Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned is a point-and-click adventure game created by Jane Jensen, developed and published by Sierra Studios, and released for Microsoft Windows in 1999. It is the sequel to the 1995 game The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery. The story follows Gabriel Knight (voiced by Tim Curry) and Grace Nakimura as they investigate the kidnapping of an infant. Their search leads them into a mystery involving vampires, the Knights Templar, the Holy Grail, and Jesus in the Languedoc region of France. The game’s plot is inspired by a real-life treasure conspiracy linked to the area.
After the previous game, Sierra chose to create the third installment using 3D graphics, which increased the complexity of puzzles and exploration. Development was delayed because the team struggled to adjust to the new 3D technology. Some puzzles were found to be too difficult and were replaced with new ones that Jane Jensen did not approve of but could not change. Although Jensen had approved of the actor who voiced Gabriel in the earlier game, it was decided that Tim Curry would return because she believed he best matched the character’s personality.
Gabriel Knight 3 was the final game made by Sierra before the decline of the adventure video game industry. While it was not a commercial success, it received mostly positive reviews from critics. Praise focused on the story, setting, and one of the “best-designed game puzzles” in adventure games. However, some critics criticized the game’s dialogue, Tim Curry’s performance, and the transition to 3D graphics. The game was re-released in 2001 as part of Sierra’s Best Seller Series, again in 2010 on GOG.com, and once more in 2016 on Steam.
Gameplay
Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned is a point-and-click adventure game played from a third-person view. The story is split into chapters that cover parts of a three-day time period. These chapters follow a set order, and players control one of two characters—Gabriel or Grace. Gabriel is the main character in the first chapters, but later chapters alternate between him and Grace. In each chapter, players must complete certain tasks to move the story forward, but they can also explore and do optional tasks in any order. These optional tasks help explain the game’s story and events. Some actions in a chapter can change what happens in other parts of the same chapter, and this is shown by the sound of a ticking clock. Each chapter includes different locations that players can visit. Some locations are found using an overhead map that highlights important places for each chapter. More locations become available as the game progresses. Like other Sierra games from that time, the game uses a score to track both required and optional actions players complete, such as collecting items needed for puzzles.
Interactive objects are shown with a highlight when the cursor moves over them. This activates a bar of action commands, such as examining something, picking up an item, or talking to a person. Players keep collected items in an inventory, where they can look at them, use them, combine them, or use them in interactions with other items or people. Conversations with characters vary from short comments to interviews where players must ask specific questions. During interviews, a bar of action topics appears, such as asking about a place, learning about a character, or asking about something they know. However, once a conversation is finished, it cannot be reviewed again, as in earlier games in the series.
Players can control the camera’s position and angle to look around in detail, except during cutscenes, close-up shots, or conversations. If the player’s character is not visible, another character will appear off-screen near the current viewpoint. At certain points, players can use a laptop to scan and compare evidence, research topics, link evidence to suspects, and solve a key puzzle in the game. In some situations, players must avoid dangerous events or face a game over, which requires restarting the game or loading a saved game.
Story
The game Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned takes place in a world where supernatural beings like ghosts, cult members, and demons have existed throughout human history. To protect people from those who use these forces for evil, a group called the "Schattenjägers," which means "Shadow Hunters" in German, works to defend the innocent. Their origins are unknown. The game's story is based on a 1950s conspiracy theory involving a 19th-century priest named Bérenger Saunière, who is said to have hidden a secret treasure near the French village of Rennes-le-Château. The story includes themes from vampire myths, the legend of the Holy Grail, the history of the Knights Templar, and religious stories about Jesus Christ before and during his crucifixion.
The game includes a fictional version of Rennes-le-Château, which accurately shows real landmarks like the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene. It also features real locations such as Rennes-les-Bains and Château de Blanchefort, along with fictional places tied to the game's plot.
