Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments

 PC
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 294 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 199 out of 294
  2. Mixed: 62 out of 294
  3. Negative: 33 out of 294
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  1. Clompy
    Oct 1, 2014
    5
    I found this game to be quite linear. The game leads you along and it's basically just a case of clicking on everything, and exhausting all of the conversation options with everyone you meet. You are not allowed to make your own deductions, you have to wait until the game lets you. Here is a ficticious example (not in the game) that shows the kind of thing you will experience:

    1)    I found this game to be quite linear. The game leads you along and it's basically just a case of clicking on everything, and exhausting all of the conversation options with everyone you meet. You are not allowed to make your own deductions, you have to wait until the game lets you. Here is a ficticious example (not in the game) that shows the kind of thing you will experience:

    1) Someone has been stealing cats
    2) A man says he hates cats and has no interest in them
    3) You find "I love cats" magazine in his house, he has cat food in his cupboard, and you find he is a member of the cat lover's club.
    4) There is no option to challenge him about any of this.
    5) You speak to his neighbour and she tells you "i've heard meowing from his house"
    6) Only now can accuse him of liking cats and deduce that he may have been the cat thief.

    Unfortunately I found myself sitting at a loading screen for a large proportion of my play time. As you are shuffled through the story of each case, you are sometimes required to travel to a location simply to pick up an item and bring it back. That is two loading screens worth of time just to do a chore that an NPC could have done instantly.

    On your "clue" screen, you are invited to connect pieces of evidence together to make deductions. This seemed nice at first and I began to think about the clues, being careful to only make links that I thought were valid. However, If you click on two items that are not related, it simply tells you they don't go together and marks them as such. So this aspect of the game can be reduced to simply clicking every clue on the list until you find a match. Where is the risk here and the chance to fail and affect the story?

    One of the most promising but poorly implemented features of the game occurs during conversations. Sometimes you are invited to challenge the person with some relevant piece of evidence that contradicts them or confirms what you are saying. You are presented with a selection of options, one of which is "right". If you dare to click the wrong piece of evidence, you are simply told "YOU PICKED THE WRONG ONE, TRY AGAIN" and the conversation resets so you can attempt to pick the right one. Again, you are not allowed to fail and must answer correctly before the guided tour continues.

    The game looks pretty anyway, and the audio is nice. Thats why it gets a 5 rather than a 3. I was going to say that this game would be good for someone who likes interactive stories. But I am not sure I would even say it is interactive. It is more like a story that is interrupted by loading screens and clicking on everything in sight.    … Expand
  2. SenshudoTV
    Oct 6, 2014
    7
    Major gripes aside, this is a genuinely good game. The cases are interesting, the story is absorbing, the voice acting (bar one character early in the game) is well performed and the visuals are impressive. If you are a fan of adventure/detective games, and possessing of a little patience, this is a must-have for your collection. You will enjoy this game but you will most likely be irkedMajor gripes aside, this is a genuinely good game. The cases are interesting, the story is absorbing, the voice acting (bar one character early in the game) is well performed and the visuals are impressive. If you are a fan of adventure/detective games, and possessing of a little patience, this is a must-have for your collection. You will enjoy this game but you will most likely be irked by some of the issues listed above.… Expand
  3. meediocre
    Jul 16, 2015
    6
    The game does a great job with the locations and atmosphere, on what I presume was a limited production budget. Obviously the actual detective work is over-simplified, all you need to do is explore and interact, then interrogate some suspects and piece together the clues. Except for one other thing you need to do, which for me, personally, dragged the entertainment/immersion factor downThe game does a great job with the locations and atmosphere, on what I presume was a limited production budget. Obviously the actual detective work is over-simplified, all you need to do is explore and interact, then interrogate some suspects and piece together the clues. Except for one other thing you need to do, which for me, personally, dragged the entertainment/immersion factor down considerably. The PUZZLES ... are very frustrating and annoying. It's possible to skip them, but others you can't. They are tedious, and completely counter-intuitive. Other mild criticisms include: having to wait about 10 seconds every time you change location (even on an SSD), Watson is useless, and finally I guess this down to personal taste. But I would have preferred to have a the case completely solved correctly, rather than just making a guess based on the evidence.

    This was my first Sherlock Holmes game, and I admit I didn't get past the fourth case, but I would consider looking into the next one, if someone could please kill or radically improve the annoying puzzles!    … Expand
  4. kezzyhko
    Aug 6, 2020
    7
    ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍
  5. dubesor
    Jan 16, 2018
    6
    Graphically and UI-wise a step up from the former sherlock holmes games. Unfortunately I found all the cases very, very easy. There is a severe lack of proper puzzles and every case is so much handholding that finding the right culprit is a given even without any thought whatsoever. Feels a bit too catered towards an extreme casual audience. Still enjoyed it here and there but it trulyGraphically and UI-wise a step up from the former sherlock holmes games. Unfortunately I found all the cases very, very easy. There is a severe lack of proper puzzles and every case is so much handholding that finding the right culprit is a given even without any thought whatsoever. Feels a bit too catered towards an extreme casual audience. Still enjoyed it here and there but it truly contained no challenge.… Expand
  6. azarmadr
    Nov 24, 2014
    5
    The game actually gave the control of Sherlock's deductions to the player but the gameplay was poorly crafted and switching between the places has been cumbersome
  7. AhmedShehab95
    Oct 12, 2014
    7
    The Sherlock Holmes Game that you've been looking for!
    Crime and Punishments is one of the best Holmes games that has ever been made,let's e honest Jack the ripper and The Testament of Sherlock Holmes were a bit of bad games but anyway...
    this games is a great detecting/solving crimes game if you played L.A Noire you'll like this one for sure. it offers you to choose who are the crime    The Sherlock Holmes Game that you've been looking for!
    Crime and Punishments is one of the best Holmes games that has ever been made,let's e honest Jack the ripper and The Testament of Sherlock Holmes were a bit of bad games but anyway...
    this games is a great detecting/solving crimes game if you played L.A Noire you'll like this one for sure.

