Sherlock Holmes Chapter One

I have played the previous games, and i enjoyed them all a lot- except for devils daughter. I am also an avid fan of the IP as i have read every book multiple times. Now, after finishing devils daughter i was quite dissapointed, after all i enjoyed the previous games and yet that one was... not very enjoyable. When i then came to this game, i was on edge. I was dissapointed before and many reviews here left me questioning. When i did play the game however i came to be surprised at all the negative reviews, because honestly ive enjoyed this game even more so then some of the other entries, and i didnt think that possible. I only have 5 issues with the game and id considor most minor, only one really big issue. Id rate this game 10-9.5/10 The only issue i see and agree with is the lack of proper conclusion to a lot of cases. I would have prefered atleast a mechanic like in previous cases, where you could check if you were wrong but stick with your wrong answer if you liked that more Otherwise bothered was i by Sherlocks nose, which, yes, incredibly trivial as i said, but it compared to the other games it seems more like he has an entirely different nose, but maybe thats just me? I do think he looks like a youbger version of the sherlock we had seen in the other games..except for his nose, not a problem but it bugged me a bit. I was also annoyed that most backround chatter was just faint gibberish, it was quite jarring to be honest, but again, pretty minor And there was only one part of one quest i disliked- having to follow "moon cycles" for one of the coins in the coin quest was too tedious to be honest, but again, only one part of one quest, id consider it minor My last qualm is...that it ended, or rather, that it did not have more. Not an actual issue of course, its just that i loved this game so much i got sad when i realized there wasnt any content left. Otherwise, as i said, i love this game. The city is beautiful and nice to explore, the map is big but not too big and if you actually care about the place it isnt very difficult to navigate unlike others had said. i had no diffuclty finding things or places. I also quite enjoyed the side cases, in fact, i wish there would have been more of them. The voice acting is incredible, the cases fun, the characters engaging, the map beautiful and the place felt lived in. I rarely get attached to fictional places in games, i usually dont care much emotionally about the place itself and yet this game made me invested, awed, astounded and had me falling in love with cordona, even with all its flaws. And for one of the most critized parts of this game- Jon. I love Jon- So much- From his voice acting, to his personality, lines, quests and dynamic with sherlock, as well as his theme in the story. I could never dislike him, i could never hurt him. He made everything feel fun, familial, alive, less lonely and honestly i became incredibly attached as the game went on. I cannot understand the hate he or his concept get, and at the very end when you meet Watson, i thought it bittersweet and an incredible tie-in. I like the main story, and i like the idea of giving sherlock and mycroft some backstory, and i think this was a marvelous idea and attempt at it, and i quite enjoy it as a canon backstory for sherlock. Being able to choose one of 4 possibilities as thw true outcome is a little complicated, but i wouldnt call it bad. For one, it allows you to draw your own conclusion to how you think things went, and what morality you want for sherlock and what end you think best ties in with the future canon, but i do agree that it may have been better to choose a "true end", and yet it is also true that whatever that true end was could have dissapointed some players, as all 4 possible endings have a quite different feel to them that would appeal to different people. I am happy with the ending i have chosen, and i do myself admit i would have been dissapointed or upset if one of the other endings would have been the true ending. For the combat, i dont truly mind it. You can skip it, you arent forced to go trough with it, and while it took me a little to get it at first, once i did, it became incredibly easy. I could clear all challenges with ease, and without killing. It didnt feel as forced as the action scenes in devils daughter, or as tedious. I also enjoyed generally all the mechanics- from the chemical analysis, to disguises, to the archive, to the mind palace, to imagination, concentration and reconstruction. Where i loved the charm of the new mechanics in crimes and punishment, and where devils daughter had dulled it for me, this game brought back the fun in it. Also, one of the critiques i had seen was people saying that getting money for all the furniture was difficult, but i dont agree at all. I was never low on money, not even a little bit, and had half a fortune left over at the end without clearing any of the bandit camps, so im a little confused on how people had difficulty with that So, in conclusion, i thorougly enjoyed the game and dont really agree with most of the critsism. I would very much recommend this game, as it was very fun and one of my favorite entries in the series.

