Sherlock Holmes (game series)

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Sherlock Holmes
Holmesserieslogo.jpg
developer UkraineUkraine Frogwares
First title Sherlock Holmes: The Secret of the Mummy (2002)
Last title Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter (2016)
Platform (s) Wii , Nintendo DS , Nintendo 3DS , PS3 , PS4 , Xbox 360 , Xbox One , Windows , iOS
Genre (s) Adventure

Sherlock Holmes is the name of a video game series by the Ukrainian game developer Frogwares . The game series is based on the fictional character Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle . It was published between 2002 and 2016 and comprises eight titles and four other offshoots, which are, however, assigned to a different genre. The games can basically be assigned to the adventure genre.

The game series was largely praised by critics and sold several million times.

Gameplay

The deduction diagram from Sherlock Holmes hunts Jack the Ripper , in which collected information is linked to inference.

The Sherlock Holmes series can basically be assigned to the adventure genre. The player controls his character, usually Sherlock Holmes or Dr. Watson , in some parts other characters, through the game world. The player can move freely through the game world, which for the most part consists of Victorian London. Various criminal cases have to be solved. While in the first part the game is controlled from the point of view of Sherlock Holmes, without the possibility of moving the camera, in the later parts the player has the option between a static camera fixed in the room and the first or third person perspective to choose. In order to clear up the cases, the player must speak to other characters from the game world or read newspaper articles and books. Furthermore, he has to combine and use objects found in the game world to solve puzzles. Found indications and observations must be linked in a diagram to form conclusions.

With The Secret of the Persian Carpet and Sherlock Holmes and the Dog from Baskerville a , two games have been released that follow a different gameplay: The two games can be assigned to the casual game genre and are a mixture of a hidden object and a puzzle game. Only two-dimensional graphics are used in the two games and the player must solve puzzles and search tasks to complete the game. He has the choice between different levels of difficulty.

Main series

title date Year of
action 		platform
Pc XB360 XBOne PS3 PS4 Wii DS
Sherlock Holmes: The Secret of the Mummy June 29, 2002 1899 Yes No No No No No Yes
Sherlock Holmes: The Secret of the Silver Earring 0Aug 6, 2004 1897 Yes No No No No Yes No
Sherlock Holmes: The Trail of the Awakened June 22, 2006 1894 Yes No No No No No No
Sherlock Holmes chases Arsène Lupine May 10, 2007 1895 Yes No No No No No No
Sherlock Holmes is chasing Jack the Ripper May 27, 2009 1888 Yes Yes No No No No No
The will of Sherlock Holmes Sep 20 2012 1898 Yes Yes No Yes No No No
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments 0Sep 9 2014 From 1895 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter June 10, 2016 - Yes No Yes No Yes No No

Sherlock Holmes: The Secret of the Mummy

Sherlock Holmes: The Secret of the Mummy is the first offshoot of the Sherlock Holmes series and was first published in Europe on June 29, 2002 for Windows . In America the game was only released on January 22, 2003. A version for the Nintendo DS was released in April 2009.

In The Secret of the Mummy , the player controls Sherlock Holmes through the fictional Montcalfe Castle and has to solve the death of the former owner of the castle. He has to solve puzzles and find documents that will help him solve the death. Unlike in the following parts, the player only controls Sherlock Holmes and not also Doctor Watson, as he is on vacation.

Sherlock Holmes: The Secret of the Silver Earring

Sherlock Holmes: The secret of the silver earring is the name of the second part of the Sherlock Holmes series for Windows and the Wii . The video game was developed by Frogwares and distributed in Germany by dtp entertainment . It was released in Germany on November 19, 2004 for Windows, while the Wii version was only released on November 17, 2011.

In The Secret of the Silver Earring , the player must play as Sherlock Holmes or Dr. Watson solve the death of Sir Melvyn Bromsby. He was murdered while giving a speech on his daughter's return. The player has to secure traces and question people. Any evidence collected must be examined in the laboratory at 221b Baker Street .

Sherlock Holmes: The Trail of the Awakened

With Sherlock Holmes: The Trail of the Awakened appeared the third part of the Sherlock Holmes series for Windows . The game was developed by Frogwares and first published by Frogster in Germany on September 24, 2006 for Windows.