    it offers you to choose who are the crime murderers based on your conclusions and your thoughts of the cases.

    the gameplay is fun you can choose between 1st person or 3rd person view with nice atmosphere and high quality designs of objects,the soundtrack is good too.

    Crime and Punishments is an enjoyable game and you should def. play it if you are a Homes fan/detective games fan.

    with some flaws and annoying things-long loading times between locations for example- and little bugs it gets a 7 out of 10.    … Expand
  8. Mehrshad_MB
    Jan 7, 2021
    6
    Generally speaking, the game is actually good in its genre, great graphics, voice-acting, environment design and intriguing stories. However the all six cases in the game, wasn't challenging at all. It was easy to find murderer. Thus, it became boring at some times.
    It can be considered as one of the best "detective games".

    (December 2020 - January 2021)
  9. LordTiger
    Apr 11, 2020
    6
    I like the idea of the game but it seems they had limited budget. unfortunately most cases are linear and game tell what to do and where to click also places are so small.
  10. Ordnik
    Apr 11, 2021
    5
    I wanted this game to be fluent but turns out it's exactly the opposite. Sherlock is not a slow minded person, he is supposed to be a genius but he doesn't sound smart at all. Investigating and observing people gives you some choices but not quite enough, I should be able to observe almost everything on a person but its just "check this one" and not "its your pick"

    -Sherlock was    I wanted this game to be fluent but turns out it's exactly the opposite. Sherlock is not a slow minded person, he is supposed to be a genius but he doesn't sound smart at all. Investigating and observing people gives you some choices but not quite enough, I should be able to observe almost everything on a person but its just "check this one" and not "its your pick"

    -Sherlock was portrayed wrong as much as possible. (He speaks very slow and acts like an ordinary person.)
    -Lack of observation/investigation choices.    … Expand
  11. KarolP
    Aug 4, 2020
    7
    Light, pleasant, not too long (in a good way!) adventure game. Interesting puzzles with great background/stories behind them, strongly based on Doyle's fiction. Dialogues sounds quite artificial, but sometimes characteristic Sherlock's jokes or zest makes them funny. Action takes place in really restricted areas. Invisible walls and lack of movement possibilities of the protagonist areLight, pleasant, not too long (in a good way!) adventure game. Interesting puzzles with great background/stories behind them, strongly based on Doyle's fiction. Dialogues sounds quite artificial, but sometimes characteristic Sherlock's jokes or zest makes them funny. Action takes place in really restricted areas. Invisible walls and lack of movement possibilities of the protagonist are sometimes frustrating. Nevertheless, game is full of beautiful views and good-looking textures, despite simplifications and limitations from time to time. Music is well suited, builds atmosphere and tention. Mechanics and interface is simple enough, but it could be irritating when you miss one clue or sign. Nice idea with adding moral choices and selecting paths of puzzles solution. Interesting, successful proposition of book based game.… Expand
  12. r03vg
    Dec 25, 2021
    7
    Как сумели, так на гитаре сыграли и спели. Получилось бодренько, интересно.
  13. ghosttoyou
    Oct 15, 2020
    6
    6/10 .......................................................................
  14. AxeWould
    Jul 21, 2021
    7
    Это рили годная игра, неожидал что так затянет, но есть минусы, много было вылетов, и честно пару заданий были просто не интересны, но в целом игра понравилась!! советую
  15. DreamOfHero
    Feb 17, 2022
    7
    Very nice game, for its years.
    Very varied and funny cases.
    it's like a drug, the more you play the less you can detach yourself, and when you finish it you want more ...

    The only serious flaw is that I had to activate DirectX 9 because with 11 I flicked some textures, making the game graphically ugly and with some clues unreadable
  16. Fatihinhho
    Apr 16, 2022
    7
    I Love the Game, the story and chapter designs are nice, the cases and characters are also interesting.
  17. applecookie
    Dec 11, 2022
    6
    A guessing game worth playing

    What the hell is the lady standing by the window every time I look at the telescope?

Awards & Rankings

97
#97 Best PC Game of 2014
88
#88 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
90
#90 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. Softpedia
    Feb 8, 2015
    85
    Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishment isn't anything groundbreaking, but it's probably one of the best narrative-focused mystery games on the market. It's definitely a polished experience and may very well be the best Sherlock Holmes video game ever created, with a tense atmosphere, satisfying cases, and varied mini-games and puzzles.
    Read full review
  2. CD-Action
    Dec 13, 2014
    70
    A solid game that lacks distinctiveness. I’m not sure I’m going to remember it in a couple months’ time. [Dec 2014, p.78]
  3. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Nov 25, 2014
    74
    A playthrough of Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments leaves little negative emotions. There could be much more positive ones of course, but perhaps that’s a goal that’ll be reached in the next episode. After all, we really are talking about the most rapidly progressing modern quest series. [Dec 2014, p.70]
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