To adventure games aficionados, Simon the Sorcerer is a highly-regarded franchise. Originally released in 1993, the game was popular with critics and gamers alike, and is now considered one of the best point-and-click adventures of all time. This is no mean feat, particularly since Simon wasn’t developed by either Sierra or Lucas Arts - the two adventure gaming powerhouses of the 1990s - but by British-based developer Adventure Soft.

Now, I’ll be honest here: I never played Simon when it was released. The game came out in the same year as Id Software’s Doom, so, like most PC users, my entire year was dedicated to hacking imps with chainsaws and shooting flaming skulls out of the air. Simon passed me by. But 16 years later, I’ve decided to finally give Simon a whirl, and see if this classic point-and-click adventure can still weave its magic.

Simon the Sorcerer follows the tale of an adolescent boy transported to a fantasy world, with the usual array of wizards, dwarves and monsters. And while it may sound a bit like Harry Potter, the game is anything but. Simon is rude, crude and sarcastic. He tries to pick up women, and is constantly making cruel jokes to those he meets. In other words, he’s hilarious.

This brings us to the shining feature of this game: its creative and amusing dialogue. Like a classic novel, the dialogue that fills Simon the Sorcerer is original and timeless. Simon’s conversations with the weird and often unfriendly characters that inhabit this fantasy landscape remain enjoyable to watch even now. This is helped by some very solid voice-acting (Simon is voiced by Chris Barrie of Red Dwarf fame).

With strong dialogue, almost any game remains playable – whether it was made last year or in the 1980s. And with Simon the Sorcerer representing a parody of Dungeons & Dragons-style fantasy, there is still much to laugh at today.

But it’s not all smooth sailing for our young wizard.

I had a particular problem with some of Simon the Sorcerer’s puzzles. Of course, puzzles are the bread-and-butter of adventure games, and many of Simon’s offerings are enjoyable to solve. But a few are completely irritating. For instance, on at least three occasions, the player must look under a rock to find a necessary object. And I’m not talking about a big, obvious rock either. I mean a small pebble that blends so well into the pixels of the game’s backgrounds, it can be ridiculously easy to miss.

Perhaps people had more patience for this style of gameplay back in 1993. Perhaps they even enjoyed this adventure gaming “grind”, where you would obsessively scan every pixel of every screen, just in case you missed an object.

But I no longer have the endurance. Thankfully, there is a solution. If you download the game on gog.com, it comes with a handy walkthrough. Some players might consider this cheating, but really, if you use the walkthrough sparingly, it allows you to move through the game at an enjoyable pace.

Simon remains surprisingly attractive. The sprites are large and cute; the backdrops are lush and colourful. Unfortunately, the MIDI-music does start to grate the ears after a while, but thankfully can be switched off.

Simon the Sorcerer is definitely worth a reboot for anyone who appreciates strong dialogue and story-telling. Just don’t be afraid to refer to the cheat-sheet occasionally. It will allow you to bask in the hilarious character interactions, and not spend your entire day pixel hunting.