In The Trail of the Awakened , the player must play as Sherlock Holmes or Dr. Watson investigate the disappearance of an English Colonel's servant. The game is the first part of the series in which the environment is rendered in real time in 3D. For the first time, the player controls the character from the first person perspective .

Sherlock Holmes chases Arsène Lupine

Sherlock Holmes chases Arsène Lupine is the fourth installment in the Sherlock Holmes series for Microsoft Windows . The game was developed by Frogwares and published for the first time in France on October 25, 2007 by publisher Focus Home Interactive . In Germany, the game was released on November 16, 2007 and was distributed by Deep Silver .

In Sherlock Holmes, Arsène Lupine Chases the player as Sherlock Holmes or Dr. Watson prevent the French master thief Arsène Lupine from stealing five of England's most important symbols in order to save the honor of England that Lupine seeks to destroy. The player visits many well-known places, such as the National Gallery or the British Museum .

Sherlock Holmes is chasing Jack the Ripper

With Sherlock Holmes chasing Jack the Ripper , the fifth part of the Sherlock Holmes series for Windows and Xbox 360 was released in spring 2009 . The game was developed by Frogwares and published by Focus Home Interactive . A port for the Xbox 360 from the Spiders development studio was released on November 27, 2009. Although the game in Germany was planned for the end of May 2009, it was released on August 14, 2009 after a postponement.

In Sherlock Holmes Hunt Jack the Ripper the player must play as Sherlock Holmes or Dr. Watson solve the murders of historic serial killer Jack the Ripper . The game is based on the facts of the Whitechapel murder series , but the game tells a fictional story around Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.

The will of Sherlock Holmes

The Will of Sherlock Holmes is the sixth installment in the Sherlock Holmes series and was first released in Europe on September 20, 2012. The game was developed by Frogwares for Windows , Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and published by Focus Home Interactive . In Germany, the game was distributed by the German publisher Koch Media under the Deep Silver brand and only appeared one day later, on September 21. In North America, the game was released by publisher Atlus on September 25, 2012.

The Will of Sherlock Holmes uses a completely newly developed graphics engine for the first time and was developed as the first part of the series by Frogwares from the beginning for both the PC and game consoles . In the game, Sherlock Holmes himself is suspected of having committed a theft and murder. The player has to solve, among other things, the death of the Bishop of Knightsbridge in order to prove the innocence of Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments

With Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments ( Eng . About "Crimes and Punishments") the seventh part of the Sherlock Holmes series appeared for Xbox 360 , Xbox One , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation 4 and Windows . The game was developed by Frogwares and published by Focus Home Interactive on September 30, 2014. The title alludes to the novel Crime and Punishment ( Engl. Crime and Punishment ) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky on.

In Crimes and Punishments , the player has to solve six different cases for the first time that are not directly related to a plot. As the first part of the series, the game uses Unreal Engine 3 and so has more detailed and realistic graphics than its predecessors.

Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter

Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter ( Eng . About "The Devil's Daughter") is the eighth and newest installment in the Sherlock Holmes series and was released for Xbox One , PlayStation 4 and Windows . The game was developed by Frogwares and published by Bigben Interactive on June 10, 2016.

In The Devil's Daughter , the player has to solve five different cases that are not directly related to a plot. In addition to resolving puzzles by finding clues and questioning people, known from its predecessors, action passages are also added to the game for the first time, which have to be overcome, for example, through quick-time events .

Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One

Frogwares announced on May 25, 2020, Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One, a prequel to the Sherlock Holmes series. The game is scheduled to be released in 2021 for PC , Xbox One , PlayStation 4, as well as Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 . In the game, as a young Sherlock Holmes, the player solves various puzzles in an open game world together with his friend Jonathan .

