Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter

Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter continues to be one of the best adventure/puzzle games around. It has nearly perfected the deduction system, but the contrived action sequences forced into the new title can be very frustrating. While one is slightly disappointing, five of the six new cases are quite enjoyable and features all the twists and turns you could hope for. Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter is another solid entry into this long-running franchise.

But if you’ve played any of Frogwares’ past Sherlock Holmes games none of this will surprise you. They have always been unexceptional interpretations of the world’s most exceptional detective, at times displaying some moments of brilliance, but mostly held back by their ineptitude and desire for safety. This entry, however, reported itself to be a bold new vision for the franchise and one that could have changed up all the rules. What was delivered is more of the same in a sharp new overcoat and handsome rugged face which serve to conceal nothing of the vapidness underneath.

A disappointing misstep for Frogwares’ sleuthing series.

Nu Watson and Holmes look dangerously close to Downey Jr and Law, five years too late, and their new voices are bizarrely unenigmatic, if competently delivered. It’s not a reboot, nor a refresh, right down to the repeated locations and character models of the likes of Lestrade, but rather the weirdness of the series continuing its morbidly fascinating spiraling descent into lunacy. If I find myself carrying on, I’ll certainly let you know what happens next, but in the meantime, yeah, avoid.

Nothing beats sitting on the couch with a cup of tea, a blanket and a copy of the latest Sherlock Holmes game. However, does this incarnation of the mystery franchise deliver the same adventurous and mind-bending fun as the previous one?

A decent adventure game with lots of ropey bits. Just like the last one, and the one before it.

Perhaps it’s the fact that a game of this scope and style provides a breath of fresh air in an industry oversaturated with homogenous products. It’s hard to say. The Devil’s Daughter definitely isn’t a perfect game. But it’s a great little adventure game with solid writing and solid gameplay marred by a numberless technical issues.

Sherlock Holmes: The Devil’s Daughter is a showpiece of detective work and player choice – elements that speak strongly to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s character and empower you with the belief you are puffing away at the meerschaum calabash. Each of the five cases delivers numerous outcomes, along with the satisfying feeling you are uncovering clues only Sherlock Holmes could. Developer Frogwares is well in tune with Holmes, as it should be after spending 15 years with him over eight games. Frogwares hit on something special with the 2014 entry, Crimes and Punishments, and attempts to build a big...

What’s more frustrating is that even though the game has a lot of issues on a technical level, it’s not actually buggy. You never fall through the world or find yourself unable to progress in a case, you’re just left with persistent frame rate, screen tearing and control issues that drag down a solid, if unexceptional, game.

A better presented package overall, Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter is a small step forward for the series, but still in serious need of polish and a greater level of cohesion between its disparate parts. Fewer mini-games and more sleuthing would have been preferable and played to the game's strengths. As it is, The Devil's Daughter is a solid Sherlock yarn, but one that falls well short of greatness.

Despite some engaging storylines and well-designed environments, Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter fails to deliver any sense of actually playing the part of Sherlock. Its gameplay is too rigid and predictable, and at times comes across as too technically underdeveloped to ever wow or amaze. If anything, this stands as proof as to just how difficult it is to deliver a story whilst also making us feel as though we’re in control of our own destinies. If The Devil's Daughter were presented as a visual novel, however, there would’ve been little to complain about.

Back onto the streets of London we venture. Sherlock Holmes The Devil’s Daughter, the new sequel to Sherlock Holmes Crime and Punishments, puts us in the shoes of the fabled detective. With new cases, tricky conundrums, interesting people and a brand new overarching plot line; The Devil’s Daughter is everything I want in a sequel. Taking off from the first game The Devil’s Daughter plays very similarly; a series of cases to solve, each with their own mysterious flair. If you haven’t...