{"id":2326,"date":"2022-03-16T15:45:48","date_gmt":"2022-03-16T15:45:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ps4pro.eu\/?p=2326"},"modified":"2022-03-16T15:54:04","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T15:54:04","slug":"sherlock-holmes-crimes-and-punishments-switch-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thegeek.games\/2022\/03\/16\/sherlock-holmes-crimes-and-punishments-switch-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments (Switch) – Elementary My Dear Watson!"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s one question to which perhaps even the well-known, razor-sharp minded detective wouldn\u2019t have the answer: how on earth that it\u2019s Frogwares, this Ukrainian developer company makes the only noticeable Sherlock Holmes games \u2013 and since 2001 to that already? However, another question is even more \u201celementary\u201d indeed: how well does the latest adventure and investigation game from Frogwares succeed to capture the scope of what such a game should achieve in 2014 about the greatest detective of all times? You will have the answer to the latter, my dear reader; let\u2019s just read the review, shall we? The article has also been updated with a test of the Nintendo Switch version.<\/h4>\n

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If there\u2019s one thing that we can safely laud about Frogware, it\u2019s the fact that they are total experts about every detail concerning the world of Sherlock Holmes<\/strong><\/em>. They have probably their facsimile edition of the Original Illustrated Strand Magazine<\/strong><\/em> well-kept where every Sherlock Holmes<\/strong><\/em> novel was published. They have also probably been countless times in the Sherlock Holmes Museum, Baker Street 21.b They have read every Sherlock Holmes novel and seen most of the movies. (Including Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows<\/strong><\/em><\/a> with Robert Downey Jr., of which you can read the review right here). I am sure that they are true experts since every minor detail about the greatest detective of all time is oozing from this title. Now does that makes Crimes and Punishments<\/strong><\/em> a good game?<\/p>\n

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The devil in the details<\/h3>\n

I have to confess that I wasn\u2019t a big fan of earlier Sherlock Holmes titles from Frogware since the first few games made a wrong impression on me. It was a bad idea to use a point\u2019n\u2019click interface and the general gameplay elements of the old adventure game genre. It was maybe great back in 1992 when The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes – which was using a bona fide point\u2019n\u2019click gameplay – was published, but it became more and more obsolete past the millennium. And while the later Holmes games have gradually changed, because of the first wrong impression, I wasn\u2019t following them anymore.<\/p>\n

The trailer of Crimes and Punishments, however, struck my attention. While the setting is still the old 1880s, the game takes some cues from Sherlock\u2019s television series. What are those cues? Well, Holmes is more sarcastic and ironic than ever and also, the game has a darker, more realistic atmosphere. There are also some more exciting gameplay elements that I will elaborate on later.<\/p>\n

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The case of the unrelated cases<\/h3>\n

There are six cases in total in Crimes and Punishments. They are not related at all. It makes you feel like really reading a Conan Doyle book containing short novels. While most of those six cases are exciting or sometimes even exciting, some of them feel like an episode from a generic detective TV show set in an 1880 setting. There are also some differences between the characters regarding how well developed or interesting they are. The developers at Frogware tried their best to use well-fleshed and believable characters, and while they have mostly succeeded, some of them are a bit boring. It\u2019s a pity that the first episode is perhaps the less interesting of the six in which we have to investigate a rather generic murder case where only the way the murder was done stands out. (The victim gets harpooned.)<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the latter cases are more exciting. Since the stories are not related anyway, perhaps it would have been a good idea to give the player the possibility to play whatever case he wants to play first the first time he starts the game. While we can choose between cases on the main menu, it only concerns those you have already played.<\/p>\n

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Use your brain, Watson!<\/h3>\n

The biggest challenge with detective type adventure games is the investigation part in the game itself. The old point\u2019n\u2019click gameplay is outdated by now, so different developers tried their hand at other solutions. Perhaps L.A. Noire<\/strong><\/em> was the most successful by merging a GTA type action\/driving gameplay with the crime scene investigation and the interrogation of suspects. Heavy Rain<\/strong><\/em> used entirely different and revolutionary gameplay and interfaced with a branching storyline and several outcomes. Murdered: Soul Suspect<\/strong><\/em><\/a> was the less successful with its gameplay by forcing a paranormal investigation system that merged many ideas that seemed good on paper, but unfortunately, none worked in the game itself.<\/p>\n