reception

Aggregated ratings
game Metacritic GameRankings supporting documents
Main series
Sherlock Holmes: The Secret of the Mummy 61% 63.17%
Sherlock Holmes: The Secret of the Silver Earring 68% 70.23%
Sherlock Holmes: The Trail of the Awakened 72% 71.32%
Sherlock Holmes chases Arsène Lupine 71% 73.41%
Sherlock Holmes is chasing Jack the Ripper 73% 71.94%
The will of Sherlock Holmes 73% 75.42%
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments 77% 80.60%
Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter 65% 62.33%
Further offshoots
Sherlock Holmes: The Secret of the Persian Carpet - 40.00%
Sherlock Holmes and The Mystery Of Osborne House 48% 60.60%
Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of Baskerville a - -
Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Frozen City - 53.33%

Overall, the Sherlock Holmes series was received largely positively by critics. The series is known for its rather high level of difficulty and it often takes a long time to solve puzzles. Critics praise the series for the challenging and mostly well-thought-out puzzles. While the series was initially criticized for a rather weak and uninteresting story, the later parts were praised for the self-written actions and dialogues. The game The Devil's Daughter has been heavily criticized for changing the game mechanics from the previously exclusive adventure gameplay to a more action- focused gameplay.

Technically, the first parts of the series were criticized for the graphic implementation. Matthias Mangelsdorf from Adventure Corner wrote about The Secret of the Mummy : “Graphically, 'The Secret of the Mummy' is only partially convincing. Sometimes the graphics appear very pixelated and, despite the filter that can be switched on, a bit washed out. ”Even after The Trail of the Awakened was rendered completely in real time in 3D as the first part of the series, the criticism of the poor graphic implementation remained. Thus, The Awakened for the missing shadow of moving objects and the low level of detail of the textures used in the game criticized. Only after The Testament of Sherlock Holmes used a completely newly developed graphics engine this point of criticism disappeared. The last two parts of the series used the Unreal Engine 3 for the first time and were praised for the more realistic and detailed graphics that it made possible.

Sales figures

The first four parts of the series were able to sell around 1.5 million times by early 2009. By 2012, about four million units of the first six parts of the Sherlock Holmes series had been sold, most of them on the PC. All eight games in the series sold around 7 million times together by 2016.

Further offshoots

Casual games

title date platform genre annotation
Pc iOS DS 3DS
Sherlock Holmes: The Secret of the Persian Carpet 0May 9, 2008 Yes No No No Casual game
Sherlock Holmes and The Mystery Of Osborne House July 24, 2010 No No Yes No Casual game Published in UK and USA only
Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of Baskerville a Nov 11, 2010 Yes Yes No No
Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Frozen City Oct 25, 2012 No No No Yes

Collections

Various collections have been published for the Sherlock Holmes series that contain several games from the series.

  • The Sherlock Holmes: Collection 2010 is a game collection published by Focus Home Interactive on November 20, 2009, which contains a total of four games from the Sherlock Holmes series. With Sherlock Holmes, Arsène Lupine , The Silver Earring , The Secret of the Mummy and The Trace of the Awakened, the collection contains the first four adventures from the Sherlock Holmes series in a completely revised version.
  • The Sherlock Holmes: Ultimate Collection is a game collection published by the publisher Daedalic Entertainment on July 10, 2012, which contains a total of seven games from the Sherlock Holmes series. The collection contains the first five adventures from the Sherlock Holmes series as well as the two casual games The Secret of the Persian Carpet and Sherlock Holmes and the Dog from Baskerville a . The two DVDs also contain the soundtrack to the games and other extras such as artwork and concept art.

