Sherlock Holmes: Commentary on Chapter One

Sherlock Holmes: Commentary on Chapter One

need to know

What is it? The mystery of an open-world detective with young Sherlock.

Expect to pay 40 GBP/50 USD

Developer Frog products

Publisher Frog products

release November 16

Review date GTX 1080 Ti, Intel i7-8086K, 16GB RAM

multiplayer game? No

Associate Official website

Sherlock Holmes: The first chapter feels like the ultimate expression of developer Frogwares’ ambitions for its ancient detective series, and it is also its strangest entry. It’s almost everything you want in a consulting detective game, but there are many things you can’t have. It oscillates between greatness and absurdity, but if you are eager to solve some of the mysteries of the Victorian era, there is no better ointment than this.

Don’t be fooled by the title-this is not the first in a series of plot games, but an origin story. In the Devil’s Daughter, Frogwares turns Sherlock Holmes into a meditation similar to Jon Hamm, which is doubled, giving us a brand new version of Sherlock, he apparently just walked out of the CW web series-probably One of the vampires-has a hobby of pouting and leather gloves.

Sherlock was not trapped in the gloomy London, but headed to the sunny Mediterranean island of Cordona, where he lived when he was a child, to visit his mother’s grave. There is no fog, no sea urchin army, and no Watson; it turns out that all of this is actually a good thing. Getting rid of the many conventions of the Mystery of Sherlock Holmes, the first chapter took a bold, surprising, and yes, sometimes quite stupid transformation, and miraculously did it in the adventure, still to the game series and wider The novel feels true.

(Image source: Frogwares)

Sherlock’s loyal partner Jon is a kind of primitive Watson, and truly embodies how the ancient character of Arthur Conan Doyle was adapted in Chapter 1. Like Watson, Jon is Sherlock’s opinion leader, motivator and confidant, and assists in his case. But unlike a good doctor, he is a bit rascal, naughty, cheeky, and has a more brotherly relationship with Sherlock. He is also completely fictitious.

Head game

After the prologue, Jon’s identity as a fictional character in Sherlock’s imagination was revealed-a brisk but interesting case involving a surrender, stolen diamonds and murder-but there will be hints right away. Like you have never seen him walk. You open a door and he will be there. He didn’t move, he appeared. And there are often signs of mischief. You might find him soaking his feet in the hotel’s water feature, messing around on the piano, or painting on the ceiling. I appreciate this dedication to keep the Creepy Watson meme alive.

Although Frogwares has put Sherlock against the cult and Jack the Ripper, it still feels ridiculous. But for a series, at least in the last few games, which really promoted the concept of the spiritual palace and the construction of a spiritual crime scene, Sherlock would also invent a companion to help him through his ordinary life. The idea may not be such a huge leap. . Jon’s other mystery remains to be solved. He has been with Sherlock since he was a child, and that was a period when he was blank for most of his life. However, the lost memories can be recalled, and the blanks in Sherlock’s past can be filled with sketches superimposed on the present. When you solve the mystery of his mother’s death at the heart of this story, you are always a detective. The tools you use to solve crimes are the same as the tools you use to illuminate the past.

(Image source: Frogwares)

I suddenly realized that between having a vision, joking with my partner and putting a liar in jail, the first chapter is a Super hero Specific origin story. In “Crime and Punishment”, we met a middle-aged, stoic veteran with countless cases, with a deer hunter on his head, and a trustworthy Watson by his side, fully grasping his extraordinary ability to solve crimes. Sherlock in the first chapter is not so delicate, has worse control, and is still working hard to perfect himself. And his best partner is an imaginary guy who likes drinking and dinosaurs. It works! Somehow. Maybe this shouldn’t be too surprising. If not for Sherlock Holmes in disguise, what is Batman?

Now that the Dark Knight and Sherlock have joined the ranks of the protagonists of the open world, the latter have more in common. However, Cordona is far from the huge space of Arkham’s Gotham or Assassin’s Creed, for which I am very grateful. On the contrary, it is reminiscent of LA Noire and Mafia, where the city is just a well-designed stage. In most cases, the bustling island will only allow you to continue to do something good: solve the case. Oh my goodness, there are many such people.

Forget, if you want, all other things-this is the biggest hook in Chapter 1. A picturesque Mediterranean city, full of theft, murder and conspiracy; time and time again, after a few years of cold, blood is still hot; and, as a pleasure, the shops are filled with all kinds of disguise for you Try it on. This is a detective’s paradise.

(Image source: Frogwares)

In addition to the five mysteries of the main story, there are more than 30 side cases. This is a lot of delicious crime. You are free to get along with them, switch back to the main story, and jump between stories you have already started. Cases range from simple things such as “Which drunk idiot stabbed another drunk idiot?” Hunting down an elephant that might kill an important clue. Of course, the best example is a liar. They will send you to the whole city to study legal documents, interview suspects, solve riddles and perform chemical analysis, but when you are eager to get a blow by uncovering another mystery, walk into one The room, looking at the crime scene, and then saying “that guy did it”, that’s great. Even fast people may encounter problems—the first chapter takes its case very seriously.

Wrong turn

Just like the previous games, these cases have become more exciting because you can definitely make a mistake. After observing the suspect, you may make wrong conclusions, make wrong inferences in your thought palace, or, worst of all, blame the wrong person. Then you just need to move on and accept your mistakes. However, this is an important point. Continuous improvement. The first chapter is the master of momentum and will never let you get stuck, even if you have dozens of clues and don’t know how to put them together. All the content in the case file has a text description, which can provide you with hints in the right direction, but more useful is the red symbol attached to the clue to let you know that there is more content to collect, and most importantly, How you will do it without revealing too many details. You are still the one who makes all the important decisions and inferences, but you are not wandering or wandering aimlessly.

Even when the terrible word “collectibles” appears, it is easier to swallow because it just means there are more puzzles to solve. As early as when Sherlock was a child, his brother Mycroft picked up his coin collection and hid them all over the island. Ten years later, you can try to find them all. Mycroft is a prize, so you have to jump over some hoops to get them, show off the detective muscles as you piece together his clues. Thank goodness, these terrible brothers, because this is one of the only collectible hunts I like. The first chapter has some such pastimes, although they never reach the height of actual cases, but they never make people feel hairy. In fact, by completing Sherlock and Jon, you will learn more about them, making them an important part of the narrative puzzle.

(Image source: Frogwares)

Almost everything in the open world is suitable, but there is one notable exception: Robber Lair. They are a surreal addition, simply because they are completely meaningless in this game of mystery and reasoning. The police were obviously overworked, so they let a 20-year-old nerd hold a gun to wipe out the criminal gang without support. You can play Victoria Rambo on their ass, but you will be gently encouraged rather than killed. Go down this road, you still need to use your gun, but by shooting the environment harm or destroy the armor plate that some robbers tie to your body. After that, you can stun them in QTE and leave them to the lazy police.

Watching Sherlock finish all these beatings, it feels like taking a step too far towards Batman. Every other weird thing has its place, as if it was included deliberately, but these meaningless quarrels are completely out of harmony with the rest of the game, as if someone accidentally spilled it during development. Something like Far Cry. I’m not even completely opposed to Sherlock games with some fights, but I’m not opposed to these repetitive, wave-based arena fights and empty thugs. Sadly, this is the only type of battle thrown at you in Chapter 1. The good news is that these lairs are so separated from the rest of the game that you can and should skip them. The bad news is that Frogwares is so inexplicably confident in the quality of these untimely contests that it also puts them in the box, making them inevitable, albeit uncommon.

Sherlock still tends to find a way to solve most problems with the language, running around everyone with his incredible observations and inspirations. He even made occasional jokes, playing with Jon, Jon bringing it out, or resorting to some Victorian polite satire after he was fed up with someone’s nonsense. The first chapter has a kind of fun that balances the cold nature of Sherlock’s work, through the characters and Frogwares to sneak into the gimmick of easily overlooked things, such as harmless objects and disguised descriptions. Whether serious or stupid, the dialogue often contributes as much to the case as the fascinating mystery itself, and the quality of writing is the best in the studio.

(Image source: Frogwares)

Nevertheless, it still stumbled. In Sherlock’s words, a transgender man is described as “a woman who pretends to be a man to gain a higher social status.” He has also been misunderstood by Sherlock, even in conversations where he calls him by the name of his choice. Neither Sherlock nor Cordona are real, and the settings should serve the game, not the other way around, so the Victorians should not be held responsible for Frogwares’ mistakes here. Or when it decides that searching for African refugees should be a simple question, ask the first random black passerby you can find. For such a smart game, it can be very stupid.

Like the young detective himself, the first chapter is not perfect and sometimes embarrassing, but I still find myself hanging on the hook, yearning for more crimes. There is a very clear path of no return. As the deadline approaches, I have considered several times, but I have been dragged down by the unfinished cases. Then I will find a brand new one. The people of Cordona couldn’t help killing each other, for which I am grateful. In the end I reluctantly perfected the story, but I still have some unresolved problems to be solved, and one is waiting for my salvation. What is impressive is that despite being so dense, and as long as it is, it still manages to stay focused and put the robber’s den aside, on important things. This is a miracle-an open world with almost no nonsense. You are here for a detective, and this is what you do, almost uninterrupted, 40 hours.

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