You are Simon Quest, famous vampire hunter, and you’ve just arrived in Transylvania only to discover that your vampire hunting rival has already slain the evil Count Dracula. HOW CAN THIS BE?!? In order to reclaim the glory that should be yours, you set off to gather the necessary items to resurrect the dark prince piece-by-piece so you can kick his ass yourself!
GAME FACTS
TITLE: The Transylvania Adventure of Simon Quest
RELEASE DATE: TBD 2026
MSRP: TBD
DEVELOPER: Programancer, Retroware
PUBLISHER: Retroware
COMING TO: Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and Steam(PC)
DEMO AVAILABLE ON: Steam
DEMO PLAYED ON: Steam
Even though the game is clearly based on well known beloved classics, there are a lot of modern enhancements and quality of life improvements. Unlike the linear nature of the games that inspired Simon Quest, in both the overworld and in mansions, there are plenty of alternate pathways (and choices) you can make. It may first appear that every mansion has a linear route, but you’ll find there are other paths you can take to clear them! For those adventurous enough to seek an unorthodox journey in the overworld, you can even try taking on later mansions early. In fact, doing so might even yield you a different ending.
CLASSICVANIA CONNECTION
It’s probably quite obvious, but Simon Quest is most heavily influenced by Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest from the NES era, released in 1988.
If you aren’t familiar with its history, back in the day Castlevania II was a pretty drastic departure from the first Castlevania. Sure, it still had the whip, side-scrolling, light platforming and monster slaying, but while the first game was very linear, Simon’s Quest was open world, allowing the player to move between different areas, towns and mansions fairly openly. Of course there were items required to unlock some of the areas, and some rather obscure puzzles to solve to access other areas, but once you gained access to an area you could move between them freely.
Some gamers prefer the first Castlevania, but I always found it to be too difficult and too linear. I much preferred Castlevania II, with its day/night cycle, town segments and light-RPG elements.
DEMO IMPRESSIONS
I had been following Programancer (the developer) on X for quite some time, so I knew this game had been in development for a while. When I heard the demo was finally available on Steam, I jumped on it.
The demo did not disappoint. Not only is the premise hilarious (that someone defeated Dracula before Simon Quest could, and now he plans to resurrect the Dark Lord just so he can slay him), but the visuals and controls are simply perfect. Programancer is no newbie when it comes to developing games, and his prowess is on full display here. The pixel art graphics reminded me of the original games, but more detailed and refined than anything the simple NES hardware could support. The controls are also WAY better than the original Castlevania games. You have newer features like a slide kick, and the overall feeling of controlling Simon Quest is just silky smooth and perfect. Seriously, it makes me wish Konami would go back and remaster the old games in this style.
The demo isn’t very long but it effectively gives you a glimpse of what the full game should be like.
OVERALL IMPRESSION
Overall, The Transylvania Adventure of Simon Quest is way better than it has any right to be. Much more than just a parody of a classic game, it’s an expertly crafted love letter to Castlevania-style gaming. It simultaneously riffs on the classic games, and improves them in practically every way you can imagine. Between the funny premise, to the excellent pixel art, to the tight controls, Programancer is creating something truly special here.
I can’t wait for this one.
You can play the demo for yourself on Steam.
DEMO GAMEPLAY
You can watch my gameplay of the demo in the video below: