# Spiritual Successors Catalog <small style="color: gray">Last updated: May 13, 2026</small> ## Overview The Spiritual Successors catalog is the vault's umbrella for **18 games that aren't Sierra-IP but are Sierra-DNA** — original adventures created by former Sierra designers continuing their craft outside the company's IP, plus indie titles that explicitly trade on the Sierra adventure-game design tradition.[^ref-1] This is one of the most active branches of the Sierra extended catalog: while Sierra IP has been largely dormant under Activision/Microsoft since 2008, the spiritual-successor stream has produced new releases nearly every year from 2010 onward.[^ref-2] The catalog spans three overlapping production threads: 1. **Alumni studios** — Sierra designers founding new companies to make games in their old tradition: [[Pinkerton Road]] (Jane Jensen + Robert Holmes), [[Two Guys From Andromeda]] (Mark Crowe + Scott Murphy), the Coles' [[Hero-U]]/Transolar Games, [[Phoenix Online Studios]], Pierre Gilhodes's independent French studio, and Ken & Roberta Williams's 2023 return. 2. **Fan-developer indie projects** — Studios like [[Infamous Quests]] (post-AGDI alumni making original IPs), [[Himalaya Studios]] (Al Emmo), and various AGS-engine adventure-game indies who grew up on Sierra games. 3. **Sierra-adjacent indie tributes** — Original games made by indie developers who openly cite Sierra as inspiration but have no Sierra-staff lineage (e.g., Cluck Yegger, Bolt Riley). This catalog complements the Sierra-IP series pages (King's Quest Series, Quest for Glory Series, etc.) by documenting where those design traditions traveled after Sierra's mothballing. ## Catalog (chronological) | Year | Title | Studio | Alumni | Notable | |------|-------|--------|--------|---------| | 1993 | [[1993 - Blue Force\|Blue Force]] | Tsunami Media | Jim Walls (post-Sierra) | Police Quest creator's Tsunami spinoff | | 2006 | [[2006 - Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman's Mine\|Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman's Mine]] | Himalaya Studios | Indie | Sierra-tradition western adventure | | 2008 | [[2008 - Ace of Aces\|Ace of Aces]] | indie / XBLA | — | Sierra Online label digital | | 2010 | [[2010 - Gray Matter\|Gray Matter]] | Wizarbox / Pinkerton Road | Jane Jensen | First post-Sierra Jensen work | | 2012 | [[2012 - Cognition - An Erica Reed Thriller\|Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller]] | Phoenix Online | Jensen consulting | Adventure thriller | | 2013 | [[2013 - Fester Mudd - Curse of the Gold\|Fester Mudd: Curse of the Gold]] | Prelude Games | Indie | Wild West adventure | | 2014 | [[2014 - Moebius - Empire Rising\|Moebius: Empire Rising]] | Pinkerton Road | Jane Jensen | Mystery-conspiracy | | 2014 | [[2014 - Quest for Infamy\|Quest for Infamy]] | Infamous Quests | Infamous Adventures alumni | Quest for Glory spiritual successor | | 2015 | [[2015 - Cluck Yegger in Escape From The Planet of The Poultroid\|Cluck Yegger]] | Indie | — | Space Quest tribute | | 2015 | [[2015 - Order of the Thorne - The King's Challenge\|Order of the Thorne: The King's Challenge]] | Infamous Quests | — | King's Quest spiritual successor | | 2018 | [[2018 - Bolt Riley - A Reggae Adventure\|Bolt Riley: A Reggae Adventure]] | Cloak and Dagger | — | Music-themed adventure | | 2018 | [[2018 - Hero-U - Rogue to Redemption\|Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption]] | Transolar Games | Lori & Corey Cole | Quest for Glory spiritual successor | | 2019 | [[2019 - Mage's Initiation - Reign of the Elements\|Mage's Initiation: Reign of the Elements]] | Himalaya Studios / Phoenix Online | — | QFG-style RPG-adventure hybrid | | 2022 | [[2022 - SpaceVenture\|SpaceVenture]] | Two Guys From Andromeda | Mark Crowe + Scott Murphy | Space Quest spiritual successor (Kickstarted 2012, released 2022) | | 2023 | [[2023 - Colossal Cave 3D Adventure\|Colossal Cave 3D Adventure]] | Cygnus Entertainment | Ken & Roberta Williams | Williams family return after 25 years | | 2023 | [[2023 - Summer Daze - Tilly's Tale\|Summer Daze: Tilly's Tale]] | Transolar Games | Lori & Corey Cole | Hero-U spinoff | | (TBD) | [[TBD - Order of the Thorne - Fortress of Fire\|Order of the Thorne: Fortress of Fire]] | Infamous Quests | — | OoT sequel | | (TBD) | [[TBD - Quest for Infamy - Roehm to Ruin\|Quest for Infamy: Roehm to Ruin]] | Infamous Quests | — | QfI sequel | ## Alumni studio threads ### Pinkerton Road (Jane Jensen + Robert Holmes) Founded 2012 by [[Jane Jensen]] and her composer-husband Robert Holmes, after Jensen's earlier post-Sierra work at Oberon Media and Mumbo Jumbo. Pinkerton Road's primary outputs are *Gray Matter* (2010, co-developed with Wizarbox before Pinkerton was formally established), *Moebius: Empire Rising* (2014), and the Gabriel Knight 20th Anniversary Edition (2014, a Sierra-IP licensed remake — listed in the Gabriel Knight Series page rather than here).