Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One Reviews

Sherlock Holmes Chapter One was released on Nov 15, 2021, by Frogwares as a sort of reboot series with fascinating and unique gameplay. It also appears to take a rather interesting spin on the Sherlock character/mythos with fun mysteries and a gorgeous island country that will get you sucked in for hours.

Quite possibly developer Frogwares’ most accomplished crack at the iconic detective yet, Sherlock Holmes Chapter One combines a compelling story, detailed world, and involving investigation mechanics to great effect.

Visually, Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One is rather pleasant to look at. The faces (in particular, the eyes) can be a bit stiff, but the models themselves and the locales are rather detailed. Finally, the voice acting is quite impressive in Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One. Sherlock and Jon, especially, have great chemistry as they go back and forth with observations and quips.

I 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.

Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is Frogwares’ most ambitious detective game to date. This time around it features a young Holmes in his early twenties as he explores the fictional island of Cordona and gets to put his sleuthing skills to the test while trying to uncover forgotten details of his childhood.

A fresh and emotional take on the Sherlock Holmes property creates the best narrative in the series yet, but it’s let down by some ambitious design choices.

In pop culture, few figures in literature compare to the influence of Sherlock Holmes. No matter their moniker, mystery games are no stranger to the great detective. Frogwares has been leading the charge when it comes to Sherlock Holmes games; the 13th and the latest entrant, Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One, delves into the early days of Holmes. This new entry into the series succeeds in story, gameplay and presentation, but rarely capitalises on them simultaneously.

I was impressed with my initial dip into Sherlock Holmes Chapter One in a previous preview and I really love how the full game expanded upon that. Cordona is a fantastic island to explore and its mysteries, whether directly related to Holmes’ journey or not, are quite fun to solve. Some animations are iffy and I kind of wish the combat wasn’t there, but I constantly felt like my logic and rationale were engaged by the clues the game presented me with. It also helps that Sherlock Holmes Chapter One has options to skip past annoying segments when they don’t feel worth it. Overall, however, I felt like the entire investigation was worth it and this is an origin worth exploring for any fan of mysteries or the great Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes Chapter One has weak combat and an empty open world, but its excellent detective gameplay and powerfully emotional story easily put paid to these issues.

The strength of Frogwares previous works is retained within more ambitious, freeform packaging. Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One can be abrasive, both in gameplay terms and in its depiction of an iconic character, but it offers such rich and rewarding depth to its detective drama that it’s much easier to accept.

With a strong narrative and exceptional investigation mechanics, Sherlock Holmes Chapter One manages to one-up its predecessors. Sadly, it also doesn't reach its full potential, though we can hope that future titles are more in-depth.

Sherlock arrives in Cordona to visit his mother's grave but a twisted turn of events leads him down a path that he never saw coming.

I’ve always been a sucker for a good mystery, so it’s only natural that my penchant for mystery novels would spill over into which video games I tend to enjoy. Although, for some reason I have yet to play an actual Sherlock Holmes based game. I have played several titles based off the works of Agatha Christie, such as Agatha Christie – The ABC Murders and Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot: The First Cases, but it appears I have never actually played any of the games revolving around Ar...

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Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is perhaps my favourite Frogwares title. By expanding and spacing out the objectives at the player’s leisure, it creates an open-ended feeling of choice that had me coming back. The writing and overall narrative was paced well and did not over indulge me with useless information, nor did cases drag on longer than they needed to. And though I spoke negatively about the city, I do not think going open-world was a bad choice at all. I hope that Frogwares can figure out how to make it more engaging and iron out the combat to a less clunky standard while also encouraging pacifism.

There are a few rough edges to Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One; the odd duff texture here and there, and lip syncing that never quite looks right. But none of that ever gets in the way of just how engaging a game this is to play. Stepping into the shoes of the young Sherlock Holmes is a real treat, and Frogwares continues to excel at doing what it does best: delivering an immersive experience that really makes the player feel like they’re actually a detective. This is by far the developer’s best yet.

Technical issues and an excessively padded out plot makes Frogwares' open-world rendition of its Sherlock Holmes games a disappointing experience.

An ambitious detective sandbox with a younger, hotter Sherlock.

There 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.

Quick, name five really great recent mystery video games. Sure, there are a few, but chances are you ran dry pretty quickly after The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and maybe Wolf Among Us. Maybe you also listed Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments, one of Frogware’s better games about the legendary detective. Now, the developer is hoping that after you play Sherlock Holmes Chapter One, you’ll add it to the short list of outstanding titles in a relatively underrepresented gaming genre.

Sherlock Holmes Chapter One takes the series in a completely opposite direction of its predecessors, souring its potential in favor of adding gameplay elements that pad runtime and take away from the investigations. Fans of the series may find some joy in getting to experience the original content or solving clues the hard way, but I was certainly not one of them.