Sherlock Holmes, a well-known name all over the world. Everybody has heard of the character and those who know who he is, want to be him if they could. He’s the master detective of our generation and has no problem solving all types of crimes or other strange events. In Crimes & Punishments, you can really feel how it’s like to be such a legendary character.
Developper Frogwares did well in creating a detective game without leaning on the point & click gameplay too much. This game has its own unique way of playing and offers the players true freedom to solve a total of six different cases. This freedom is what turns this game into a great detective experience.
Set in the Victorian Era, Holmes takes you to several locations in London, guiding you trough six different cases. Only six playable cases may sound like you’ll be finished in no time but don’t be mistaken. Each case takes between two and three hours to complete.
The concept of each case is rather familiar. As Holmes, you need to investigate the crime scene en search for missing items or hints that may result in solving the crime. How you do this, is completely up to you. The way you need to complete a case isn’t set in stone. If you’re able to find all important clues and pin down the one responsible for the crimes, you’ll get all glory. This works even if you haven’t found everything or spoke with all characters. If you’re able to solve the case, you’ll be able to advance.
The first case for example, called ‘The Adventure of Black Peter’ offered rather a challenge to solve. Players were tasked to solve the brutal murder of Peter Carey in his cabin in the garden. By investigating the crime scene, Holmes found some interesting footprints, a tobacco pouch and more items of interest to pin down a suspect. By interrogating the suspect, the killer could eventually be identified. Solving the cases is the heart of the game and it feels very natural doing so.
Holmes has some interesting features to his disposal to use while scanning a crime scene. The game is played in third person, where gamers need to guide Holmes to interesting locations but a first person mode can also be activated. In first person, you’ll see the world as Holmes sees it. Finding clues is a little easier while playing in this first person mode.
Become a legend, be Holmes
While investigating a location, both shoulder buttons of your controller will become your closest friends. We played the PlayStation 4 version of the game where the L1 button was used to ‘relive’ Holmes memory; while R1 was use to highlight certain interesting items in the environment. If you found enough interesting items, you can use an interactive deduction tool to link certain events to each other in order to solve a small piece of the puzzle.
Aside of the environments, you’ll also need to speak to a lot of characters. By freezing the camera, you can look at the characters in detail to find out small bits of information about the character. If you’re able to find enough details, Holmes will use his razor-sharp brain to make a fitting character profile. Those profiles can aid you in finding the true suspect.
As you might have already guessed, you need to remember a lot during the game. Lucky for the gamers, Holmes has his own handy casebook that actually also works as a central hub. All the information you need to know is gathered inside the tiny notebook. Important evidence, character profiles, tasks, map of the location… It can all be found in the casebook. You’ll find yourself looking at this casebook a lot during the game. Since the game gives you the freedom to solve the case in your own style, the casebook really is an important tool to use.
The casebook is also the place where you’ll need to use your deduction skills. As said before, the deduction skill is the only way you can pin down new suspects. By linking certain events in a correct way, you’ll be able to arrest certain characters. Finding clues to deduct can be found by scouting your location or by winning certain mini-games. Those mini-games offer a lot of variation and fun moments in the game but can be rather frustrating as well. Some of the mini-games take way to much time to solve in order to remain fun. Not all mini-games are fun to play and that’s a little bit shame compared to the great gameplay moments the game has to offer.
Aside of the mini-games, the loading screens will be source of a lot of frustrating moments. Holmes needs to travel a lot from scene to scene in order to solve the case. Although all scenes are beautifully made, the loading screen between them takes away some of the fun. While travelling to another location, you’ll always see the same screen where Holmes sits in the back of a car, waiting to arrive on the scene. While waiting you can access your casebook but it doesn’t take away the fact that there are just a too many loading screens in the game.
The same level of frustration goes to the animation of Holmes. All characters are very well created, with subtle facial expressions but the way Holmes walks is just plain stupid. His body doesn’t move in a natural way, resulting in a rather strange sight. That’s one of the reasons why I preferred playing the game in first person.
Those are without a doubt the things that could be a lot better. Don’t be mistaken however; Crimes & Punishments is a very decent game with a well-written script. All six cases are well written and are fun to unravel on your own. You’ll find a lot of satisfaction in solving the cases and that’s truly what this game is all about.
Conclusion:
All in all I can say that Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments is a fun game to play. It’s one of the first games that really make you feel like a legendary detective. The traditional point & click gameplay made place for a more innovating investigation technique with a lot of freedom for the players. It’s a shame the mini-games, loading times and animations aren’t all on the same level but don’t let those ruin the fun for you. If you’re looking for a challenge, this is the game you just need to play.