[^ref-3] The studio also published Phoenix Online's *Cognition* through co-development arrangements, and Jensen wrote the 2024 short-story *Gabriel Knight 4: Five Hearts* (not a game; prose only) under the Pinkerton Road label.[^ref-4] ### Two Guys From Andromeda (Mark Crowe + Scott Murphy) Reunited in 2012 after years of estrangement, [[Mark Crowe]] and [[Scott Murphy]] formed "Guys From Andromeda LLC" to develop [[2022 - SpaceVenture|SpaceVenture]] — a Space Quest spiritual successor Kickstarted in 2012, released 10 years late in 2022 to mixed reviews. The studio also collaborated with indie developer Stone Cutter Bear on [[2015 - Cluck Yegger in Escape From The Planet of The Poultroid|Cluck Yegger]] (2015), a smaller Space Quest tribute featuring the Two Guys' branding.[^ref-5] ### Transolar Games / Hero-U (Lori + Corey Cole) [[Lori Ann Cole]] and [[Corey Cole]] founded Transolar Games in 2012 after a successful Kickstarter for [[2018 - Hero-U - Rogue to Redemption|Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption]] (released 2018 after a "lengthy, somewhat troubled development cycle" per PC Gamer's retrospective). The studio followed with [[2023 - Summer Daze - Tilly's Tale|Summer Daze: Tilly's Tale]] (2023, a smaller Hero-U-universe visual novel).[^ref-6] A second Hero-U title is currently in funding-seeking phase as of 2026. ### Phoenix Online Studios (Cesar Bittar et al.) Founded 2003 by Cesar Bittar to develop the fan King's Quest sequel *The Silver Lining* (released 2010, listed in [[King's Quest Series]] rather than here as it's a fan-IP project). Subsequent original works include [[2012 - Cognition - An Erica Reed Thriller|Cognition]] (2012, with Jane Jensen consulting) and the *Asylum* horror adventure (in development).[^ref-7] ### Infamous Quests Founded 2014 by ex-[[Infamous Adventures]] members (the studio that made the [[2006 - King's Quest III Remake (Infamous Adventures)|King's Quest III Remake]] and [[2011 - Space Quest II VGA Remake|Space Quest II VGA Remake]]). Their original-IP output: [[2014 - Quest for Infamy|Quest for Infamy]] (2014, Quest for Glory spiritual successor) and [[2015 - Order of the Thorne - The King's Challenge|Order of the Thorne: The King's Challenge]] (2015). Both have announced sequels (Roehm to Ruin, Fortress of Fire) in development.[^ref-8] ### Ken & Roberta Williams (Cygnus Entertainment) The Williams' 2023 return to game development with [[2023 - Colossal Cave 3D Adventure|Colossal Cave 3D Adventure]] — a 3D remake of the 1976 William Crowther / Don Woods text adventure that originally inspired Roberta Williams to create Mystery House in 1980. Built by their newly-formed Cygnus Entertainment after Ken Williams's 2020 memoir *Not All Fairy Tales Have Happy Endings*. The game was released for VR, console, and PC platforms.[^ref-9] ### Pierre Gilhodes (Wide Screen Games) [[Pierre Gilhodes]], creator of the Gobliiins puzzle-adventure series at [[Coktel Vision]], independently continued the series after Coktel's wind-down: *Gobliiins 4* (2009), *Gobliiins 5: The Morgloton Invasion* (2023), and *Gobliins 6* (2026). These are listed in the [[Coktel Adventures Series]] page rather than here.[^ref-10] ### Jim Walls (Precinct — cancelled) [[Jim Walls]] (Police Quest creator) attempted a Kickstarter-funded Police Quest spiritual successor *Precinct* in 2013. The crowdfunding failed and the project was cancelled — see [[CXL - Precinct (2013)|the Cancelled Game Index entry]]. Walls's earlier post-Sierra game [[1993 - Blue Force|Blue Force]] (1993) at Tsunami Media is included here as the only released Walls successor. ## Indie tribute thread Several games in the catalog are indie tributes rather than alumni projects: - **[[2006 - Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman's Mine|Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman's Mine]]** — Himalaya Studios' Sierra-tradition Wild West adventure. - **[[2013 - Fester Mudd - Curse of the Gold|Fester Mudd: Curse of the Gold]]** — Prelude Games's episodic indie tribute (chapter 1 released; further chapters never completed). - **[[2018 - Bolt Riley - A Reggae Adventure|Bolt Riley: A Reggae Adventure]]** — Cloak and Dagger's music-themed indie. Long Kickstarter saga. - **[[2019 - Mage's Initiation - Reign of the Elements|Mage's Initiation: Reign of the Elements]]** — Himalaya Studios + Phoenix Online; QFG-style RPG-adventure hybrid. These titles all explicitly trade on the Sierra design tradition without alumni-staff lineage — the design idiom traveling beyond the original creators. ## Critical-reception arc Spiritual successors have had mixed commercial and critical fortunes: - **Best-received**: [[2018 - Hero-U - Rogue to Redemption|Hero-U]] (94/95 — flagship-quality score in this vault), [[2010 - Gray Matter|Gray Matter]] (well-reviewed despite being a slow burn), [[2014 - Quest for Infamy|Quest for Infamy]] (cult-favorite QFG fans). - **Notable troubled launches**: [[2022 - SpaceVenture|SpaceVenture]] (10-year-late, critically panned at release), [[2023 - Colossal Cave 3D Adventure|Colossal Cave 3D]] (mixed reception; debate about whether the Williams' return justified the project's ambitions). - **Underrated**: [[2012 - Cognition - An Erica Reed Thriller|Cognition]], [[2015 - Order of the Thorne - The King's Challenge|Order of the Thorne]]. ## Why spiritual successors keep getting made Several structural reasons sustain this branch of the catalog: 1. **Sierra IP is dormant** — Activision (and now Microsoft) hasn't pursued new Sierra-IP development since 2015's *King's Quest*. Alumni who want to continue making Sierra-style games have no other path. 2. **Kickstarter / crowdfunding** — Most spiritual successors are crowdfunded; the budgets are small but viable. 3. **Adventure-game design renaissance** — Indie engines (Adventure Game Studio, Unity, custom engines) have made retro-style adventures economical. 4. **Audience demand** — A dedicated adventure-game audience continues to fund and play these titles even as the mainstream gaming press largely ignores the genre. ## Legacy The spiritual successors catalog is, in aggregate, **the largest active branch of the Sierra extended catalog post-2010**. Sierra-IP releases since 2015 have totaled 1 game (the 2015 King's Quest reboot); spiritual successors have produced 15+ games over the same period. For continuing the design tradition Sierra established, this catalog matters more than Microsoft's current stewardship of the original IPs. ## See Also - [[Pinkerton Road]] (Jane Jensen studio profile — planned) - [[Two Guys From Andromeda]] (Mark Crowe + Scott Murphy — planned) - [[Hero-U]] / Transolar Games — Coles studio - [[Phoenix Online Studios]] - [[Infamous Quests]] - [[Roberta Williams]] / [[Ken Williams]] / [[Jane Jensen]] / [[Lori Ann Cole]] / [[Corey Cole]] / [[Mark Crowe]] / [[Scott Murphy]] / [[Al Lowe]] / [[Pierre Gilhodes]] — designer pages - [[Reference/Studio Map|Studio Map]] — full studio cross-reference - [[Reference/Corporate Lineage|Corporate Lineage]] — Sierra IP ownership context - [[Reference/Timeline 2000-present|Timeline 2000-present]] — chronological context ## References [^ref-1]: [Wikipedia — Sierra Entertainment legacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Entertainment) — Successor-studio context [^ref-2]: [Adventure Game Hotspot — Sierra alumni feature](https://adventuregamehotspot.com) — Alumni-studio coverage [^ref-3]: [Pinkerton Road official site](https://pinkertonroad.com) — Studio history [^ref-4]: [Wikipedia — Jane Jensen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Jensen) — Career timeline [^ref-5]: [Guys From Andromeda official site](https://www.guysfromandromeda.com) — Two Guys studio [^ref-6]: [Hero-U official site](https://www.hero-u.com) — Coles studio [^ref-7]: [Phoenix Online Studios](https://postudios.com) — Studio site [^ref-8]: [Infamous Quests](http://www.infamous-quests.com) — Studio site [^ref-9]: [Kotaku — Williams Colossal Cave interview](https://kotaku.com/sierra-roberta-williams-kings-quest-interview-feature-1849192779) — Williams return coverage [^ref-10]: [Wide Screen Games](https://www.widescreen-games.com) — Pierre Gilhodes studio [^ref-11]: [MobyGames — spiritual successor coverage](https://www.mobygames.com) — Cross-referenced game database [^ref-12]: [PC Gamer — Hero-U feature](https://www.pcgamer.com/how-hero-u-avoided-disaster-to-resurrect-90s-adventure-game-nostalgia/) — Hero-U retrospective [^ref-13]: [The Digital Antiquarian — Sierra alumni](https://www.filfre.net) — Long-form alumni coverage [^ref-14]: [Adventure Classic Gaming — alumni reviews](http://www.adventureclassicgaming.com) — Per-title reviews across the catalog [^ref-15]: [Steam Curator — Adventure Game Hotspot](https://store.steampowered.com/curator/27974117-Adventure-Game-Hotspot/) — Indie adventure tracking