Players control two characters: Gabriel Knight, voiced by Tim Curry, and Grace Nakimura, voiced by Charity James. They work together to solve parts of a mystery. They are helped by Frank Mosely, a New Orleans detective voiced by David Thomas. Other characters include Emilio Baza (voiced by Billy West), Madeline Buthane (voiced by Jennifer Hale), Vittorio Buchelli (voiced by Joe Lala), Excelsior Montreaux (voiced by John de Lancie), Abbé Arnaud (voiced by Gregg Berger), John Wilkes (voiced by Richard Doyle), Lady Howard (voiced by Samantha Eggar), Estelle Stiles (voiced by Carolyn Seymour), Larry Sinclair (voiced by Corey Burton), and Prince James (voiced by Simon Templeman). Additional characters are voiced by Philippe Bergeron, Rene Auberjonois, Susan Silo, Karen Ross, and Tom Kane.
Four years after events in The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery, novelist Gabriel Knight, who follows his family's role as a Shadow Hunter, and Grace Nakimura, his research assistant, are invited by Prince James of Albany, a descendant of the House of Stuart, to Paris. James asks them to protect his infant son, Charlie, from "Night Visitors," beings believed to be vampires that have haunted his family. On their first night, Gabriel and Grace are attacked by a mysterious force. Grace is knocked unconscious, and Gabriel is paralyzed, forced to watch as Charlie is kidnapped. After regaining movement, Gabriel chases the kidnappers onto a train but is attacked again. When the train stops near the village of Rennes-le-Château, a station worker helps him to a hotel there.
The next morning, Gabriel calls Prince James but is told to investigate until James' men arrive. While at the hotel, Gabriel learns that a treasure-hunting group, including Madeline Buthane, Vittorio Buchelli, John Wilkes, Emilio Baza, and Frank Mosely, arrived the same night. He also meets local priest Abbé Arnaud and historical writer Larry Sinclair. During a search of the village, Gabriel discovers the kidnappers are hiding nearby and that the kidnapping is connected to a hidden treasure linked to the Knights Templar and the Holy Grail. That evening, after Grace arrives with James' men, Gabriel follows them and sees them roughly question Abbé Arnaud and greet Larry Sinclair with a strange handshake, later revealed to be Masonic. Gabriel and Grace decide to continue the investigation with Frank's help.
The next day, Gabriel searches the treasure hunters' room and finds Buthane and Vittorio are hiding secrets. Grace joins the treasure hunt to learn more about the region's hidden treasure. After visiting a winery owned by Excelsior Montreaux, Grace and the group find the bodies of James' men, who were brutally killed and drained of blood. Gabriel examines the crime scene with Frank and has visions of the murder, concluding the killers were vampires. He informs Prince James, who urges him to continue the investigation, and confronts Larry Sinclair, who evicts him from his home. Grace suggests visiting Montreaux, whose winery feels unsettling. Gabriel, posing as a journalist, meets Montreaux and notices his strange, creepy views on wine-making.
Later that evening, Grace finds an envelope containing a document called Le Serpent Rouge, which holds riddles leading to a hidden treasure. She solves some riddles before being interrupted by Wilkes, who shares findings about a hollow chamber under the valley. She leaves him after he makes a drunken advance. After midnight, Gabriel spies on Larry and sees him burying a manuscript, which reveals Larry's real surname is Chester, not Sinclair. Gabriel has a nightmare about vampires and sleeps with Grace. The next day, Grace reveals the manuscript discusses Jesus Christ's descendants and their bloodlines after his crucifixion. Gabriel finds Wilkes' body near a landmark, killed the same way.
Grace continues solving Le Serpent Rouge's riddles, which match Wilkes' findings. She and Gabriel discover the manuscript is missing and suspect Frank Mosely took it. They later learn Buthane is working for French intelligence, Vittorio is a Vatican priest, and Frank is now with the CIA. Gabriel returns the manuscript to Prince James, who confirms his family's connection to Jesus and fears Charlie's kidnapping is tied to his lineage. Gabriel revisits Montreaux, finds evidence linking him to the kidnapping, and is chased by the kidnappers after his identity is revealed.
Meanwhile, Grace learns Emilio Baza once belonged to a group called the Magi, who protected Jesus during his life. Emilio became immortal but regrets his actions and now fights to stop the Magi from using Jesus' bloodline to become vampires. Emilio reveals Montreaux is part of the Magi group seeking to secure Jesus' blood for their own purposes. Grace realizes Charlie may possess a powerful element tied to this legacy.
