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Sherlock Holmes Chapter One

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Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is an action-adventure mystery video game in the Sherlock Holmes series developed by Frogwares. It is also the first game in the series to be self-published by Frogwares itself. Described as an "origin story", the game follows a young Sherlock Holmes as he investigates a mystery in his family's home on the Mediterranean island of Cordona after his mother's death. It is the first open world title in the series.[3]

Sherlock Holmes Chapter One
Developer(s)Frogwares
Publisher(s)Frogwares
SeriesSherlock Holmes
EngineUnreal Engine 4[2]
Platform(s)
Release
  • Windows, PS5, Series X/S
  • 16 November 2021
  • PS4, Xbox One
  • Q1 2022 [1]
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S 16 November 2021, with versions for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One to follow later.[4]

Premise

The plot follows a 21-year-old Sherlock Holmes at the beginning of his career as a "consulting detective". Following the death of his mother, Violet, the young detective returns to his childhood home on the Mediterranean island of Cordona. There, Holmes uncovers a sinister conspiracy lurking beneath the surface of a seemingly idyllic town where corruption and crime are rampant, and the locals shun outsiders. While investigating, Holmes must also reacquaint himself with his old friend, the enigmatic Jonathan (called "Jon"), who is described as "definitely not Watson".[5][6]

Plot

Ten years after the passing of his mother, Violet Holmes, 21-year-old Sherlock Holmes returns to the island of Cordona alongside his companion Jon. Settling in his family's former residence, the dilapidated Stonewood Manor, Holmes encounters the eccentric gallerist Verner Vogel, who insinuates that Violet Holmes' demise may have undisclosed details. Previously assuming the cause of death to be tuberculosis, Holmes begins to investigate loose ends regarding the case. Tracing a former family friend, who is recently murdered, Holmes begins to piece together events through his patchy childhood memories and figures out that Violet was not, contrary to his brother Mycroft's assertion, suffering from tuberculosis but was in fact stricken with severe mental distress following the death of her husband Siger. A resident physician, a Swiss doctor named Otto Richter oversees Violet's therapy and employs a controversial and experimental approach by immersing Violet in the original conditions that led to her breakdown. Mycroft, using his contacts and influence, conducts a background check on the doctor but the search reveals little of use other than academic credentials and an estranged brother named Klaus.

After Sherlock unlocks his mother's private museum of debunked, bizarre artefacts, he recalls an incident whereby Otto Richter is harshly berated by Mycroft, who later appears to have testified against the doctor on grounds of the latter's medical malpractice. As Holmes progressively regains his suppressed memories, his companion Jon is revealed to be an imaginary friend known only to Holmes brothers and communicable only to the younger Sherlock. Further revelations cause adverse effects on Jon, who pleads Sherlock not to pursue his mission any longer and move on. During the investigation of a murder in a masked ball at the mansion of a prominent member of the island community, Holmes encounters an elderly police officer, who provides Sherlock with the missing information to conclude his quest.

In a climactic flashback, a ten-year-old Sherlock Holmes walks his ailing mother through their garden; Violet becomes violently agitated at her son's reminder that Siger Holmes is long dead and has a psychotic episode where she attempts to drown Sherlock in the garden pond, explaining Sherlock's severe hydrophobia. The player's choice of reasoning determines the ending; if the conclusion is that Sherlock (with the unwitting prompting of Jon) had tampered with Violet's medication, she is shown to suffer an allergic reaction, dying despite Otto Richter's attempted tracheotomy. Another possibility is that Richter euthanises the hopeless Violet and is arrested at gunpoint by Mycroft. In all cases, Mycroft returns and confronts his shaken brother. Sherlock and Jon have a bitter or tragic farewell depending on whether Sherlock blames Jon for his mother's death and/or for hiding the truth from him all along. Ultimately, Jon dissipates.

Bidding farewell to his mother one last time, Holmes is confronted with Werner Vogel, whom he has deduced to be Klaus Richter, the younger brother of Otto Richter. Despite Holmes' explicit animosity to him, Vogel claims that by spurring him on to confront his past, he has turned Sherlock from a Sisyphus to an Ozymandias, allowing him to cast aside his fixations and setting him out unto the world. Ultimately, depending on Sherlock's choices, he is either exiled from Cordona for the death of his mother or out of ennui. After a short narration of his entry to the University of Cambridge, his interest in chemistry and his occupation in criminal investigation, the game concludes with the rendering of the very first encounter between Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson in the mortuary of Bath Hospital in the opening chapter of A Study in Scarlet, with Sherlock shocked at the exact resemblance of his new flatmate to his lifelong companion.

