I was lucky enough to get a preview key of the upcoming demo of The Transylvania Adventure of Simon Quest that is set to release on June 19th. Ever since this game has been announced, it has been on my radar and I’m privileged to get my hands on the demo ahead of its release.
If you haven’t heard of The Transylvania Adventure of Simon Quest yet, this pixelated gem is basically a re-imagining of Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, which originally released on the NES way back in 1987. It was a highly polarizing entry in the series. While it was overall well received, as you can see in this Angry Video Game Nerd video, the game had a few issues in terms of crypticness and questionable localization.
Fast forward to 2026 where developer Programancer is re-imagining it with their own flair. Simon Quest’s vampire killing rival got to Dracula first to put an end to him. So in order to get the glory himself, Quest heads out to resurrect the lord of vampires piece by piece so he can kill him himself.
The demo features an Adventure and Action chapter. The former lets players explore the village, talk with the citizens and learn about the surroundings and fight you fight a few enemies around the village. As far as the Action goes, you’re directly dropped in the Bram Castle and you need to clear the level by exploring the area. Once you’ve cleared the castle, you can explore surrounding areas, including the village. The game does have a few secrets, so you’ll need to keep an eye out for possible alternate paths.
Akin to Simon Belmont, our protagonist, Simon Quest, has his trusty whip as his main attack along with sub-weapons. Akin to the game/series that influenced this new game, you’ll need to collect hearts in order to be able to use your sub-weapons. Interestingly enough, you can carry more than one at time. Quest can also slide for quicker movement and also serves as an attack. It’s incredibly fun to use.
Another nice little improvement is the ability to be able to walker faster up the stairs while holding the attack button. While a reimagining of Simon’s Quest, this game also features a level up mechanic introduced in later Castlevania entries. Killing enemies rewards players with experience point which in turns causes Simon Quest to level up and have stronger attacks.
After a few hours with this demo, I’m happy to report that the game feels and looks great. My only gripe is the stiff movement. The controls are tight and responsive, don’t get me wrong, but as this is an homage to the classic 8-bit era, if you’re standing on a ledge, and just try to jump on the next ledge, you’ll fall down, to your death more often than not. You need some momemtum in movement to properly jump. And obviously, there’s knock back damage. If an enemy hits you while near a ledge, it’s sayonara.
If you’re a fan of the Metroidvania genre, or obviously the Castlevania series, The Transylvania Adventure of Simon Quest is a no brainer and should absolutely be on your radar. If you want to try it for yourself, you can get your hands on this demo on Steam on June 19th.