Review of Sherlock Holmes The Awakened Remake

A grim detective that continues the story of the young detective Sherlock Holmes, who is trying to break the chain of brutal murders, at first glance connected with the ancient god of the cultists, hiding in the depths of the water. If you haven't guessed, we are talking about the one and only Cthulhu. Will Sherlock be able to put the events of Cordon behind him and figure out this unusual case?

As a preamble to the review, it's worth mentioning that Sherlock Holmes The Awakened is not a direct sequel to 2021's Sherlock Holmes Chapter One. The development team decided to postpone the release of Chapter Two and created a remake of one of the popular games in the series.

On the other hand, the developers use the same engine, the same images of Sherlock as in "Chapter 1", and combine it all with the story from the original Sherlock Holmes The Awakened from 2008. Sherlock Holmes and John Watson investigate a series of grisly murders aimed at resurrecting Cthulhu, the iconic monster god created by H.F. Lovecraft. These murders are the famous duo's first serious case, and will cement their bond as both characters experience the same horror.

Throughout the journey, you will control both Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, solving various cases that will lead the couple to the leader of the cult. Interactions between heroes are relatively rare, but the few that are in the game are very meaningful and emotional. Since John Watson was one of my favorite characters, I was thrilled to see iteration of him and get the chance to watch him and Sherlock Holmes interact and bond with each other.

Each main scene takes place either at the beginning/end of each chapter, or in the middle when you switch between characters. The moments that connect their stories are believable.

It's hard to talk about the story and pace of it without giving away spoilers, so pardon my brevity, but given that Sherlock Holmes The Awakened is a relatively short title, I'd rather avoid any plot references. Over the course of eight chapters, you will have to solve the crimes taking place in this region step by step and draw conclusions based on the findings in order to understand where to go next.

In terms of gameplay, the game is short and concise. Although the expected game time is 12-15 hours, I managed to finish it in literally 9-10 hours. And I read each note at least twice. Each case can turn out to be quite simple, and to some extent, the investigation itself is easier for Sherlock than all the cases that we encountered in Chapter One (2021). The difficulty left a lot to be desired, but that's more of a personal complaint than a game bug - the easier things to do in this title means a lot more people will be able to enjoy it. While the difficulty of some of the puzzles was disappointing, none of them were boring—simple at worst, and inventive at best. Some of them were unique and inventive in such a way that there were no similar mechanics even in Chapter One.

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened has a lot of focus on Sherlock's deuteragonist, John Watson, and this is reflected in gameplay sections that were too short to satisfy my fondness for the character. However, they significantly enriched, expanded and diversified the gameplay. Sometimes the game will separate both characters and you will need to solve puzzles for each to progress further. Having the ability to control Watson is an incredible gift, because both Sherlock and he can react to the same scene in some places in different ways, have different points of view. I just wish it happened more often. I even wanted to see a Sherlock Holmes multiplayer game where both players see situations differently. Do you think I'm crazy? Take a look at We Were Here and We Were Here Forever.

The game's locations are open worlds to explore and investigate, with several loading screens upon entering small areas such as an inn. However, every world is great, especially London.