The Silver Lining, a fan made homage to the granddaddy of all PC graphic adventure games, King’s Quest, was released by Phoenix Online Studios over the weekend. This title has been nearly a decade in the making, plagued by delays, development team reshuffles, and legal issues.

All of these problems would have likely torpedoed any commercial publisher’s attempts to develop a title, but such is the dedication of independent developers fuelled by their love of a classic adventure game series. 

The Silver Lining is set to be released episodically, with the first available now. The synopsis: “When the Royal Family is once again threatened by the forces of evil our beloved hero, King Graham of Daventry, embarks on a journey across the Green Isles and through a menacing storm in search of the knowledge of the Great Oracle.”

Series progenitor Roberta Williams has even lent her support to the game by saying “This game is very true to the original series and features many of the storylines and characters, especially of King’s Quest VI. I found it beautiful and fun to play. I too, like many other fans, would like to see how this story unfolds.”

The Silver Lining Episode I is a free download, approximately 356MB large.