References to canon

The island of Cordona consists of numerous references to canonical or later works of Sherlock Holmes. Mainly, streets names through all five districts of the island borrow from canonical or presumed names from Sherlock Holmes literature. Personal possessions much associated with the detective, such as his cherrywood pipe and his magnifying glass are traced to have previously belonged to his father and mother, respectively. His parents' names, Siger and Violet, refer to Holmes' nom-de-guerre during his hiatus following "The Final Problem", Sigerson, and the popular assumption that his albeit passing interest to his client in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" stems from her having the same name as his mother. It is revealed that this portrayal of Holmes has yet to learn to play the violin and is gifted his first instrument by an elderly virtuoso after Holmes recovers it from some troublesome sailors.

Reception

According to review aggregator Metacritic, the PC version of the game received generally favourable reviews, while the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions received mixed or average reviews.[18][19][20] Reviewers praised it for its intriguing, engaging detective gameplay while criticizing its lack of polish, dull open world, and inability to tackle social issues with grace.

Tristan Ogilvie of IGN deemed it nothing to write home about, stating, "Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is a decent detective game set in an open-world that’s a bit too elementary." GameSpot praised its detective gameplay while criticizing its elementary nature, saying, "Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One stumbles at times, but solving its fantastic cases scratches that investigative itch like few others try." GamesRadar+ praised it, writing about how it "does detective puzzling like no other series" while calling it "flawed but nevertheless fascinating." Fraser Brown of PC Gamer lauded the game for its smart writing, saying, "as dense as it is, and as long as it is, it still manages to stay focused, bandit lairs aside, on the important stuff. It's a miracle—an open world with almost no bullshit." Push Square awarded the game six stars out of ten, praising the Sherlock Holmes mechanics while criticizing the "dull open world" and "awful frame rate [with] many technical problems."

References

  1. ^ "Update on PS4 release on twitter". Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  2. ^ DSOGaming (23 November 2021). "Sherlock Holmes Chapter One PC Performance Analysis". Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  3. ^ Harrison, Christian (21 July 2021). "Sherlock Holmes Chapter One Interview: Frogwares Discusses the Iconic Character of Sherlock Holmes". GameRant. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  4. ^ Romano, Sal (16 September 2021). "Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC launches November 16". Gematsu.
  5. ^ Northup, Travis (2 June 2021). "Sherlock Holmes Chapter One Doesn't Care If You Can't Cut It as a Detective". IGN. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  6. ^ Wise, Josh (12 June 2021). "Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One gets mopey new trailer". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Sherlock Holmes Chapter One for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Sherlock Holmes Chapter One for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Sherlock Holmes Chapter One for Xbox Series X Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  10. ^ Brown, Fraser (15 November 2021). "Sherlock Holmes Chapter One review". PC Gamer. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  11. ^ Ogilvie, Tristan (15 November 2021). "Sherlock Holmes Chapter One Review". IGN. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  12. ^ Wakeling, Richard (19 November 2021). "Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One Review - Murder In The Mediterranean". GameSpot. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  13. ^ Weber, Rachel (15 November 2021). "Sherlock Holmes Chapter One review: "Flawed but nevertheless fascinating"". GamesRadar. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  14. ^ Croft, Liam (15 November 2021). "Sherlock Holmes Chapter One Review (PS5)". Push Square. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  15. ^ Denzer, TJ (15 November 2021). "Sherlock Holmes Chapter One review: The mystery behind the legend". Shacknews. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  16. ^ Walters, David (15 November 2021). "Sherlock Holmes Chapter One (PC) Review". Computer Games Magazine. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  17. ^ Tiraxa, Jeuxvideo (15 November 2021). "Test Sherlock Holmes Chapter One : élémentaire, mais sans Watson !". Jeuxvideo.com. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Sherlock Holmes Chapter One for PC reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  19. ^ "Sherlock Holmes Chapter One for PlayStation 5 reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  20. ^ "Sherlock Holmes Chapter One for Xbox Series X or Series S reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
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