14 DAY TRIAL // 
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers is one of the most famous and beloved point-and-click adventure video games, so Pinkerton Road Studio and Phoenix Online Studios' attempt to revive the classic and give it a shiny new coat of paint and revise some of its mechanics was a pretty difficult task to begin with.
The original, coming from Sierra On-Line, one of the most prestigious adventure game makers of the '90s, benefits from a lot of polish, a distinctly atmospheric visual style, and has a star-studded voice cast, all contributing to an experience that, combined with the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia, is hard to equal, let alone surpass.
The fact that developer Pinkerton Road's game engine, the same one used to make Moebius: Empire Rising, is riddled with all kinds of issues, and that character animations are still a bit jittery, makes the entire situation problematic; the source material is still of top-notch quality, but oftentimes, messing with the formula can end up like the New Coke fiasco.
In any case, let's see whether the revised and enhanced edition, Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers 20th Anniversary, is a worthwhile experience, or whether the classic edition is still the one you'd be better off playing.
Story
The new game is a retelling of the 1993 murder mystery blockbuster, starring Gabriel Knight, a struggling New Orleans-based novelist, trying to chase away his writer's block and to revitalize his bookstore business.
Gabriel is tormented by a recurring nightmare and starts following a series of voodoo-related homicides, hoping to use the investigation as the basis for an upcoming novel.
Over the course of the investigation, he discovers a horrific connection between The Vodoo Murders and his own nightmares, uncovering the fact that his family has a rich heritage, a legacy of hunting down and doing away with the various incarnations of evil.
He unveils the fact that his nightmares stem from a curse placed upon his family a long time ago, and the only way to escape them is to get to the bottom of The Voodoo Murders.
His journeys take him from New Orleans to Germany and then Africa, and then back to New Orleans, to face those responsible for the misdeeds and to fulfill his destiny.
Gameplay
The game is a traditional point-and-click adventure, and although there have been many improvements and refinements made to the interface, the title's old-school roots are still showing.
Everything has been recreated in all-new and spiffy HD, offering the old pixelated backgrounds a new life, and everything is teeming with detail.
The script is the same, so you get to enjoy the award-winning writing of the original, but with an all-new voice cast, and a few twists.
The interface has been streamlined from the days of old, but context-based interactions are still a bit finicky at times. The journal is pretty useful, and you can also use the hint system when you get stuck, but unfortunately, it only provides the general direction in which you should channel your efforts, which you usually already know, without getting into any specifics.
This can be both a blessing and a curse. Having it overflowing with detail could prove detrimental to the adventuring, but having it devoid of detail can make it a superfluous feature. You already know that there's something to do in the attic, but you just don't feel like trying out all the possible permutations.
In addition to this, Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers 20th Anniversary also comes with a neat host of behind-the-scenes footage that you unlock as you progress through the story, showing the original devs talking about various aspects of development and how the revised edition came to be, as well as showcasing side-by-side comparisons of the classic and recreated scenes.
In case you haven't played the original, the atmosphere and some of the lines might feel a bit weird, as they do come from a long while back. One might argue that the ham-fisted manner in which some female characters are treated is out of place, and that some of the remarks that the womanizing protagonist makes would land you a quick sexual harassment lawsuit nowadays.
Gabriel Knight is an obnoxious, overly confident, leather trench coat wearing and motorcycle riding douche, in a nutshell, dumping all the research work on his assistant, Grace, and behaving as if he were the original James Dean, and not just a paltry imitator.
Unfortunately, as there is no justice and charm is a matter of personal taste, the act works on some people, and Gabriel Knight even seems to be endearing in some people's eyes. Unfortunately, exactly how he manages to do that is a mystery that you'll never be able to figure out.
That being said, you don't always get to play as the best of them, and the superb narration does a good job of putting him in his place, as well as conveying a more exotic undertone to the entire adventure.
The actual plot is not overly strong, but it's decent enough as far as adventure games go, and the fact that it comes from an age where people were used to sink many more hours into single games than nowadays means that you'll get a fair amount of mileage out of Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers 20th Anniversary.
The game's pacing also hails from that period, not rushing you through anything, and letting you inspect everything and talk to everyone at length. There is a lot of well-written flavor text that you can go through in order to get more immersed into the game world, with plenty of historical and cultural references, the game also acting like a didactic experience, without shoving anything down your throat.
