Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers

About Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers

Sins of the Fathers was created by Jane Jensen and released by Sierra On-Line in December 1993. Its CD-ROM version is fully voiced, with Tim Curry as Gabriel, Leah Remini as his assistant Grace and Mark Hamill as police detective Mosely. It began the Gabriel Knight series; a remake with new art and voices, the 20th Anniversary Edition by Phoenix Online Studios, followed in 2014 and is sold separately. Steam and GOG sell the original for Windows, running the DOS game in an emulator.

Gabriel Knight runs a failing rare-book shop in the French Quarter and has nightmares he cannot explain. A series of killings across the city, which the press calls the Voodoo Murders, looks like material for his next novel, so he starts asking questions: of his friend on the police force, of a voodoo museum curator, of a professor who studies the religion. The police say the voodoo signs are for show. Gabriel is less sure, and the more he digs, the closer the case comes to him.

It plays as a classic Sierra point-and-click. The story is split into days; each has things you must do before the next begins, and many you may do for more of the story and a higher score. You choose an action icon from the bar and click it on the world, ask characters about a growing list of topics, collect and combine items, and travel across a map of New Orleans. Like Sierra's games of the time, a careless move in a dangerous moment can end the game, so saving often matters.

The horror is a slow, growing one: crime scenes with bloody remains, voodoo shops and cemeteries at night, snakes, drums and a cult that meets in secret, all told in dark, painted pixel art with a score by Robert Holmes. Critics praised its story and voice cast. It suits players who want a long, story-led horror mystery with puzzles rather than a game of chases and scares.

How to play Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers

1. Pick an action from the icon bar at the top of the screen, then click it on a person or object.
2. Talk to everyone and use Ask to question the main characters about each topic you learn.
3. Collect items, examine them in the inventory, and use or combine them to solve problems.
4. Travel between places in New Orleans with the city map and finish each day's tasks to move the story on.
5. Save often in separate slots, since some dangerous moments can end the game.

Tips

• Use the Recorder to replay conversations when you have forgotten a clue.
• Ask every main character about every new topic; new leads often come from unexpected people.
• Read Gabriel's notes and the newspaper each morning; they point to what needs doing that day.
• Use the Hint option on the map when you do not know where to go next.
• Keep a save from before each risky scene, since a wrong move there ends the game.

Questions