After completely remaking the game of the same name in 2007, developer Frogwares has embarked on a complete overhaul of Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened. This Lovecraftian adventure features Sherlock investigating a series of disappearances that ultimately lead to the Cthulhu Mythos.
The Awakened starts with a fairly low-risk case to solve. Where is Sherlock’s newspaper and why did it go missing? Present evidence, interrogate suspects and witnesses, and investigate crime scenes. The game also adds some interesting, almost otherworldly elements meant to represent Sherlock’s aptitude for crime scene investigation and detective work. Pressing R1 activates “Focus”, allowing Sherlock to see things that novices can’t see.
Once enough evidence has been collected, Sherlock can use his imagination to recreate past events in Focus Mode. Tiny synapses appear on the screen and Sherlock can interact with them, allowing you to choose the correct recreation based on the evidence you’ve got so far. Successfully recreating the scene adds new information to the casebook, allowing Sherlock to summarize his reasoning so far.
There are so many elements to a crime scene investigation that The Awakened makes you think on many levels. If you look at the casebook evidence, some items may have different icons, indicating that you can do more with that entry. Always something to add, whether it’s in mind to pin it down as key evidence and ask passers-by about it, or use your concentration to watch the scene and arrive at a different inference. I feel like I can. Crime scenes to extract more information and collect valuable evidence.
Sherlock also has a ‘Mind Palace’, accessible through the menu, that asks key questions about the case at hand. When you select a question you want to answer, you’ll see how much evidence you need to answer that question, color-coded into three categories. Items, Documents, and Observations. By pressing L2 and R2, you can scroll between category screens and select items to answer questions. In many cases, relevant evidence is not readily available. This means that further investigation is required to correctly answer the question and advance the story.
With so many elements to a crime scene investigation, it can be a little overwhelming. The Awakened is unlike other detective games where you don’t get hints or clues after spending too long in a certain area and you have to solve the problem yourself. With different investigative tools at your disposal, there are certainly multiple ways to look at things. Also, in areas where we’ve been stuck for too long, once we figured out how to make progress, the answers stared us very much in the face. , is a great indicator of what is unsolved to progress the game, and is probably the only hint you’ll receive. This felt like a very finicky mechanism and sometimes I had to press L1 repeatedly to register that I was about to use this feature.
As a game based on the Cthulhu mythos, it has plenty of fantasy elements. Sherlock will often find himself in an otherworldly dimension where the rules of physics and logic don’t seem to apply. These segments of the game are more puzzle-based and really encourage lateral thinking.
Sherlock’s investigation takes him around the world, from his native London to Switzerland to New Orleans and back again. This makes for a very diverse experience, allowing players to experience different backgrounds. They all have a unique feel and atmosphere, making each chapter a completely fresh experience. This can often feel very repetitive, especially during the early exploration stages when you may be walking the same trails frequently.
All in all, Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is a visually stunning game. The cutscenes are beautifully animated and each chapter begins with striking visuals, giving the whole game a true cinematic feel. The character models are generally very well done, and apart from some hair texture issues and some close-ups of him rendering his shots very mottled, nothing significantly detracts from the immersion. neither.
For die-hard Sherlock Holmes fans, The Awakened feels like a truly faithful tale featuring beloved characters. It really focuses on Sherlock’s relationships with other characters and doesn’t hesitate to detail his often fragile mental state, which is frequently documented in his other adventures. It really adds a layer of authenticity to the game and shows that it was created by a team that truly loves and understands the intricacies of the characters rather than using famous names to market detective games.
Conclusion
For a game that was never meant to exist, Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is a revelation. It has everything a Holmes fan could want. There are mysteries to unravel, Holmes and Watson’s hilarious dialogue and banter, and a lot of investigation. Playing with little direction or assistance from the game itself provides a sense of accomplishment not often found in other detective games. A compelling mythical story is the cherry on top of a fantastic and thought-provoking game that requires players to explore every nook and cranny to get to the bottom of the mystery before them.
