Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One - Deluxe Edition

Platform: PS5
Edition: PS5 digital deluxe
Trophies: 82% - 32/39
Rating: (6) fine ⚪🟡⚪⚪

I liked Frogwares' previous Sherlock games The Devil's Daughter and Crimes & Punishments. Chapter One is kind of a reboot and a prequel. At first I was constantly distracted by Sherlock's e-boy drip. Dude looks like he'd just made an appointment for his first face tat. Luckily there are plenty of other clothes Holmes can wear, including some free add-ons. No leather gloves and mall-goth chains for my Sherlock, thank you!

It took me a while to really start liking this game and getting used to some of its unusual story and gameplay choices. Not a fan of the almost "supernatural" elements (i.e. the mind palace seeping into the real world nonsense). Sherlock's new sidekick Jon (not John) is absolutely ridiculous and doesn't work for me at all. He's repetitive when guiding the player, terribly unfunny and he keeps calling Sherlock "Sherry". Uggggh... That guy really grinds my gears. He constantly ruins the atmosphere and his personality is way too bubbly and childish for a detective game.

The game isn't without other issues either, like frequent framerate drops in the open world, especially when running. The controls felt unintuitive and confusing at first, but I got used to them after a while. Many of the basic gameplay elements aren't very intuitive and they can be confusing even when explained. I think this has always been a weak point in Frogwares' games. At least there's a "How to play" section in the menu. I like that combat was included this time, however it isn't very good. Not the worst I've played, just pointless.

Still, what matters the most is the detective work. There are some genuinely great cases and the writing is (aside from Jon's constant quips) pretty good. The story takes place on a fictional Mediterranean island Cordona instead of London, which was a good idea. Cordona feels like a real place from the 19th century. When I was investigating, it felt like I was actually solving a case and not just pressing buttons to progress. Of course some of the crimes were quite out there, but that's just part of the charm with this type of fiction.

For me, Chapter One felt like a step back. I think an open world was too ambitious and this game would've benefited from a tighter and more linear setting. Rarely have I disliked a character as much as Jon, but I learned to ignore his ass and even grow to like the game a fair bit.

7.5