HomeReviewsSherlock Holmes: The Awakened (Remake)
Sherlock Holmes The Awakened review: a creepy Lovecraftian jaunt for Frogwares fansFriends with tentacles
Friends with tentacles
Frogwares are in a bit of a tight spot at the moment, being as they are a Ukranian studio. If I was trying to make video games in a warzone and: a) my last game was a big sexy prequel to my long running Sherlock Holmes series; b) the one before that was aLovecraftian detective gamewith pretty recent assets; and c) my back catalogue contained a Lovecraft-themed Sherlock Holmes mystery, then I’d probably do what they’ve done withSherlock Holmes The Awakened. Which is to remake the old Lovecraft-themed Sherlock Holmes game, but with new assets.
It’s also got new puzzles and areas, and a slightly rewritten story to account for this being a sequel toSherlock Holmes: Chapter One. It’s a smaller, less ambitious game than Chapter One with some jank knocking around, and I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re not a fan of the series, but you know what? I think there’s a glimmer of greatness in the very fact of its constraints.
(4K) Sherlock Holmes The Awakened | First Gameplay TrailerWatch on YouTube
(4K) Sherlock Holmes The Awakened | First Gameplay Trailer
You also do that thing where Holmes imagines what might have happened in a scene
The map is useful too, because it shows you investigation scenes you might have missed, like, e.g. the one here where a raccoon has stolen a man’s finger
There are problems with it, too. There are a few pop-in textures, Watson stands directly in your way quite a bit, the animation isn’t quite as good so Holmes and Watson will lead you deeper into the uncanny valley than you might like, and you’ll have no side quests to divert you from the main be-tentacled one. This central mystery isn’t really that great, and seems predicated more on the team just kind of having a thing for Cthulhu cults than whether that makes for a good Holmes adventure. Even with the rewrites I found it more fun to focus on the task at hand than the larger picture. The denouement to the whole thing is actually kind of dire. I think it’s impressive nonetheless, given the circumstances in which it was made, but it behoves me to tell you it isn’t perfect.
It’s thesecond game in a rowthat I’ve reviewed and said I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re a fan, but given The Awakened was Kickstarted (with some fund-raising incentives thatI’m not really on board withto boot) I’m preaching to the converted. In as much as you, like me, might want to see Frogwares continue, both to exist and to keep making their weirdo Sherlock Holmes games, you should check The Awakened out.
