Since I’d been a big fan of point-and-click adventures back when they reigned supreme in the early PC days, it has been delightful to see the genre return to some prominence in the last generation. Buoyed by indie teams that aren’t looking to make a massive amount of money, they’re able to go with more niche offerings that won’t likely garner mainstream support, but can absolutely be appreciated by genre fans. In this case the goal was to resurrect an existing series, which did well enough to get a sequel, though it is one I never crossed paths with.

In Origins, which as you may have guessed is a prequel, you’ll guide young Simon down the road to his later successes, wisecracking his way through situations whenever possible. If you’re a fan of more British humor, you’ll absolutely be in for a treat, as his often-sarcastic lines are great in themselves, but then spiked with terrific delivery which is actually done by Chris Barrie, who provided Simon’s voice in the original games as an added treat. As you’d expect there’ll be plenty of dialogue options in places, with thankfully even smart choices including a little humor, as well as ones on occasion that aren’t very helpful but merely fun to go with just to see how the other characters will react.

On the positive side, the interface has been implemented in a more modern style, allowing you to hold down a button to see all points you can interact with and toggle through them efficiently, rather than plodding around and hoping to find everything. There is a more cursor-driven mode if you’d prefer that, and for the bonus win you’ll even have the option to use the touchscreen undocked. Of course, it also wouldn’t be an adventure title without plenty of items to collect in your inventory and ponder over as you try to work your way through puzzles. As always, there are times when you’ll vibe with what the developers were going for, others where you’ll take a leap of faith and be rewarded, and a few where you’ll be left going the trial and error route. Some in-game help would have been a nice touch, though honestly since most games with it have implemented them poorly anyway, it may not be that big a deal and you can always hit up a guide online.

All in all, as offerings in the genre go this is a good time with a sharper and more witty tone than most, which I really enjoyed. Perhaps if you’re not a big fan of British humor some of it won’t work out so well, but for me it made for a refreshing change of pace from more typically lowbrow American humor. Whether you were a fan before, or simply enjoy some laughs, this is a solid choice.