Remarks

aThe game Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of Baskerville was partly sold under the name Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gameswelt editorial team: Special: Interview with Frogwares , In: Gameswelt.de ; dated January 21, 2005, accessed May 20, 2019.
  2. ^ Benjamin Braun: Sherlock Holmes: Frogwares is already working on a successor , In: GamersGlobal.de ; November 21, 2014, accessed May 20, 2019.
  3. ↑ Achim Fehrenbach: Ich, Sherlock Holmes , In: Tagesspiegel .de ; dated August 21, 2014, accessed May 13, 2019.
  4. ↑ Daniela Salten: Sherlock Holmes - The Secret of the Persian Carpet , In: dlh.net ; dated March 4, 2009, accessed May 13, 2019.
  5. ↑ Claudia K .: Sherlock Holmes and the dog of the Baskervilles , In: Gamesetter.com ; November 16, 2010, accessed May 13, 2019.
  6. ↑ a b c Games. In: Frogwares. Frogwares Games, accessed March 20, 2018 (games by Frogwares).
  7. ↑ Kevin Kutlesa: Interview - Olgy Ryzkho - Frogwares , In: TheMentalAttic.com ; accessed on May 30, 2019 (English).
  8. ↑ a b Sciere, Patrick Bregger: Frogwares' Sherlock Holmes series. In: MobyGames . Blue Flame Labs, accessed March 20, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Sam Parker: Adventure Company unwraps mummy mystery , In: GameSpot.com ; dated December 10, 2002, accessed May 7, 2019.
  10. ↑ Bodo Naser: Test: Sherlock Holmes DS: The secret of the mummy , In: 4Players ; dated May 8, 2009, accessed May 7, 2019.
  11. ↑ Fabian Walden: Sherlock Holmes - beta tests over , In: Gameswelt.de ; dated November 12, 2004, accessed May 18, 2019.
  12. ↑ Tobias Simon: Sherlock Holmes: The Secret of the Silver Earring , In: Gameswelt.de ; dated July 25, 2011, accessed May 18, 2019.
  13. ↑ Claudia Fudeus: With umbrella, charm and checked hat , In: Stern .de ; dated December 19, 2004, accessed May 18, 2019.
  14. ↑ Fabian Walden: Demo for Sherlock 3 online , In: Eurogamer.de ; dated November 13, 2006, accessed May 18, 2019.
  15. ↑ a b Andreas Philipp: Sherlock Holmes: The trace of the awakened , In: Gameswelt.de ; dated December 4, 2006, accessed May 18, 2019.
  16. ↑ Sherlock Holmes chasing Arsène Lupine (2007 Video Game) Release Info , In: IMDb .com ; accessed on June 23, 2019.
  17. ↑ Martin Le: Sherlock Holmes chasing Arsène Lupine - postponement + new screenshots , In: GameStar .de ; dated November 6, 2007, accessed June 23, 2019.
  18. ↑ Sherlock Holmes chasing Arsène Lupine , In: ComputerBild .de ; dated December 1, 2017, accessed June 23, 2019.
  19. ↑ Tobias Simon: Sherlock Holmes chasing Jack the RipperX360 implementation terminated , In: Gameswelt.de ; dated November 12, 2009, accessed June 16, 2019.
  20. ↑ Bodo Naser: Sherlock Holmes 5 postponed? * Update * , In: 4Players .de ; dated May 25, 2009, accessed June 16, 2019.
  21. ↑ Bodo Naser: Test: Sherlock Holmes chases Jack the Ripper , In: 4Players .de ; dated August 14, 2009, accessed June 16, 2019.
  22. ↑ a b Testament of Sherlock Holmes Review , In: PCInvasion.com ; dated October 28, 2012, accessed June 16, 2019.
  23. ↑ Volker Raab: The will of the Sherlock Homes: Release date and new screenshots revealed , In: PCGames.de ; dated August 23, 2012, accessed June 16, 2019.
  24. ↑ a b c Tobias Maack: The Testament of Sherlock Holmes , In: AdventureCorner.de ; dated August 28, 2012, accessed May 25, 2019.
  25. ↑ Annika Schumann: Sherlock Holmes - Crimes and Punishments: Release date limited , In: GIGA .de ; dated May 7, 2014, accessed May 12, 2019.
  26. ↑ a b Andre Linken: Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments - Exact release date announced , In: GameStar .de ; dated August 8, 2014, accessed May 12, 2019.
  27. ↑ Dennis Reisdorf: Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter - release postponed, new gameplay trailer , In: PCGames.de ; dated April 14, 2016, accessed May 12, 2019.
  28. ↑ Markus Schwerdtel: Disappointment of the year 2016 - Markus: Sherlock Holmes - The Devil's Daughter , In: GameStar .de ; dated December 24, 2016, accessed May 12, 2019.
  29. ↑ Manuel Eichhorn: Sherlock Holmes Chapter One - Frogwares develops Prequel , In: Gamers-Palace.de ; from May 25, 2020, accessed on May 28, 2020.
  30. ↑ Matthias Dammes: The testament of Sherlock Holmes in the test: The so far gloomy case for the master detective , In: PCGames.de ; dated October 2, 2012, accessed May 25, 2019.
  31. ^ A b Matthias Mangelsdorf: Sherlock Holmes: The secret of the mummy , In: AdventureCorner.de ; dated June 2, 2003, accessed May 25, 2019.
