Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers — 20th Anniversary Edition (2014)
Originally released in 1993, Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers ranks high on many lists of the greatest adventure games of all time. It could be seen as the culmination of the classic graphical adventure game. (Although not in the sense that everything would have gone downhill afterwards.) In October 2014, a new, significantly updated version was released — the 20th Anniversary Edition. The remake brings the game into the 21st century and introduces it to a new audience for whom the original pixel-graphics version, with all its clunkiness, might be simply too retro.
Story
Sins of the Fathers is a dark mystery. It contains brutal and paranormal elements, yet also humour for an adult audience and romance. In fact, Sins of the Fathers could be called a tragic love story. Sierra’s previously published games had been light-hearted, and the developers themselves wondered whether players would accept something so sombre.
The protagonist, Gabriel Knight, is a self-satisfied ladies' man. He runs a small, barely profitable antiquarian bookshop in New Orleans. His assistant is the charming and sharp-tongued Grace, who remains immune to Gabriel’s charm. He has previously published a few novels and is now gathering material for a new one. The ritualistic voodoo murders in the area would make a perfect subject.
Gabriel’s old friend Moseley is a detective at the local police department, and through him the writer gains access to even confidential material. But the easy-going charmer has no idea what is coming: Gabriel ends up in much deeper trouble than he imagined. It turns out that he is personally connected to the evil behind the murders, and this leads to an investigation into the history of Gabriel’s own family line.
Sins of the Fathers weaves real-world history into the plot, and players get a glimpse of voodoo traditions. The game offers visually and narratively striking and suspenseful moments. One does not have to be a fan of thrillers to enjoy this game and to experience Gabriel’s ordeal with him. Narratively, the execution is excellent, and from a classic point-and-click perspective, it could hardly be better. The puzzles are meaningfully integrated into the story.
New versus old
I first played the original early-90s version only last year, so I have no nostalgic attachment to it. Modern remakes tend to make veteran fans nervous, prompting hyper-critical comparisons — and this has happened with Sins of the Fathers as well. For me, the opposite occurred: I was surprised I had ever bothered to finish the original, because compared with the new version it now looked so dated.
The explanation lies in the shared script: at its core, the game is essentially the same in both versions. HD graphics and higher-quality audio are ultimately just surface, and although the usability is vastly improved, the original only required a bit of adaptation. For comparison, below are screenshots of Gabriel’s bookshop — new and old. Note also the lighter user interface.
The remake includes a “journal” summarising recent events, as well as a built-in hint system. There is also additional material about the history and development of the game.
Game world
I am not a fan of 3D graphics, at least in their current state of development. When 3D finally reaches full realism and naturalness, I may change my mind, but for now I have to make an effort to look past its shortcomings. This was the case with the new Sins of the Fathers as well, though it is far from the worst of its kind.
The remake features many bright details. As beautiful as the original is, it was sometimes genuinely difficult to see whether a vague cluster of pixels contained a pick-up item or not. In the remake, these problems are gone. It is also possible to highlight all clickable objects on the screen, which helps tremendously when stuck.
And Sins of the Fathers certainly has plenty of things to click. Nothing has been trimmed down in the remake — quite the opposite of the current design trend. I did not mind the abundance of interactions that do not advance the story or puzzles, because Jane Jensen’s writing is so strong. Each line reveals something important, not only about the place but about the person observing it or the person associated with it. From the perspective of world-building and narrative, they are not pointless.
The game world is fairly large. There are many locations, yet they are easy to remember. Navigation is not difficult, although in a few instances a maze-like place is an essential part of a task. I never felt the need for a separate map.
Characters and their interactions are central in Sins of the Fathers. There are many dialogue topics. Most of them do not advance the plot, but they are still enjoyable to read.
Writer–designer
Jane Jensen, born in 1963, is an accomplished game designer, not only for the Gabriel Knight series. She contributed to Sierra’s legendary adventure games Police Quest and King's Quest. In the 2000s, Jensen published two mechanically interesting adventure games, Gray Matter and Möebius. Her stories are always strong — she has also published traditional novels. Gabriel Knight has a novelisation as well.
In 2012, Jensen founded her own game studio, Pinkerton Road, together with her musician husband. What the future holds, I at least am looking forward to it.
Difficulty level
I would classify the puzzles as moderately challenging. They require reasoning and occasionally inventiveness, and they are reasonably multi-layered and lengthy. I do not believe the threshold is too high even for a beginner in adventure games. Sins of the Fathers is truly a top-tier adventure game. Perhaps the question is similar to whether you would recommend Crime and Punishment to someone who has never read any novels before.
A good command of English is naturally required, because there is a great deal of reading and a significant portion of the content exists in text. The voice actors have appropriate accents, but the subtitles are in standard English.
Recommendation
For anyone who has not played the original Sins of the Fathers, I recommend the new version without hesitation. The 20th Anniversary Edition also refreshes the memories of those who already know the game.
Sins of the Fathers is fairly long, and anyone who starts it should not fear the passing hours. A relaxed, reading-friendly mindset is ideal. The reward is a strong story.
I give the new version a score of 80 out of 100. The original would likely score over 90.
Availability
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers – 20th Anniversary Edition is available for Windows and Mac OS X. It is also coming to iOS and Android. The original version is available for Windows, for example on GOG.com.