The excellent news with Crimes and Punishments<\/strong><\/em> is that while this new Sherlock Holmes<\/strong><\/em> title uses a system that is a bit similar to Murdered<\/strong><\/em>, Frogware succeeds where the developers of Murdered<\/strong><\/em> had utterly failed. Same as with Murdered, we take an active part in the actual detective job, but in this game, putting the pieces of the puzzle together from conversations, physical pieces of evidence, and people\u2019s observation is actually a gratifying experience.<\/p>\n

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The sixth sense<\/h3>\n

And it\u2019s a relief since Sherlock Holmes is perhaps the most famous for putting together the whole picture from tiny details. It\u2019s the first game where this extraordinary ability is part of the actual gameplay. Instead of just listening to conversations and choosing the appropriate answers, we have the opportunity to examine every tiny detail of the suspects. It includes some physical information, the way they dress, or just a tiny envelope slipped in their pockets. We can either use those observations during the conversations (choosing the right questions carefully) or combine them with other evidence.<\/p>\n

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However, the best part is the way we can interconnect every bit of information and detail. In this area of the game, called \u201cdeduction space\u201d, we can first link together two different clues, and if they are matching logically, then we can place those in the \u201cbig picture\u201d where every information lies in the mind of Sherlock Holmes<\/strong><\/em>. While finding that information generally isn\u2019t too hard, we still have to really pay attention to the events, story, characters, and motivations. All in all, perhaps it\u2019s the best simulation of the work of a detective which I have seen so far. It\u2019s like entering the very mind of Sherlock Holmes and seeing it in action.<\/p>\n

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Punishments<\/h3>\n

Of course, gathering information and evidence on the field and at crime scenes is also part of the game \u2013those are the backbone of every adventure and detective title. What\u2019s still a bit more annoying are the mini-games. We sometimes need to use objects, like a ruler or take part in mini-games like putting together an image or picking a lock. Picking locks in Crimes and Punishments<\/strong><\/em> actually get the trophy of being the most annoying ever \u2013 and I had my share of annoying lock pickings.<\/p>\n

The other puzzle-like mini-game is a bit better. It\u2019s a clouded, hazy, broken, 3D image of some idea that Holmes has about something like the origins of a cigar he just smelled. While it may sound attractive, it\u2019s actually just frustrating. The good news? We have to interconnect every small section by turning and moving the hazy pictures in 3D. We can skip those by pushing a button. (But then you\u2019ll have the dirty feeling of cheating.)<\/p>\n

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London, Victorian era<\/h3>\n

Concerning the visual aspect, Frogwares, fortunately, avoided using another dark and depressive representation of the 1880\u2019s London \u2013 we will have plenty of that anyway in The Order 1886<\/strong><\/em> when it is out next year. Crimes and Punishments<\/strong><\/em> instead use bright colours and authentic-looking milieus of 19th<\/sup> century England.<\/p>\n

Frogwares took great care designing the apartment of Sherlock Holmes<\/strong><\/em>. I have been at the Sherlock Holmes museum<\/strong><\/em> at Baker Street 221b<\/strong><\/em> myself, but if you look at those photos, they look exactly the same. Every minor detail matches.<\/p>\n

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Another good news is that Frogware upgraded their graphical engine, which is using the Unreal Engine<\/strong><\/em> now. The graphics look noticeably better than in the P.C. version of the last Sherlock Holmes<\/strong><\/em> title: The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, and it\u2019s safe to say that it\u2019s on par with what we should expect from a PlayStation 4<\/strong><\/em> game \u2013 as far as adventure games are concerned.<\/p>\n

What I did miss, however, are more and more extensive areas. I understand that it\u2019s a game made by using a relatively low budget, but I would happily stroll on the streets of a living and breathing 1880s London<\/strong><\/em>. Instead of that, what we see all-time is Holmes is sitting in his carriage and reading his notes every time we are going somewhere. On the plus side: we can consult those notes (by using the notebook and the deduction space of Holmes<\/strong><\/em> during travels.<\/p>\n

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