Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is an adventure game with elements of lovecraftian horror. It is a full-fledged remake of a game of the same name from 2006. It was developed by the Ukrainian studio Frogwares, known worldwide for their Sherlock Holmes series.

Plot

The story of Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened begins several years after the events depicted in Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One. The titular character now rents a small apartment alongside his roommate, John Watson. One day, the detective accepts the case of a young man's mysterious disappearance. Though the case initially seems trivial, Holmes and Watson quickly discover the involvement of a dangerous cult. Its members worship immensely powerful, ancient eldritch beings beyond one's imagination. The protagonists must thwart their sinister plans before it's too late... or before they lose their minds as they learn more things man should never know.

Though the story is based on the one from the original game, the developers decided to introduce some changes in order to make it a direct sequel to Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One. They've also decided to emphasize the beginnings of Holmes and Watson's friendship, as the events of the game were what made them truly inseparable.

Mechanics

The gameplay of Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is shown from a third-person perspective (TPP). The game takes place in a number of semi-open areas which can be freely explored in search of clues and side quests. These are Victorian London, the Black Edelweiss asylum in Switzerland, the swamps of Louisiana and New Orleans, as well as the Scottish coast. Though Holmes is the game's main playable character, we'll occasionally take control of Watson as well.

The game's most important feature are its cases. Upon arriving at a crime scene, Holmes first analyzes all available information and then starts investigating. By talking to NPCs, finding clues and solving puzzles he gradually gets closer to the truth behind the mystery.

He also has a few aces up his sleeve that can make his job easier. Imagination lets him reconstruct sequences of events, concentration lets him focus on important details, while the intelligence system lets him extract key clues. Gathered evidence can be sorted out in the so-called Mind Palace. Its chaotic construction reflects Holmes's deteriorating mental state, as his sanity can't comprehend the eldritch beings he's up against.

Progressing through the game rewards us with points we can use to unlock various rewards. These include new outfits, concept art, various data, pieces of trivia or collectibles (including the Necronomicon or Irene Adler's portrait)

Technical aspects

Compared to the original game from 2006, Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened stands out primarily due to its thoroughly enhanced visual layer. Animations, cutscenes and the interface have all been vastly improved. The main protagonist's appearance was based on his design from Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One.

Additional info

Unlike the studio's previous projects, which were open-world games, this time we're dealing with a smaller-scale production, and a remake at that. The smaller scale is a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine; some developers joined the defense force or started providing humanitarian aid.

The game's codename, Project Palianytsia, referred to a kind of traditional Ukrainian bread made of wheat flour. It was also supposed to be a dig towards the Russians, as it's an extremely difficult word to pronounce for Russian speakers. Interestingly, this word was also used during the war in Ukraine to identify Russian spies posing as Ukrainians.