Reader reviews for Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers – 20th Anniversary Edition page 2

Same good story, characters, music, and puzzles are here in this remake.  Backgrounds and character portraits looks great, but same horrible 3D character models and movement from Phoenix online as always. Also some added unnecessary extra puzzles that does not fit in to the GK world. Overall I enjoyed playing the game, but that is not thanks to the updated version made by Phoenix, but thanks to the already great source material.
Good:
- great voice acting
- great character portraits and backgrounds
- same great characters, story, puzzle design as the original
Bad:
- horrible character animations ( not OK, feels like a half done job. )
- unnecessary added puzzles
- some story holes that were not in the original

Overall great game because of the already great source material, but considering this is a remake of one of the greatest adventure games ever made, I think Phoenix should have put more effort into it.

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Time Played: 5-10 hours
Difficulty: Just Right

I’m not sure. If they aimed at modern crowd, they probably missed the mark. Not only the hardest and/or archaic parts were left untouched. Some frustrating logic puzzles were added. They make zero sense, they are no fun. And why would anyone EVER want to solve a “bonus” gem puzzle?

The graphics are now HD, but hardly up-to-date. Because of choppy animation some scenes that require good pathfinding or quick reflexes might really get on your nerves now. Not to mention that quite a number of animations are completely gone, making it more of a downgrade. The interface was reworked, and that’s certainly good news for those used to simpler point-n-clicks. Although that panel at the bottom reminds me of hidden object games too much.

Old-timers will immediately notice the significant change in art style. Many locations feel less atmospheric, lack details, character, New Orleans! Some of them - like the family castle - were completely redrawn. I do appreciate the updated cutscenes though. Now they look wonderful!

Slight adjustments were made to the gameplay. Unnecessary linearity was added here and there. Some locations are hidden or closed for stupid reasons unless you really need them. Several episodes were reworked as well. For example, one beautiful puzzle that required a little attention from the player was barbarically removed and substituted with a primitive “take/use” manipulation for no reason.

While the game certainly looks more polished compared to Moebius and Cognition, and obviously more effort was put into production, it still feels like a budget re-release, not a remake of one of the greatest adventure games. And it’s not just about the lack of money; it’s about craftsmanship. I’m not so sure Gabriel Knight 4 would be such a good idea now.

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Time Played: 5-10 hours
Difficulty: Just Right

My score is largely based on the fact iv had the poor luck of hitting two dead ends which made it impossible to progress. Also this remake has created a variety of story inconsistencies that did not exist in the original. Therefore I consider this to be borderline unplayable. The voiceacting ranges from ok to awful.. with some of the more important characters (grace and gabe) being not good. The original is an amazing game, one that stood little to gain from a complete graphical overhaul. This doesnt do the original any favors.

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Time Played: 5-10 hours
Difficulty: Easy