Simon the Sorcerer: Origins is a love letter to ‘90s point‑and‑click adventures that refuses to grow up, and that is exactly the point. It is a prequel that drags Simon back to his awkward early days, hands him a spellbook, and then cheerfully dumps him into a magical world full of ridiculous puzzles, useless wizards, and jokes that sound like they crawled out of an old PC shareware CD.
Back To Where The Trouble Started
The game rewinds the clock to just before the events of the original Simon the Sorcerer, when Simon is still a grumpy teenager dealing with school trouble and a forced move to a new house. That fresh start lasts about five minutes before he stumbles onto a magical portal, gets yanked into a parallel fantasy realm, and discovers that some ancient prophecy apparently thinks he is important.
From there, it is classic Simon territory: meet Calypso, bicker with him, pull on the iconic red robes, and get shoved into a quest that is equal parts “save the world” and “figure out how to blag your way into a magic academy.” If you grew up on the original games, the tone will feel instantly familiar – Simon is still sarcastic, still cynical, and still very good at annoying basically everyone he meets.
Point‑And‑Click Chaos, With Spells
Origins sticks firmly to its point‑and‑click roots. You roam hand‑drawn locations, poke at everything that is not nailed down, hoard bizarre items in your inventory, and then try to figure out which cursed object belongs with which equally cursed problem. Expect the usual adventure‑game logic, where a tentacle, a student pass, and some suspicious spring onions end up combining into a solution that technically makes sense if you tilt your head and squint.
On top of the usual item‑based puzzles, Simon gradually learns spells and alchemical tricks, letting you manipulate the world in slightly more magical ways. Some obstacles are solved by mixing potions or using the right enchantment instead of brute‑forcing the environment, which helps keep things feeling a bit fresher than just “use object on hotspot” for ten hours straight.
A World That Looks New, Feels Old
Visually, Origins trades pixel art for crisp, hand‑drawn backgrounds and character art, but the style still leans heavily into ‘90s charm rather than trying to look like a modern 3D reboot. Locations like the village, churchyard, Bloated Goat Inn, and the magic shop all feel like they belong to that era of PC adventures – just sharper and cleaner than your memory probably is.
The audio side doubles down on nostalgia even harder. Longtime fans get the original English and German voice actors back, which instantly anchors Simon’s personality, and the soundtrack mixes whimsical fantasy tracks with a few fun surprises, including a guest appearance from Rick Astley tucked into the adventure.
For Fans Of Sarcasm And Stubborn Puzzles
At its core, Simon the Sorcerer: Origins is aimed squarely at people who miss the days of smart‑mouthed heroes, stubborn puzzles, and worlds that reward you for clicking on every silly object just to hear the joke. It wants you to get stuck now and then, experiment with weird item combos, and laugh as much at Simon’s snark as at the punchlines the game throws at its fantasy clichés.
If you are after a fast, modern, action‑heavy fantasy game, this is not it. But if the phrase “comedic point‑and‑click prequel with big ‘90s energy” makes you feel oddly nostalgic, Origins looks like exactly the kind of trouble Simon should have been getting into all along.
