blast with this one.

Pros

Simon the Sorcerer: Origins is out now on PC, Xbox, PS, and Switch

Played on PC / ROG Ally

Code kindly provided by ININ for review purposes