Sherlock Holmes Chapter One review: Holmes' first investigations

• Author : Dmitry Kuznetsov
• Where to buy : Steam , Epic Games Store , PS Store , Microsoft Store
• Release date : 11/16/2021
• Platform : PC

For as long as I can remember, I have always been a fan of detective stories. As a kid, I loved Dick Tracy comics, and my trucker dad brought me a few new ones every few months. Ah, it feels like it was yesterday. Therefore, I can’t even describe in words how happy and excited I was that I was entrusted with the work of Sherlock Holmes Chapter One .

Sherlock Holmes Chapter One takes place in the fictional Mediterranean town of Cordona, where our favorite detective spent his childhood. Having completed his high school studies, after a long absence, he still returns to his native land to investigate the mystery of his mother's death.

Sherlock Holmes Chapter One begins on board the ship: Sherlock and his friend John discuss returning to where Holmes spent his entire childhood. As soon as they go down the ladder, the game itself begins. Sherlock is faced with his first Cordon case - an expensive diamond has been stolen at the hotel where he is staying, and Holmes (with John) is asked to find out who did it and why.

Sherlock Holmes Chapter One brought to life one of my favorite things about Holmes books: his ability to study a person or an object, find details, and draw some conclusions. This is one of the main mechanisms of investigation, and I was delighted with it. When there is a request to observe a person, object or crime scene, you activate a mode called "concentration". In Sherlock Holmes Chapter One, it is often used, but the developers themselves explain that this is not some witcher's sense of detective vision. Concentration is not intended to highlight all objects available for interaction.

Frogwares turned Chapter One into a true detective. Unlike most modern games, even at the minimum complexity of the investigation, there are no markers or pointers where to move on, “arrows” glowing in the sky, indicating where the target is. If you played the Uncharted series, then you can remember the mechanics when the game, realizing that you have been marking time for a long time, itself gives a hint where to go next. There is nothing like this in Chapter One. You can explore Cordona however you see fit.

Management is quite simple and standard. W, A, S, D are used for movement, and the mouse allows you to change the viewing angle. Functions are assigned to certain keys, but you can completely reassign them to your liking. The combat scenes are an unusual detail, but again, they are not intended to turn the game into a shooter. You can even skip them.

As far as solving cases and looking for clues, you'll have to use the journal and Mind Halls, where Holmes can combine some of the clues to form conclusions or theories about the case at hand. When communicating with people, if you want to ask about something specific, you have to open a journal and fix a certain piece of evidence. After that, chat with the person: he can provide you with information, tell you that it is not there, or refuse to talk at all.

The last outcome is not some kind of random. People will refuse to talk to you if they are disgusted by your race or "estate". For example, the Ottomans are incredibly angry because the British have occupied Cordona, so they will not want to communicate with the local nobles, and vice versa. The same goes for when you need to talk to a member of the upper class: you have to make sure that Sherlock looks the right way. Also, pay attention to the fact that passers-by may not have information if it concerns some other area of Cordona. Sherlock will have a huge number of different clothes (and even the same vyshyvanka) at his disposal, which can be obtained as a result of completing tasks or bought from vendors. Frogwares pays a lot of attention to small details, which keeps things authentic and makes the game even better.

Don't let the racial and class prejudices that exist in the game fool you. Still, the events of the game unfold in the late 1800s. Already at the launch of the title, the developers report that they do not support such phenomena and only emphasize the harsh reality of life in that era, instead of pretending as if it never happened.

During investigations, tension is relieved through the interactions between Sherlock and John. Their dialogue is another aspect for which you can put a solid "top ten". John goes everywhere with Sherlock, so I was surprised that Frogwares managed to create so many lines of dialogue that are absolutely non-repetitive. Even when you visit the same place over and over again. Unfortunately, this only applies to John, as when talking to NPCs on the streets of the city, you will quickly encounter repeated phrases, and the whole point of a successful interrogation is conveyed through the text messages that appear (about what the passerby said).

Story investigations appear sequentially, but side cases can be opened in a variety of ways: by talking to someone in the city or by overhearing a conversation between two residents of Cordona. The latter is another interesting mechanic. When you see an "ear" icon above two chatting characters, you can stop, focus, and eavesdrop on their conversation. Pop-up phrases will appear, and you need to select those that are relevant to the question that lit up at the beginning of the sequence. Already at the beginning of the game, you will be offered to eavesdrop on the conversation of two maids, and you will quickly realize what the essence of this mechanic is.

Moving around Cordona is a tedious process. There is no mini-map in the game, so you constantly have to open a large map of the city. Luckily it has some important markers and an icon of Sherlock himself. Pretty quickly, the main map will fill up with the sights of Cordona, various clues, and so on. The main investigation will lead Holmes through all five districts of Cordona. Rickshaws are used for fast travel, but each of them will have to be found personally. There are a lot of side cases in the game: already during the second investigation, I collected 8-10 secondary tasks in the journal.

Verdict: 9/10

Surely Sherlock Holmes Chapter One will be the most important release of the year for fans of the detective genre. This game has charm, elegance, become. Frogwares has been developing Sherlock adventure games for a long time, and every time they show incredible respect for the character of Doyle. In the "first chapter" I got the opportunity to contemplate a younger and less confident Holmes, from which I began to respect him even more. The first mistakes, youthful naivety, fears - all this helped him become the Holmes we know from the books of Arthur Conon Doyle.

And how nice it is to realize that Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is just the beginning!