Мне искренне понравилось первое расследование. Да, дух прошлых частей мне нравился больше, но здесь было неплохо. Но потом меня стало раздражать всё, буквально до аудио-эффекта, который звучит при ходьбе Шерлока (нет ну правда, будто по тарелке водят вилкой) Я вообще не понимаю, зачем было называть эту игру "Шерлок Холмс" (а хотя нет, понимаю, ради узнаваемого имени). Я бы могла стерпеть кривую боевую систему (которая не понятно зачем здесь в таком виде), скучный открытый мир (лучше бы оставили быстрое перемещение и небольшие локации как раньше) и загадки, где порой просто тыкаешь наугад, ибо логики не сильно много. ЕСЛИ БЫ ЭТО ВСЁ ЕЩЁ БЫЛ ШЕРЛОК ХОЛМС И ДОКТОР ВАТСОН. Я не понимаю, зачем делать СОВЕРШЕННО других персонажей под знакомыми именами. Они на столько неканоничные, что это издевательство. Ватсон максимально бесячий персонаж, который общается с Шерлоком как с маленьким. Вот что это за "Шерри"?! Холмсу 5 лет? А Шерлок похож на щеночка, которому не веришь, что он гениальный детектив. Кароче, мне очень жаль потраченного времени...

Reviewing (mostly) every game (or DLC) in my library, part 513: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆☆☆ (6/10) Whelp. [i]Sherlock Holmes Chapter One[/i] (I feel like there should be a colon, but not the point) is done and dusted. Mostly. To be honest, my review is quite literally the definition of mixed. Frogwares tries to innovate, and the resulting highs are high, but the lows are low. I personally didn't think a "modernization" was necessary. And I honestly don't know what to rate this, so let me just talk about what worked and what flopped for me. As a whole, though, the writing and voice acting remains top notch, the investigation aspect takes a step back, and everything else is ... well-intentioned but frustrating. Super frustrating. I think I DON'T recommend this, unless you're a huge Sherlock fan AND loves semi-open worlds. [b][h2]Pros:[/h2][/b] ✅ [b]A young Sherlock.[/b] I am unfamiliar with the source material, but I've seen (and enjoyed) portrayals of Sherlock ranging from a quietly assured, calm older gentlemen (Frogwares' [i]Crimes and Punishments[/i]) to a brilliant middle-aged a*shole (that one show with the ugly British dude). But I've never seen such a young Sherlock, before he is established. Yet, I found myself liking him quite a lot! He still has his confident air—supported by his youth—but he does have sympathy for the downtrodden and unjust. He is also MUCH more insecure and doubtful when it comes to his personal life. He has the typical ~mysterious, traumatic past~ and the main storyline is exploring his tragic childhood. He does come off a bit whiny, but I liked his vulnerability. ✅ [b]Compelling main and side quests.[/b] As usual, virtually every quest made me think about what would be the most just, and tbh, I think I allowed more people to run free than I arrested. Oops. The main quests are lengthy, as well. ✅ [b]Aesthetics. [/b]Pretty much everything on the visual side was excellent. There's a wider range of cultures in Cordona, the island the game takes place in, so there's merchants, children, miners, aristocats, Ottomans, servants, women, police, sailors, etc. Each group has their own detailed clothing, making it easy to see who's who in one glance. Cordona looks beautiful. The inside of houses actually look like houses nobility love in. The voice acting—especially Sherlock—is terrific. The closing scene by Sherlock's VA was the best. The range! ✅ [b]Enjoyable cast of characters.[/b] While Sherlock and Jon are the only constants, each suspect and culprit had different personalities and quirks. (I liked the German dueler who dressed in all yellow the best.) [b][h2]Mixed:[/h2][/b] 🟨 [b]Investigations.[/b] The good: you are never given the exact location of a quest, and you have to find it on a map. I do like this investigative nature, BUT I grew annoyed with how tedious it was. The map is a light beige color, ahd the street names are white and small in size, so I had quite a hard time finding things. Snooping through paperwork and clicking through crime scenes were satisfying as ever. The bad: when recreating a crime scene, you don't get told which event is incorrect. This was frustrating because there are quite a few options to choose from, so you won't know which combo of choices is right/wrong. 🟨[b] Disguise ability.[/b] Sherlock can now crossdress! I kid, I kid, mostly. Sherlock can now dress as a copper/sailor/woman/worker/thief, etc. in order to gain information from these cliques. This was fun and immersive, but it got tedious, like many other mechanics. You see, you have to buy clothes from a store but only when the game allows you to. Even if you visit the store, the clothes won't appear. As such, you'll go back and forth. 🟨 [b]Eavesdropping mechanic. [/b]Again, good in theory, bit annoying in practice. You'll have to choose keywords that make sense to the conversation. However, it feels like the correct answers are arbitrary. [b][h2]Cons:[/h2][/b] 🟥 [b]Combat. [/b]I'm sorry, but the combat is atrocious. I don't understaaaaaaand why the devs would put this in. This is lowkey my biggest con. Sherlock has a pistol and a snuff box that can temporarily blind his enemies. But the combat itself is ... repetitive. Wave-based. And nonsensical. You are required to shoot "weak spots" on an enemy. Unusually, though, this weak spots are pieces of armor—metal, rectangular pads on an enemy's chest or arms. Only then can you kill or stun them by shooting highlighted, environmental objects then completing a QTE. The shooting itself is clunky, and the dodge system is basically hide behind this object while you wait for your “bullet time” ability to recharge. There are no upgrades or skills to learn. While you can skip most combat events, you will have to endure these dull sequences in some side quests. What really grinds my gears though is how immersive-breaking it is for a game that prides itself on logic. Enemies will wear padded shoulders but no chest piece. Why? Enemies will wear bottles taped to their back you can shoot at. Stupid. Enemies will run at you—a gunslinger—while swinging a knife with no shirt on. What are we doing here, chief? 🟥 [b]Jon. [/b]Jon/John is always a perfect sidekick for Holmes; sometimes needs to lighten the mood. But this Jon has a silly backstory and always complains whenever you make a mistake. He's also in the habit of using "Sherry" as a nickname, which I HATED. 🟥 [b]No consequences.[/b] I loved [i] Crimes and Punishments[/i] because there was one right answer to the case. You actually felt bad when choosing the wrong culprit. Here, there is nothing at stakes for getting things wrong. It doesn't matter if you give the right conclusion to a case because none of them can be wrong. The game might imply Suspect A killed the victim, yet not every piece of evidence points towards a specific suspect. Good! But even with every single clue investigated, the game mostly just leaves it up to you. You will never 100% know if you made the right decision. The satisfying element of finding out if you solved the case or if you accused the wrong guy is entirely gone. 🟥 [b]Open world. [/b]Side quests can pop up while exploring or if Jon spots something interesting, but that’s it. There are no random events or extra activities to do, so even if the streets of Cordona seemed alive, it felt hollow since the game doesn’t encourage exploration. There's a lot of fast travel and running back and forth. Seriously, the map could have shrunk by 50%, and it would be so much better. 🟥 Performance issues on Steam Deck. I won't hold this against it, as it is technically unsupported. I had frequent stuttering while walking through the city, however. It's playable, technically! [hr] If you enjoyed this review, please check out my curator page to find more: [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45814768-Verdict-Play-or-Pass/]Verdict: Play or Pass. [/url] Also, please leave a like and visit [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/Indie_Gems]IndieGems[/url] and our YouTube channel for more reviews like this one. [/hr]

