Jane Jensen releases first new Gabriel Knight story since 1999

Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers 20th Anniversary Edition

When last we heard from bookstore owner-turned-Shadow Hunter Gabriel Knight, it was 1999 and he was struggling to come to terms with regret and sorrow at the end of Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned. That's what makes today's release of Jane Jensen's short story The Temptation so interesting: it's the first new addition to Gabriel Knight's legend since that dark day in France.

The Temptation takes place six months after Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned, with Gabriel working on a new case in Germany. But his focus is elsewhere: Specifically, on Grace Nakimura, his former partner and love interest, who left him at the end of GK3.

An excerpt:

"The tea went down the wrong way and Gabriel coughed, gasping for air. Christ, he was losing it. He’d been getting these weird thoughts more and more the past few weeks. Maybe he needed to get out of Rittersberg, and not like to a place like Wolfach. He needed a city. Nightlight. Beautiful women who spoke English and didn’t look at him like he was a stupid foreigner. Maybe even a short trip back to New Orleans and friends, for God’s sake. He wouldn’t mind seeing Mosely. Maybe he could try to figure out if Gracie was there."

The story also features the semi-return of a familiar figure from one of the previous Gabriel Knight games (sorry, no spoilers), and even though it's obviously a fan service and readers unfamiliar with the series will miss some of the references, it's an entertaining tale entirely in its own right. It also very obviously opens the door to new Gabriel Knight adventures; but while Jensen is writing new stories, she's not actually working on a new game.

"There's no official Gabriel Knight 4 being worked on, though Jane is hoping that the remake goes well and doing so becomes a possibility," a Pinkerton Road rep said. "She's had a few ideas for a GK4 over the years, so she's definitely interested in doing that if possible."

The Temptation is available now in PDF format at postudios.com. Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers 20th Anniversary Edition comes out on October 15.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.