Development
Jane Jensen started working on Gabriel Knight 3 in December 1996. When the team began developing Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned, they knew it would be the last game in the Gabriel Knight series. Jane Jensen said, "we were the last one left. We had until the game was finished, and then it would be over." However, Sierra wanted the series to use 3D graphics to match newer games. The team had little experience with this technology. When programmer Scott Bilas joined the project halfway through, he was told the game was nearly complete. He discovered the team had missed many important features needed to make the game work. The game was officially announced in mid-August 1997.
The team faced many delays because of the difficulty in using the new technology. Scott Bilas described a famous puzzle in the game where Gabriel Knight must use tape to collect hair from a cat to make a fake mustache. He said, "It was very difficult! Jane Jensen wanted to include a feature that was too hard and expensive to create. Our producer suggested the cat puzzle instead. I think Jane did not like it, and neither did the other developers, but we were very late and needed to add something."
Although Jane Jensen was happy with Dean Erickson’s performance in the previous game, she believed Tim Curry best captured Gabriel Knight’s voice and chose him to return for the role.
The game’s music was composed by David Henry, using themes created by the series’ original composer, Robert Holmes. In every Gabriel Knight game, the gospel hymn "When the Saints Go Marching In" appears in different versions. In Gabriel Knight 3, this song can be heard in the San Greal Tavern in Rennes-les-Bains.
Reception
Gabriel Knight 3 received good reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Uros Jojic of IGN said the game "shows that adventure games can still be popular" and provides "a fresh change for the action-focused PC market" with "[an] excellent story and well-developed plot." At the same time, he criticized Tim Curry's voice-over, calling it "too exaggerated and not natural for a southern accent," and the switch to 3D, which they felt "is not yet ready to show emotions as well as actors can." Erik Wolpaw of GameSpot agreed that Curry's performance was "poor," describing the "fake accent and overly dramatic speaking style" as "hard to listen to." The dialogue and puzzles were also criticized, though the puzzles "improve as the story continues." The story was more positively received, with "strong plot ideas" and "interesting" links between real events and fiction. Dan Ravipinto of Adventure Gamers said some small puzzles were "ridiculous," but praised the large puzzle "Le Serpent Rouge" as "one of the best-designed puzzles in adventure gaming history." The storyline, with its "engaging stories," was called "epic" and the game "ultimately successful." Jeff Lundrigan of NextGen said, "It's a common saying, but: if you enjoy adventure games and solving puzzles, this is a special experience."
In May 2000, Jane Jensen noted that "sales of Gabriel Knight 3 were not enough to cover the cost of making the game because we had to create a new engine."
The game was named the best computer adventure game of 1999 by Computer Games Strategy Plus and CNET Gamecenter. It was also a runner-up for awards from Computer Gaming World, The Electric Playground, GameSpot, PC PowerPlay, and GameSpy in this category. The staff of Computer Games wrote: "Although the game sometimes has awkward dialogue, too-dramatic acting, and weak 3D graphics, it creates a strong and detailed world." During the 3rd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Gabriel Knight 3 for "Computer Adventure/Role-Playing Game of the Year."
In 2011, Adventure Gamers listed it as the 32nd-best adventure game ever released.
Legacy
In August 2000, CNET Gamecenter staff noted that the game was listed among "true adventure games" that did not achieve high sales. They said the reason was: "It appears people now prefer action over adventure. They would rather play games involving fast movement and exploration than experience detailed stories. People want simplicity. In a comparison between two first-person shooter games with adventure elements, the simpler one (Half-Life) was more successful than the more creative one (System Shock 2). The best times for adventure games are over. Casual gamers caused the decline of adventure gaming, and Myst contributed to this change." Cliff Hicks discussed the disappearance of adventure games, stating: "We believe there is no way to reverse this trend. We do not think adventure games will return for a long time. Sierra, a leader in this area, has stopped making these games. Sierra canceled the last Space Quest game, and there are no new Gabriel Knight games planned. King's Quest is also not being developed. Adventure games, we barely knew you." A month later, Erik Wolpaw of Old Man Murray used the "Mosely disguise" puzzle in Gabriel Knight 3 to suggest another explanation for the decline of adventure games. He concluded: "Who killed Adventure Games? I believe it is clear that Adventure Games ended their own success."