Analysis of Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened on Xbox

This time Sherlock Holmes will face a deity like Cthulhu

Before starting this analysis, I would like to make a small aside and address a subject as delicate as the war in Ukraine. The outbreak of this conflict not only changed the lives of those who lived there, but any work in progress was diminished and delayed. This is the case of Stalker 2 and the one we have before us today, Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened. Frogware Studios had the strength to be able to highlight this remake of the famous London detective, with its advantages, but also with the failures caused by a complicated situation in which to work. However, given this, any fan of the saga should pull out the magnifying glass to experience one of the rarest and most atypical encounters ever seen in a video game.

reason versus illusion

As I mentioned before, Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is the reimagining of a title released in 2006 with the same name. The study redid the job from scratch, giving it new mechanics, different side stories, and different puzzles. A graphic and playable wash that resembles what was seen in its previous iteration, Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One. However, the plot will follow similar guidelines, confronting the detective with a whole cult of mystery and paranormal phenomena.

Yes friends, this is not a joke. On this occasion our headstrong protagonist and his beloved assistant Watson will face off against Cthulhu himself. Or at least the cult that worships this deity created by HP Lovecraft. What seems to be a simple disappearance in the neighborhood of a boy of Maori origin will lead us to visit a series of places. As we pull the thread we will begin to see the magnitude of the matter, upsetting even the spirit of Sherlock Holmes and his infallible intuition.

Has anyone seen a tentacle?

Through large demarcated areas, we will have to travel collect clues, inquiries and information to help us find the cause of all the disappearances and deaths that occur. We will be able to chat with the suspects and witnesses of the crime, look for new clues thanks to our detective vision and will attach once we have gathered the necessary clues. All this accompanied by occasional puzzles that make the adventure very pleasant and pleasant… although at first it can get a little corny.

the british burden

I have nothing against London, but the start of Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened in Baker Street and the docks area is slow and tedious. Not only because of the mist that invades its streets, but also because of the number of nooks, corridors and extensions that make up these sets. It becomes a bit chaotic to investigate these parts, especially when we learn to use the menu of clues at our disposal. If we also add the surveys and ratings of other side missionsit will take time to get out of these places.

But I must admit that then everything changes. There comes a time when the scenarios are more open, the fluidity both with the dialogues, the objectives and the search for objects is more obvious, and that makes the player becomes more interested in what is happening on the screen. That doesn’t mean that sometimes we get stuck in one place. There are times when we must have a certain clue to be able to solve the case, and if we skip it or do not search well, we will be stuck at this stage of the investigation until we find the key in question .

the accusing finger

I was particularly amused by the reconstruction of the scenes thanks to the particular vision possessed by Sherlock Holmes. We will be able to recreate each crime scene with the objects found on the scene, and we will be the ones looking for logic in each case. Also we can observe influential people in our research, looking for details and nuances in her skin and clothes to get a sense of her personality. Unfortunately, although it is very pleasant and entertaining to do these puzzles, there is no possibility of error in the reconstruction of the case, nor meaningful changes when we “tag” people.

This factor ultimately weighs. I remember old slices like Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments where one developed his own deductions. And at the end of the case, it was the player himself who decided who was guilty according to his investigations, with a much greater weight of responsibility. In this current proposal, there is no option to be wrong, and until we find the exact key, the story will not progress. It is true that everything in this title is scripted, and it is difficult to get out of an already very structured plot.

Cosmic Horros examined with a magnifying glass

Visually the title presents elements to improve. It is true that we move in vast and varied places. From the typical London streets mentioned above, to New Orleans swamps and mental hospitals with an unappetizing atmosphere. But the graphic aspect does not end to stand out as it should. This is mainly due to the faces and facial animations they possess. With the exception of our main protagonist, the others remain in the background. Besides, excellent work of expressions with Sherlock Holmes, to which we notice how physical and mental fatigue takes its toll as we progress through our investigations.

I also tell you that, even if at first we can notice a technical decline compared to similar works, The visual aspect is not really important in this game. Personally, I’m more interested in having a variety of puzzles, than the captivating story, that we visit new areas and that we don’t fall into useless fillers that inflate the hours of play. In these respects , Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened delivers beautifully. And let’s not forget the severe wartime issues the studio had to deal with before launching its work, which prevented the development from having been adequate for a job of such magnitude.

Conclusion of Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened

Frogwares Studios returns with another adventure from Britain’s most popular detective in the literary world. For this occasion, the company chose to make a remake of Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened, and the result couldn’t have been more satisfying. The facelift is brutal, and its playable mechanics leave aside the facet of point and click to return to the control that we have already seen in Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One. A system that seems complex at first sight, since it is necessary to select the tracks that interest us

Although visually the title does not stand out for its cutting-edge graphics, the vast locations that we will visit are very good, and we will even see how Sherlock’s face changes as the adventure progresses. Undoubtedly, this investigation that intersects with the worship of the God Cthulhu makes the story much darker and more serious compared to previous opuses. If you don’t like graphic adventures, you’re going to take advantage of the 12 hours it may take us to solve the case. Who will win this battle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or HP Lovecraft?