There are some things that kids just shouldn't have to put up with. Being transported to some weird dimension full of goblins, dwarves, swamplings, stupid wizards and sleeping giants is definitely one of them.
With a Nobel prize for attempted humour and puzzles so fiendish you'll certainly need help from the wise owl, Simon the Sorcerer is guaranteed to provide a distraction from the drudgery of modern life.
Choose between subtitled and full "talkie" version of the game.
Minimum system requirements: Windows XP or Windows Vista, 1 GHz Processor (1.4 GHz recommended), 512MB RAM (1 GB recommended), 3D graphics card compatible with DirectX 7 (compatible with DirectX 9 recommended), Mouse, Keyboard.
First off, be warned that it's an oldschool point-n-click adventure.
You are going to search for items, you're going to miss some, and you're going to get stuck until that fateful day when you either stumble upon one item or item combination, give up and look at a FAQ, or ask a fellow gog'er.
Point-n-click adventures can be a pain and very frustrating when you're stuck,... full review but no other genre can be as rewarding and fulfilling when you finally "get it".
As far as games in the genre go, this is actually pretty easy and manageable though. Most of the puzzles make sense, in a way. Pressing F10 will cheat and show you all items or persons you can interact with on the current screen, and there is a hint system with an owl you can ask for advice, quite userfriendly.
Gameplay consists of using your mouse pointer to steer your sorcerer-to-be around a wonderful world full of unique characters, engage in hilarious conversations, combine items you find lying around, use them one way or another, and hopefully achieve your goal of returning to your home unharmed.
You will kiss pigs, help timid barbarians, talk to tree stumps, cunningly disguise yourself, and bring all manners of misfortune upon those who stand in your way. You even get to use the ring(TM). You can instantly travel to certain landmarks using your magic map, and even loading and saving your game is done using an in-game item, the postcard. It's a very immersive experience, despite the main character breaking the fourth wall once or twice during conversations.
The amount of voice acting crammed into that tiny download is astonishing. Every conversation is fully voiced - and the writing is hilarious. Artwork and use of color make this game a timeless classic. Music's great too, of couse the tracks aren't fully orchestrated, but certainly fitting and enjoyable throughout. Many, if not most screens are animated, be it ducks swimming in a pond, squirrels running up a tree when they see you, butterflies fluttering around, flickering Fire illuminating a cave, etc. You will explore creepy caves and hideouts, a cozy village, luscious forests, and snow-covered peaks, among others.
The game itself will engross you in a colorful world that makes sense in a twisted way.
If you liked Monkey Island or Discworld you'll love this one. It's plenty of fun, hours long, easy to use but hard to master, and best of all, it's only six bucks. You would do yourself a disservice to not give this a playthrough.
While not as popular as some of the old LucasArts or Sierra graphical adventures, the original Simon The Sorcerer is a superb game, one with lots of humor and challenging puzzles.... full review
Put bluntly: If you enjoy the LucasArts classics, you should also enjoy this game... I'd imagine it's why support for it was built into the ScummVM emulation application (SCUMM was an engine specific to LucasArts games).
Simon can be thought of the magical equivalent of Guybrush Threepwood in the Monkey Island series... he's a sorcerer wannabe that is on a mission to rescue a more powerful, ally sorcerer. I don't remember the details of the story, but it's a good one - not great, but solid. The locations are excellent, and there's a lot of them.
Much of the humor is derived from science fiction - with characters such as Golem making an appearance.
It's great to see Simon on GoG... this will be my first purchase here. I'd urge anyone who enjoys graphic adventure games to pick this one up - you will not be disappointed.
Thank you GOG for adding this wonderful title! You have no idea how long I have been looking for a version of this game that I could actually play! Simon the Sorcerer is a witty point and click adventure full of clever dialog and challenging puzzles and an excellent testament to a genre that was to the 90s what the FPS genre is today. Give it a whirl, the sands of time didn't even scratch the top class humor found on in this title yet.
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