I wanted to preface this review by saying I have played quite a few of the sherlock holmes games by Frogwares, and have enjoyed them all greatly. I had been enjoying this game too, however I feel like that developers did not accurately depict the amount of sexual content in the game. I am not discounting that the game was solid but it just pushed me the wrong way that there were not more warning of the content as for some people that could be triggering or upsetting or they might just wish to avoid it.

i am going to recommend this game for the story itself over anything else. story to me was a 10/10 but the gameplay seemed very janky and travel was pretty annoying. combat was probably the worst, being very arcade like and lacking any thrill. overall if you like a good story its the game for you but the play itself leaves something to be desired

As a Sherlock fan I was disappointed with this game. The UI is very unintuitive - it'll tell you to go to a room which isn't clearly marked, not prompt you when you need to speak to someone first and makes it difficult as you have to "pin evidence" to talk to people about certain things. I finished the first chapter and felt the game was a chore - so requested a refund despite getting a pretty good deal with the Deluxe Collection. Play "Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments" instead if you haven't done so already.

"Sham-lock Golmes" is why I hate consoles. You don't screw with the SH franchise just because you want to cater to a "wider audience". You also don't: - Build drama without proper facial animations - Build an annoying pointless open world - Build pointless and boring cases where the player doesn't even have to listen or read anything since the logic is either so broken or so easily deduced. - Place collectable quests... - Build a game with no real continuity in the stories or the clues of the cases. - Make running around annoying as the player has to "discover" an empty world just to get fast travel opened. - Build a game that serves a sleeping pill. You better do better, Frogwares. The only reason this is not a thumb down is the respect you got from this reboot.

Pretty good game overall. The combat is weak. When I started skipping them, I enjoyed the game way more.