Sherlock Holmes returns with Frogwares in Sherlock Holmes Chapter One, a new adventure in which the 21-year-old detective will have to solve his first criminal investigation. The game will be open world for the first time in the series and the story will be set in a much more exotic environment than Victorian London. Let's hope the visuals we can see in the trailer are those we'll get in the final game, because this is looking pretty impressive to say the least. More details inside.
Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is a third-person, open-world story-driven detective thriller
and acts as a prequel in the world renowned detective’s personal story. A creative re-imagining of what events could have led to Sherlock becoming the iconic sleuth many know today.
Reimagining An Icon: Story and Setting
“This time around we wanted to be more creative with the story we told and found an idea that hasn’t really been touched on by other adaptations - Sherlock’s “first big case” as a young 21 year old adult. He is Sherlock at his core, but at this point he’s more raw talent than refined genius. Reckless and impatient and a tad brazen, but unknowingly already on the path to greatness.” says Antonina Melnykova, Lead Narrative Designer
“Same with the location. We wanted to try something different to the all too familiar murky Victorian era London. While still set in the 19th century, we’re now exploring an isolated, sun-scorched Mediterranean inspired island where class divides and corruption are the foundations of this society. This is where our Sherlock spent his childhood. And now as a young adult, he is forced to return here and uncover the hazy truth behind the death of his mother - a loss that shattered his childhood many years ago and forced his move to London. And like always, Sherlock is not alone in his adventures. Before he befriended John Watson, Sherlock had a different best friend, Jonathan, and their relationship will be the central part of our game.”
“While we’re getting more creative with the backstory of Sherlock, fans of the series and character can rest assured we're sticking close to the source material to keep it cohesive. Most people have a firm view of who Sherlock is. Our story isn’t about changing that, but rather exploring how he could have come to be this way, exploring ideas right down to how he acquired his penchant for the violin, his distinct hat and even his addiction to drugs.”
A New Take on Investigation and Combat
On top of a fresh story and setting, the game is built around what the team are calling their “Global Investigation System”. Heavily updated from the approach taken in The Sinking City of “no hand holding” gameplay, this new system is intended to go even further and give players much more freedom in solving cases in a way that feels like genuine detective work.
“The Global Investigation system is mainly about having players rely more on their intuition and case solving skills. Clues in Chapter One are acquired and analysed through a massive array of skills, tricks, tools and methods at Sherlock’s disposal. Since there are so many combinations, players will need to really think things through like a detective since brute forcing clues together until the game reacts isn’t going to be very effective.” says Yaroslav Martyniuk, Lead Feature Designer
Sherlock Holmes Chapter One also features a combat system and utilizes Sherlock’s legendary observation skills rather than brute force combat.
“We looked closely at the fan and press feedback we got from The Sinking City and previous Sherlock games. This feedback defines the features in Chapter One: investigation, story, combat, exploration etc. For example, the combat system in Chapter One has been built completely from scratch, and many other mechanics are undergoing changes / improvements to make the game pace better overall.”
Sherlock Holmes Chapter One will be a complete game, developed and self-published entirely by Frogwares in Unreal Engine 4. The game is currently set to release sometime in 2021 and will be available on PC, PS4, Xbox One and next-gen consoles.
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All comments (3)
Commented on 2020-05-26 19:00:49I don't take issue with anyone who wants to do something different, that's actually good. However, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a master writer and storyteller, I extremely doubt the lead writer and/or any of the other writers are on the same level as him.
I will still try my damn hardest to keep an open mind, however the developers deciding to make this an open-world - for no reason - will only make the pace of the game feel much, much slower than what most people would consider is already a slow pace compared to most games, this is an investigative and very talkative game with little dynamic gameplay, then there's the side-quests which I'm almost certain they will add many of, which in turn will make progressing through the game even more slow.
I don't want to be negative, even though I'm beeing it, but it's really hard to think of good things for this game. This is a game from the developers of The Sinking City, a very mediocre game with a less than stellar reception by both critics and consumers. When one adds up everything, it's very hard to not think this will be a very horrible mess, but I hope to be proven wrong and that the developers can make an excellent Sherlock Holmes game, fingers crossed.
Commented on 2020-05-26 22:58:23
Commented on 2020-05-28 17:29:24and I agree :D