Developer: Frogwares
Publisher: Ravenscourt
Release Date: 11th April 2023
Platforms: PC (Steam, Epic, GOG), PS4, PS5, XB1 / XBX + S and Switch
Reviewed on: PS4 Pro
Price: £32.99
▫️ code provided by the publisher ▫️
Sherlock Holmes The Awakened is the latest in a long running series of games based on the famous detective by Ukranian developer Frogwares. I wasn’t aware of the background of the game but apparently the team had originally intended to work on another open world title which would have had a significant development time commitment. When the war in Ukraine started early last year the studio took the decision to pivot to a project “more compact in scope with an existing foundation” (to quote the PR materials).
The Awakened is a remake of a 2007 PC game which was the third game in Frogwares’ series and the first to feature a proper full 3D game world. It was also the first game to feature supernatural plot elements as it delves into the Cthulhu Mythos. Not only had I not played the original game, I had never played any of the series prior to starting The Awakened for this review. I was aware of them but like all of us, with more games to play than time, I had never got round to trying any of them.
The Awakened takes place early in Sherlock’s career and at the point in time we meet them, Sherlock and Watson are only housemates, yet to form the bond they are famous for. Indeed during the game we often get the opportunity to play as Watson, generally when his medical knowledge is called into action. The two become closer over the events of the game, more like the duo we all know.
As I have said I hadn’t played any of the previous Sherlock games but of course I was familiar with the characters and aware of the world famous detective. I have read a few of Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels, although it has been a good few years since I did. So going in to play the Awakened I expected a detective adventure with lots of sleuthing and puzzle solving. This is more or less exactly what the game delivers.
There is a sort of prologue chapter in The Awakened which introduces the player to the core investigation mechanics which they will use. Sherlock examines scenes in a manner not dissimilar to LA Noire and while questioning / interrogating NPCs does take an important part, we don’t see branching dialogues like Team Bondi’s detective game.
Two other important gameplay features are the Mind Palace and imagination. The Mind Palaces is where Sherlock deduces answers to questions pertinent to the investigation at hand using the various different types of evidence he currently possesses. While these can be solved using trial and error and a process of elimination, the game does reward the player answering the questions first time or in fewer attempts.
Imagination is where Sherlock figures out what events have transpired in investigation scenes. This involves finding “nodes” and working out which of a number of alternate events happened and chaining these together to deduce the overall incident. Similarly to the Mind Palaces these can be solved by “brute force” but it is preferable to validate the correct sequence of events in as few a number of attempts as possible.
The story starts off reasonably inauspiciously as Watson introduces Sherlock to an acquaintance of his whose servant has disappeared. This quickly turns into a kidnapping case and the motive for the kidnaps seems to be quite nefarious…
The game is built using Unreal Engine – presumably 4 – and looks reasonably good in most places. The first couple of chapters take place in Victorian London and they look suitably gloomy. As the story unfolds Holmes and Watson venture further afield to a mental asylum in Switzerland and New Orleans and its surrounding bayou. The visual contrast when we arrive in New Orleans is stark as here we encounter bright sunshine and colourful views. The different levels are “semi open” worlds – each area is open and lets you go wherever you like but they are relatively small and self contained.
The character models are all generally fine, both NPCs and Holmes and Watson. For a game like this though which is more about putting pieces of puzzles together and solving mysteries, I am absolutely OK with functional but not particularly impressive visuals. The only particular criticism I have is that there is frequently noticeable pop in with background and environmental details.
Like the visuals, the audio of the game is decent, acceptable while never especially impressive. The voice acting of Holmes and Watson does its job perfectly well and the NPCs all sound appropriate to their characters and situations. Again I only really have one complaint – when trying to find info by talking to NPCs the negative responses are all very generic and repetitive. It would have been nice if the team could have recorded a few more variations to the stock “I don’t know anything about that” type response.
But, this is a Sherlock Holmes game and it’s ultimately all about the great detective. The Awakened is split into discrete chapters but they form a larger narrative arc. I really enjoyed how an ostensibly straight forward missing person investigation gradually turned into something far more sinister. As noted, the original game was the first in the Frogwares Sherlock series to incorporate plot elements which went beyond the natural into a horror arena. This remake of course retains this aspect – as Holmes and Watson attempt to track down a missing servant they get pulled into Lovecraftian schemes.
Overall the plot is well written and draws the player in – there was really only one development which I found a little jarring (I won’t elaborate for avoidance of spoilers). The Lovecraft elements are well incorporated and don’t feel out of place and the story ultimately reaches a fitting conclusion.
And that’s a very good thing because the narrative and the sleuthing are what make The Awakening so compelling. There’s no action in the game, unless you count a rowboat ride through the New Orleans bayou. There’s no combat, and from what I’ve seen of the combat in Chapter One, that is definitely a smart move. The Awakened has a strong story and a series of game mechanics which really make you feel like you are playing as a detective. As I’ve heard it described, the game does a wonderful job of making you feel like a genius when you crack a case or uncover new leads.
Of course I am not going to suggest that war is anything other than a horrific experience but I do think that The Awakened may have benefitted from a happy accident. I haven’t played Chapter One but for the purpose of this review I watched a few videos and spoke to players who have and one common criticism was that the open world setting was under utilised and perhaps the team had aimed too far in scope with that game. Pivoting to change from a new open world game to the episodic, semi open world of The Awakened I think has really worked to the game’s betterment. It seems a much more focused experience and for me that really works with this style of game.
As noted, this game was my introduction to the Sherlock Holmes games long produced by Frogwares and it did take me some time and effort to get up to speed. The game has a succinct overview of controls / mechanics available from the main menu and I found myself using this a lot. So much indeed that I ended up screenshotting one image and keeping it open on my laptop for easy reference. This was the key to the sub icons that appear on casebook items explaining how you need to handle them (speak to a character, investigate a scene, research into something etc).
Although I have praised the crime / mystery solving nature of the game, some of the puzzles were, to me, somewhat obtuse. “Right, I’ve searched absolutely everywhere in this area and have found no further leads, guess I’ll backtrack a bit cos can’t think of anything else to do.”… “Oh, that’s triggered a new cutscene”!. There are a couple of environmental puzzles too that in hindsight were obvious but at the time didn’t make a lot of sense to me.
But these are fairly minor concerns. For anyone who has played a previous Sherlock game the learning curve will be less steep and adopting a rigorous approach to investigating and solving puzzles will go a long way in progressing through The Awakened.
Sherlock Holmes The Awakened is a thoroughly enjoyable detective adventure which is well written and explores some dark themes. The gameplay, mostly notably the absence of action, will not be to every player’s taste but for those who appreciate this style, it will deliver an exceptionally rewarding experience.
-Calum
