Hands-On: Simon the Sorcerer Origins is a welcome return for a vintage point-and-click classic

“Who thought a prequel would be a good idea?”

It’s a question asked roughly 25 minutes into Simon the Sorcerer Origins, and it’s asked by the titular Simon himself when the game’s logo appears at the end of the prologue.

Although it’s clearly a joke that isn’t expecting a response, by asking it the game does actually answer a different question, one fans of Simon the Sorcerer would likely worry about – would a new game retain the series’ sense of humour?

Given that there hasn’t been a new game for 15 years – and there arguably hasn’t been a good once in twice as long – a history lesson is likely required for most readers. Created by UK studio Adventure Soft, Simon the Sorcerer was originally released on the Amiga and PC back in 1993 and was considered one of the best point-and-click adventure games of the era that didn’t open with a LucasArts logo.

The similarly enjoyable Simon the Sorcerer 2: The Lion, the Wizard and the Wardrobe arrived in 1995, but after this the series went a bit downhill, with an ill-fated jump to 3D followed by a pair of German-developed sequels, the last of which was released back in 2010.

Now, finally, Simon the Sorcerer is back, and while it’s being handled by Italian developer Smallthing Studios, Adventure Soft has been collaborating to ensure it feels more like the original game. And yes, that means lots of jokes.

It also means the return of Chris Barrie, best known as Rimmer from Red Dwarf, who played Simon in the CD-ROM version of the original game. Getting him back after more than three decades is something of a coup, and it’s lovely to hear his voice again.

It’s a slightly higher voice than usual, because the game tells the story of teenage Simon as he first discovers the alternate world located in a portal in his new house, and explains how he becomes a wizard in the first place, just before the events of the first game started.

I went hands-on with the game’s first three chapters and it’s very much a case of so far, so good. I played the first two games back in the day so I had the benefit of knowing some of the characters, but because the game’s a prequel no prior knowledge is really needed.

Indeed, the game jokes about this when Simon first meets the wizard Calypso, asking him: “It’s me, Simon! Don’t you remember me?”

“Look here,” Calypso quietly mutters. “This is a prequel. We haven’t met each other yet.” An ashamed Simon then apologises, looking over his shoulder at the player to see if they noticed his mistake.

The game itself is standard point-and-click fare, which is what fans of the series would doubtless have been hoping for. It’s simplified, though – whereas the original game had 12 different commands including Walk To, Look At, Open, Close, Move, Consume, Pick Up, Wear, Remove and the like, here it’s more of a context sensitive affair.

When you hover your cursor over an item, the cursor will change to either a magnifying glass (Look At), a hand (Pick Up / Use) or a speech bubble (Talk To). Along with the ability to combine objects, that’s all there is this time, which makes things a lot less convoluted. It also allows for controller support – hence its release on consoles as well as PC – though I played the demo with a mouse, because come on.

The game’s director Missy Calamai told me last month that the game didn’t want to hold players’ hands, and that’s very much the case here. This is still an old-school point-and-click adventure at heart, so you’re not going to find assists for players who get stuck on certain puzzles.

Calamai assured me, however, that the game’s puzzles are logical, and the few I played – including removing the pull-string for a toy, tying the string to a fridge magnet, and dangling it down a plughole to pick up a key inside – certainly seemed to confirm this, though of course it remains to be seen whether that holds firm throughout the entirety of the adventure, or whether there’s another Broken Sword goat puzzle waiting to infuriate an entirely new generation.

The main concern I had before playing Simon the Sorcerer Origins was whether the original game’s very British sense of humour would be retained, especially given that it was being handled by an Italian studio this time. So far I’ve been happy with what I’ve seen.

There’s a lot of sarcastic and silly humour in the first few chapters, from Simon’s mum shouting tutorial-based threats to him off-camera (“Simon, don’t even dream of combining the objects in your inventory”), to the comedy shop signs in the first village you visit (“Special offer: The original, genuine, unique One Ring. While stocks last”).

As ever with joke-a-minute games like this, not every one-liner lands perfectly, but what I’ve seen so far is enough to reassure me that there’s a good time to be had with this one if it continues at the pace it starts off at.

We’ll find out in around a month’s time – Simon the Sorcerer Origins will be released on October 28 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PS4, Xbox One and PC, and our full review nearer to the time will reveal whether the game managed to keep me under its spell for the duration.