Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is one impressive achievement, and probably would be even if it wasn’t developed as bombs were raining down on the developers’ homes.

In spite of a few weak spots, the remake of Sherlock Holmes The Awakened is a must for every fan of mystery and horror. No need to know the original game, but I strongly recommend playing the oft-mentioned Chapter One first to appreciate the reasons behind Sherlock's behavior. [Issue#327]

Far more than just a remake of the 2007 game, Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened (2023) is a character driven deep dive into the psyche of the titular detective and a competent, enjoyable mystery game to boot. It might not be the most accommodating to newcomers to the series, but if you’re a fan of the Frogwares Sherlock Holmes titles, this is yet another cracking crime solver.

Sherlock Holmes The Awakened is a solid entry to the franchise by Ukrainian developer Frogwares, and I hope to see some DLC in the future to keep the adventure going.

Even though it may feel like a simple reimagination of the original, all the new features are more than enough for those who want more Sherlock Holmes.

The cosmic deity imagined by H.P. Lovecraft remains immersed in his eternal sleep, because in the interesting video game concocted by Frogwares it is above all the influence of Arthur Conan Doyle that drives a narrative made up of investigations and common crimes, while the horrors of the astral planes remain hidden and can only be touched in short bursts. The plot of the work - which we remember to have been packaged in a very difficult context for its creators - maintains a good rhythm which leads us to overlook the excessive pathos of some exchanges and, although it does not propose anything original within the vast panorama dedicated to Sherlock Holmes, entertains for the approximately seven hours necessary to complete the adventure.

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened has some interesting gameplay ideas and a solid setting, but it feels a little unpolished and undercooked.

Ця гра відверто не на 10, моя оцінка свідомо не співпадає з реальністю. Реально я б оцінив її на 7-8 балів. Проте мені дуже хочеться звернути увагу й на умови, в яких новий (або ж не зовсім) Шерлок Голмс розроблявся. Розробка почалася вже під час повномасштабного вторгнення в Україну. З моменту початку творці гри перенесли все: від емоційних проблем, пов'язаних з ситуацією навколо, до фізичних, коли банально доводилося підлаштовуватися під графіки відключень світла. І навіть з урахуванням всіх негативних чинників в них вийшла дійсно непогана гра, в якій приємно проводити час, яку не соромно порадити не тільки українцю, а й фанату відеоігор з будь-якої іншої країни. Я, як українець, просто не маю права ігнорувати проблеми своїх співгромадян в такій важкій ситуації. Та й вважаю несправедливою оцінку, яку гра має зараз. В цілому, це чудовий продукт, очікування щодо якого не варто завищувати, але й поганим його не назвеш, просто тому що це неправда. Хочеться побажати розробникам успіхів з їхнім наступним проєктом, робота над яким або вже почалася, або почнеться найближчим часом. Сподіваюся він змусить мене поставити 10 балів, не пояснюючи свою позицію, а просто тому що стане витонченим. Я знаю, ви можете це зробити, Фроґи. Дякую вам!

This game had a good thrill, but turned out to be a little underwhelming, especially the ending. The games mechanics felt a little clunky at moments and it lacked side content. That being said, the depiction of Sherlock was on point and the dialogues between him and Watson were very enjoyable. There is also a very strong depiction of their close relationship that was heartwarming.

Good- Solid central premise; Blends Holmes with Lovecraft quite effectively; Successfully solving investigations can often be quite fun. Bad- Many of the investigation mechanics feel either poorly designed or poorly implemented; Gameplay loop hinders the pacing; Lacks technical and visual polish. Thoughts- It’s just a shame that so much of what Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is trying to do on the gameplay front doesn’t land. Though investigations can be satisfying when they finally come together, almost everything leading up to those moments of culmination and eureka is frequently dragged down by design that is either frustratingly opaque, repetitive, or unpolished. When the game does move at a steady pace and lets you enjoy the story and how effectively it blends Holmes with Cthulhu, it’s well worth experiencing. The problem is that it keeps stumbling over itself, all too often preventing itself from moving at the pace it needs to. If you can put up with those frustrations, Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened otherwise has enough going for it that makes it worth experiencing.

The Awakened, ultimately, feels like a downgrade from Chapter One; its deductions have less risk, the environments are less inspired and sometimes the solutions are just too arbitrary. - Investigations are too bland. There’s only ever a single perpetrator and there’s no risk; unlike previous games where you could accuse the wrong person or reach alternative conclusions, Awakened is a matter of trial and error. - The plot is uninspired. Though there was a good twist in Edenweiss, much of the writing feels tangential, stringing together locations optimistically and quickly discarding them once the main plot has rinsed them in an hour or two. The focus on occult feels misplaced, and the story fails to deliver an engaging narrative in terms of otherworldly experiences. - The plot can often feel a bit lost. At one point, I confused two characters with names beginning with “A”; there was no way for me to check their profile or a clear objective, so when one of them turned up dead all I could say was “Oh, *that* was the other guy.” Without clear indicators, the game feels confusing at times without much to put you back on track. - The puzzles were sometimes boring. Sherlock’s mental palaces feel like cookie cutter puzzle sequences intended to pad out the game, and the ending has a light puzzle that feels exceptionally arbitrary. You can only press A to walk through the crowd in the spots the game wants you to, and in dialogue choices that could have set up alternate endings, the game simply fails you if you don’t feel or think the way Sherlock does about the situation. I must commend the studio for working in difficult circumstances, but it’s hard to ignore that Awakened feels like a facade of previous efforts; a mechanical downgrade from Chapter One that fails to find its spark.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]