- Publisher: Frogwares
- Release Date: Nov 16, 2021
- Also On: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Nov 18, 2021I need a little more hand holding than Sherlock Holmes Chapter One gives. I’m not as smart as Sherlock, and found myself bumbling around at times like a lost child. When I was in the zone I was having a good time. The variety of costumes made for a fun time, and the eavesdropping mini game were a good distraction to a worthwhile story. The game has flaws, but those can easily be overlooked with a mountain of fun and interesting mysteries to solve.
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Nov 22, 2021Despite these issues, it's difficult not to get sucked into Chapter One's web of intrigue. The central mystery is uneventful until its final moments, but the cases surrounding it are consistently excellent, and the role you play in solving them is incredibly gratifying. The open world is more of a backdrop than anything else, but it expands the game with dozens of side cases that are just as alluring as those found in the main story. Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One may stumble at times, but it scratches that investigative itch like few games even attempt to.
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Nov 16, 2021Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One seeks to innovate by making the gameplay more free and complete. Truth to be told some technical limitations, still the game remains a pleasant experience without highs.
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Nov 16, 2021Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One deviates little from the established Frogwares detective game template, but that doesn't stop it from being a compelling adventure and perhaps one of the studio's stronger games overall. It's got a meaty and intriguing core story, loads to see and do off the main path, and some swerving cases that will take some serious sleuthing to come to the right conclusions — I'm not sure what more you could really ask for from a game like this besides that tried-and-tested trifecta, except maybe a little more polish. The lack thereof doesn't hurt the game too much, mind, so if you enjoy solving crimes while being really, really, really ridiculously good-looking, this mid-price mystery should definitely find its way onto your wishlist.
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Nov 15, 2021Sherlock Holmes Chapter One presents an interesting set of mysteries to solve, but its open-world setting doesn’t really elevate its familiar investigation gameplay to a substantial enough degree, and its combat sections are uniformly dull and repetitive. There are certainly bursts of satisfaction to be earned when you get on a roll with an inquiry, but too often the vague case criteria can cause your sleuthing to stall and force you to fall back on guesswork, while the annoyingly unhelpful advice from Jon only makes these moments feel all the more frustrating. Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is a decent detective game set in an open-world that’s a bit too elementary.
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Nov 15, 2021There are a lot of things to admire in Sherlock Holmes Chapter One, and when it works, it all comes together in a fantastic new way. Unfortunately, there are far too many instances of clues that perhaps made sense to the team that made it, but not the player. Just when you start finding your stride, a roadblock appears as you struggle to figure out your next steps. The jump to an open-world setting ultimately feels unnecessary and adds to the confusion. Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is not a bad game at all, but the experimental gameplay feels like a missed opportunity that a sequel could perhaps refine.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 25 out of 39
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Mixed: 3 out of 39
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Negative: 11 out of 39
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Jan 28, 2022A potentially interesting game ruined by a stupid off-center camera. Devs, put the character in the center of the screen.
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Nov 17, 2021Just my favorite game ever: great story, interesting characters. I feel being a real detective.
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Nov 17, 2021