The snotty sorcerer makes his long-awaited return in Simon the Sorcerer Origins. With 30 years of hype, can this 11-year-old lad deliver the adventure his fans have been waiting for? Read on as Cubed3 enters the portal to a magical land far, far away!
In the golden 90s, home computers became increasingly common in average households. This sparked a boom in the point-and-click market. It was a perfect genre for the mouse-and-keyboard controls of the time and did not rely too much on speed, making it a perfect fit for the period’s tech. In this era, the classic Simon the Sorcerer was released. It has been quiet since its sequel was released in 95, save for some rereleases of the previous entries…until now!
In recent times, point-and-click adventures are back in fashion, and plenty of releases have come in the last couple of years. With this in mind, Simon the Sorcerer Origins‘ launch is anticipated with excitement. While there are no fond childhood memories of the originals here, as this reviewer was always more of a Nintendo gal growing up, there was still a fair share of point-and-click games on her palate.
From the get-go, players are met with a stunningly beautiful art style that truly conveys the feelings of childhood, adventure, and the fairy tales and fantasy upon which the franchise is based. Then the tunes of Rick Astley start to roll, giving a sense of the early age of PC gaming. After a short tutorial, Simon is then immediately thrown into his very first adventure as this prequel starts for real.
Before discussing the world and the story, one aspect that needs addressing is the protagonist. This iteration of Simon is an overtly bratty person who makes constant jokes about arson and navigates his adventure by trolling everyone he meets. To add to it all, he is insufferably snarky without the intelligence to make it charming. While it is funny for the first 30 minutes, it sadly grows tiresome quite quickly, often taking things too far. The issue is that when making a prankster character, there is a fine line to walk, just like with delinquent children in general. At a proper level, it is charming and adds some character and memorability, while when taken too far, it just becomes annoying. Simon, sadly, falls into the latter category.
This depiction of him harms the entire experience. He is the titular protagonist, and the player has to endure his snarkiness for hours. As a side character, this level of brattiness could be great, as it gives them memorable, standout moments. As the main figure, though, it just feels disturbing. Playing as an 11-year-old who visibly enjoys food poisoning and stealing as he strolls around feels like being forced to participate in a murder-hobo TTRPG campaign.
While Simon has too much sass, the rest of the cast has the opposite problem. They are awfully dull and underdeveloped. The antagonist never comes off as threatening. Calypso, the guiding wizard, is completely useless in an unmemorable way. The good thing to say about them is that they follow the game’s internal logic, which relies heavily on everyone being dumb, which is quite a refreshing trope to see again. In recent times, many story-focused games are overly concerned with making characters feel realistic, which prevents slapstick comedy.
One exception stands out among this dull cast of NPCs: Swampling. Swampling is uniquely dumb, yet kind in a way that contrasts Simon’s snarky nature really well. Their way of witnessing the world is that everyone is a friend to a remarkable point. It is easy to remember Swampling, and difficult to hate them.
The strongest suit of Simon the Sorcerer Origins, save for the beautiful artwork, is the gameplay. As mentioned earlier, not every character is exactly the brightest, shining bulb. This gem of characterisation adds a strong aura of the rule of fun. For a game with a lot of magic and comedy, the solution to the puzzles feels remarkably natural. This is important because there are so many things to tinker with, as no area ever gets truly closed off, unlike in many point-and-click adventures, and backtracking will be necessary. Then it is important that the player has a vague idea about what to do. In Simon the Sorcerer Origins, there is never a question of what needs to be done next.
The story is also strong enough to hold amusement all the way to the end. Each chapter adds enough new areas and characters to keep it from ever feeling stale, and even when the player has to interact with previous characters, they have one or two lines that make that interaction interesting. Sadly, the narrative isn’t memorable. It feels like a long line of quirky references and meme moments strung together without any real substance in between, and if someone asks in a week what the story is about, this reviewer might have a hard time answering.
While there is truly excellent art and incredibly creative and clever puzzles, this title stumbles in other core areas. The protagonist ruins the experience by being a bit too much, and the side cast is often too unmemorable. With more substance to its story, Simon the Sorcerer Origins might have been a worthy return of one of the classic point-and-click heroes. Now, it just leaves a slight taste of an age long gone.