In addition to the text, the pre-rendered backgrounds are also a gateway to a colorful and multicultural experience, teeming with detail and convincingly portraying some of the more grisly undertones of your journey.
Puzzle-solving enthusiasts have a lot of work on their hands, as the game, due to the old-school source material, has some pretty difficult puzzles for them to figure out. Overall, you won't be constantly scratching your head, as paying attention to what people are saying can offer you a lot of subtle (or not so subtle) hints regarding your next move, but you won't exactly breeze through the game either.
Due to the game's ancient nature, there will be a couple of instances when the solution to your quandary is a little more outside the box than you would expect, or a little too contrived or narrow for my tastes, for example, but overall, it's a satisfying experience, mechanics-wise.
You get to visit many exciting locations and meet a ton of interesting virtual people, who are crafted decently enough to play a convincing role in the unfolding, grand-scale mystery. The dialogues are laden with puns and sarcastic quips, and they give the characters a lot of weight, feeling like more than just a means to convey information that you require for progression.
Furthermore, the game's pacing allows the entire experience to sink in, and gives you enough time to explore everything, from environments to the various characters' opinions on different subjects. The adventure is structured over a period of ten days, each day ending when a certain task is completed, with a ton of optional stuff to do in-between.
In addition to this, the story is moved forward through the means of some very well realized animated comic panels, further adding to the narrative depth. The game also includes a graphic novel written by Jane Jensen, offering a sort of prequel story to the entire adventure, showcasing the events that led to the curse being brought on Knight's family, providing more background information.
Sound and visuals
The updated visuals honor the classic 1993 adventure title, delivering its entire specific atmosphere, complete with the colorful multicultural experience of New Orleans, in much more detail. Areas that you would expect to be cluttered with color and detail are so, and even the more clean-cut locations have various blemishes and have been recreated with a painstaking attention to detail.
The various locales that you'll visit over the course of your adventure look like actual places where people live, and not just quickly strewn-together backgrounds. From overturned rug corners to pieces of paper and files littering desks, to the overwhelming disarray of the Voodoo museum, nothing is sterile. Everything is carefully composed, coming together as an enthralling gateway to a world of mystery.
The music is a similar blend of styles, from original compositions to jazzy tunes and classics such as "When the Saints Go Marching In," recreated from the original source material. The bad thing, however, is that some of the tunes have lost some of their charm in the transition from 16-bit MIDI to orchestral piece, and will quickly get on your nerves, especially when you spend more time in an area trying to find out what to do next.
Where the game fails most, however, is when it comes to the characters. Sure, seeing everyone fully fleshed out is much better than squinting at a handful of pixels, but unfortunately, the characters are still missing a lot of visual polish.
While both the models and animations are better than Pinkerton Road's previous title, Moebius: Empire Rising, they still need some work, and some areas of the game could do with a bit more polish, especially when textures and models overlap unnaturally.
The Good
- Solid writing and acting
- Faithful to the source material
- Interesting setting
- Great visuals
- Bonus content
The Bad
- A host of technical issues
- Poor character models and animations
- Some dated gameplay systems and content
- It might have lost some of its charm in translation
Conclusion
The game seems to have lost a little of the dark, looming tension of the original, and the high-definition backgrounds leave little to imagination. The power of the pixels was that they allowed you to fill in the gaps with your own imagination, which the new title does not.
The graphics might come off as too bright and colorful, and the voice acting is a notch under the original's. Some people might not favor the trade-off of flavor and gravitas for more detailed visuals, especially since low-fi pixel art is quite popular nowadays.
To top it all off, Pinkerton Road's engine is plagued by a lot of technical issues, and you'll most likely encounter a lot of glitches and a few crashes during your time with the game. Fortunately, the developer has already fixed some of the biggest problems since the game's release, so there is still hope on that front.
If, however, you are willing to overlook some technical imperfections, you'll be able to experience an engrossing story that, while slightly dated, can still hold its own against most titles in the genre.
The beginning chapter of the Gabriel Knight saga is still a great adventure to undertake, and the new coat of paint might make it accessible to a newer, more demanding generation. The great writing and compelling atmosphere are still there, with the caveat that you have to look the other way from time to time, in order not to break immersion.
