Game designer Jane Jensen showed up at the GDC this week to talk about a couple of her upcoming projects. One will be huge for fans of her work- the remake of Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father, the game that introduced a lot of people to the writer and her intelligent, mature adventure games. It grew into a trilogy of beloved titles, all revolving around the titular character, and now we have a trailer for the 20th Anniversary Edition that shows how the old art has been upgraded to a new, 3D engine- apparently the same one as they're using for her new Kickstarter success Moebius: Empire Rising.
The first, Sins of the Father, revealed Knight to be a horror author and bookstore owner who begins following a series of homicides known as the "Voodoo Murders". The game has a real dark New Orleans vibe to it and contains fantastic voice acting from Tim Curry (who plays Gabriel), Mark Hammil, Leah Remini, and Michael Dorn.
Newly announced publisher Phoenix Online Publishing will be bringing out Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father 20th Anniversary Edition sometime later this year for PC. Created under the direction of Jensen, the trailer shows that the game remains the same as before, despite the differences. The basic interface and story remain but the graphics have been changed from pixel art to high-res 3D graphics, the soundtrack is completely remastered, and the voices were actually rerecorded with a new crew of voice actors- no more Tim Curry, sadly!
You can find more info and screens from the remake over at the official site. Will fans appreciate the new art and voices or will they ache for the old? The original games are currently available on GOG for just a few bucks, so there's no reason to lament what once was, and either way it's great to see Gabriel Knight getting the opportunity to attract more fans. It really is a stellar series, and one can only hope they remake the two sequels as well.