  32. ↑ a b Dimitry Halley: Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter in the test - Full throttle in the wrong direction , In: GameStar.de ; dated June 8, 2016, accessed May 25, 2019.
  33. ↑ Ronny O .: Test and evaluation: Sherlock Holmes - The trace of the awakened , In: Adventures-Kompakt.de ; accessed on May 25, 2019.
  34. ↑ Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper. In: gamesindustry.biz. April 29, 2009, accessed on June 23, 2019 (English): "The Sherlock Holmes series is known as one of the best franchises in adventure games and is very popular with around 1.5 million copies sold worldwide."
  35. ↑ Colin Campbell: Sherlock Holmes Returns to Investigative Gaming , In: IGN .de ; dated September 21, 2012, accessed on May 25, 2019.
  36. ^ Yves Günther: Current sales figures for the Frogwares series , In: Gameswelt.de ; dated April 5, 2019, accessed May 25, 2019.
  37. ^ "Sherlock Holmes DS and The Mystery Of Osborne House" - Official Web Site Launched , In: IGN .de ; dated June 10, 2010, accessed on May 18, 2019.
  38. ↑ Tobias Simon: 3DS offshoot receives an exact date , In: Gameswelt.de ; dated October 24, 2012, accessed May 18, 2019.
  39. ↑ Patrick Schröder: Sherlock Holmes Collection 2010 , In: Gameswelt.de ; November 20, 2009, accessed June 2, 2019.
  40. ↑ Tobias Simon: Sherlock Holmes Ultimate Collection , In: Gameswelt.de ; dated July 10, 2012, accessed June 2, 2019.
  41. ↑ Sherlock Holmes and the Baskerville Hound , In: USK.de ; accessed on November 5, 2019.
  42. ↑ "Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles" Break the curse of the Baskervilles! , In: Bild .de ; accessed on November 5, 2019.
  • Aggregated ratings of the Sherlock Holmes series, In: Metacritic .com ; accessed on May 20, 2019 (English).
  1. ↑ Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy
  2. ↑ Sherlock Holmes: The Silver Earring
  3. ↑ Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened
  4. ↑ Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis (Eng. "Chasing Arsène Lupine")
  5. ↑ Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper
  6. ↑ The Testament of Sherlock Holmes
  7. ↑ Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments
  8. ↑ Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter
  9. ↑ Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Persian Carpet
  10. ↑ Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Osborne House
  11. ↑ Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles
  12. ↑ Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Frozen City
  • Aggregated ratings of the Sherlock Holmes series, In: GameRankings .com ; accessed on May 20, 2019 (English).
  1. ↑ Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy
  2. ↑ Sherlock Holmes: The Silver Earring
  3. ↑ Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened
  4. ↑ Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis (Eng. "Chasing Arsène Lupine")
  5. ↑ Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper
  6. ↑ The Testament of Sherlock Holmes
  7. ↑ Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments
  8. ↑ Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter
  9. ↑ Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Persian Carpet
  10. ↑ Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Osborne House
  11. ↑ Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles
  12. ↑ Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Frozen City
Computer games related to Sherlock Holmes


Sherlock Holmes series by Frogwares
Main series

The Secret of the Mummy (2002) • The Secret of the Silver Earring (2004) • The Trail of the Awakened (2006) • Sherlock Holmes Chases Arsène Lupine (2007) • Sherlock Holmes Chases Jack the Ripper (2009) • The Testament of Sherlock Holmes ( 2012) • Crimes & Punishments (2014) • The Devil's Daughter (2016)

More games

The Mystery of the Persian Carpet (2008) • Sherlock Holmes and The Mystery Of Osborne House (2010) • Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles (2010) • Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Frozen City (2012) •

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective (1991) • Vol. II (1992) • Vol. III (1993)

The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes

The Case of the Serrated Scalpel (1992) • The Secret of the Tattooed Rose (1996)

More Sherlock Holmes video games

Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels (1987)