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Simon the Sorcerer Origins Reviews: What Critics Think

Critics generally like Simon the Sorcerer Origins’ humor, hand-drawn style and old-school adventure design, though opaque puzzles make it a better fit for genre veterans than beginners.
Length3 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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Simon the Sorcerer Origins has a generally favorable but qualified reception: Metacritic’s PC critic page lists a 76 Metascore, with critics applauding its humor, hand-drawn presentation and old-school adventure design while warning that opaque puzzles and inventory friction can test players’ patience. It is most appealing to fans of traditional point-and-click games; newcomers should expect a demanding experience.

What is the critic score for Simon the Sorcerer Origins?

Metacritic’s PC critic page lists a 76 Metascore, classified as “Generally Favorable,” and shows 17 critic reviews. Its displayed breakdown is 10 positive (63%), 6 mixed (38%) and 0 negative (0%). Those figures are reproduced as Metacritic displays them; the listed category counts do not add up to the stated total of 17. This is a PC aggregate, not a score that should be applied automatically to the Switch, PlayStation or Xbox versions. Metacritic scores and review totals can also change as its page is updated. Source: Metacritic, accessed October 8, 2026.

What do critics praise?

Reviewers most often respond to the game’s return to classic point-and-click conventions, its handmade visual style and Simon’s sarcastic comic personality. Humor, voice acting and presentation are recurring strengths in the excerpts collected on Metacritic. The Games Machine praised Simon’s expressions, impatient banter and fourth-wall breaks, while Softpedia described a story-led adventure with gags and creative ideas. Gamesurf highlighted its old-school mechanics and handmade aesthetic, and Gamer.no praised its presentation, design and acting. These are examples from selected reviews, not a count of how often each view appears across all critics. Metacritic critic excerpts.

The game is an official prequel to the Simon the Sorcerer series. Nintendo describes it as a hand-drawn, single-player point-and-click adventure built around puzzles, item combinations, spells and alchemy. Its Switch listing says Simon is drawn into a magical world by an ancient prophecy and identifies Smallthing Studios as developer and ININ Games as publisher. Nintendo’s official US listing.

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#1 Best Overall
Simon the Sorcerer Origins - (UK Pegi Version) (Nintendo Switch)
  • Official prequel to the cult series: Find out what Simon was up to just before his first magical misstep into the fantasy world, long before he started insulting talking doors.
  • A story with heart, humour, and a hat: Between motherly love, a forced move, and a healthy dose of chaos, Simon’s journey to becoming an (unwilling) hero begins.
  • Hand-drawn art style & iconic voice: Featuring lovingly hand-drawn graphics and Simon’s original voice, performed by British voice actor Chris Barrie, this feels like a trip back to the ’90s, just with far better resolution.
  • Between magic spells and cogs: Classic point-and-click gameplay meets modern mechanics. Solve quirky puzzles, crack ancient mechanisms, and collect (as always) way too many items.
  • Sarcasm, slapstick, and eccentric wizards: Encounter bizarre characters, delight in even odder conversations, and revel in Simon’s unmistakable wit: equal parts cheeky banter and “very British” humour.

What are the main criticisms?

The biggest qualification is puzzle difficulty. Critics who appreciate the traditional, demanding design also caution that some solutions can feel obscure or arbitrary. Inventory management may add friction, and the game’s conventions may be unfamiliar to players new to point-and-click adventures. Softpedia, for example, praised the story and ideas but noted stiff animation and inventory-management frustrations; XboxEra called it a caring return for fans while warning that its old-school choices may not suit people unfamiliar with the genre. Metacritic critic excerpts.

MeriStation offers a more critical perspective. Reviewer Yago Lago praised the challenge and its appeal to experienced adventure-game players, but found some puzzle logic opaque and felt the story, supporting cast, locations and overall content were underdeveloped. Lago reported a 12-hour playthrough, much of it spent stuck; that is one reviewer’s experience, not a standard or guaranteed completion time. The review’s overall distinction is useful: veterans may enjoy the demands, while newcomers may find them frustrating. MeriStation’s review.

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Is Simon the Sorcerer Origins worth playing?

It is a stronger fit for players who already enjoy inventory-based point-and-click adventures and want a dose of Simon’s irreverent humor. Its old-school structure is part of the appeal, but also the main reason to be cautious: expect to experiment with items and tolerate moments when the intended puzzle logic is not obvious.

  • Good fit: fans of the series, classic adventure games, inventory puzzles and deliberately challenging progression.
  • Less certain fit: first-time adventure players, or anyone looking for an accessible, fast-moving story with few puzzle dead ends.

Prior knowledge of the series is not required to follow the prequel’s story, according to MeriStation, but genre familiarity can help with its gameplay. When comparing it with another adventure, the most useful criteria are puzzle opacity, how much inventory experimentation it demands, humor and character writing, visual and animation consistency, story and dialogue, and whether you enjoy nostalgic, old-school structure.

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Which version and release details are confirmed?

Nintendo’s official US store lists the Switch release date as October 28, 2025, and describes hand-drawn graphics and Simon’s voice performed by British actor Chris Barrie. The store listing names these Switch languages: Japanese, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Korean, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese and American English. It also lists PONY DLC and Deluxe DLC as add-ons. Nintendo’s official US listing.

MeriStation reported at launch that a physical edition would accompany Steam and console releases. That report does not establish current retailer stock or the contents of a particular physical edition. MeriStation.

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