Sherlock Holmes is one of the most well known detectives. So many movies, TV shows and games are based on the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and his trusted companion Dr. Watson. But will Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened will be a game Sherlock Holmes fans Want to play ?

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is a bit of a departure from the more kid friendly games and what I mean by that is that the previous Sherlock Holmes games were pretty tame compared to this or even the later games in the series.

Story wise this is an interesting title. Sherlock Holmes has to solve a supernatural case which involves the legendary Cthulhu created by H.P. Lovecraft. Some illegal immigrants go missing and soon wind up dead in crime scenes that look like ritualistic sacrifices and it's up to you to solve the mystery.

As I stated before this is a departure from the more teen friendly games. This game has this unsettling mood. The atmosphere in every location feels great even though the graphics don't look that good.

Locations range from Asylums, to swamps in New Orleans and abandoned light houses and you can explore everything at your own pace and there is a lot of stuff to find.

Now originally this game only had the first person mode, but the remastered edition has an added third person point and click mode that helps out in some locations which have bad textures (I'll get to that in a moment)

Graphics look outdated. Some of the items you need to pick up blend in with the environment. Some of the lip syncing is just hilarious when the character models look like dead people. Some of the environments looks empty, but that's only for a second.

Now I want to cover the most important aspect of a Sherlock Holmes game and that's the puzzles. After playing Sherlock Holmes Mystery of the Silver Earring I was put off with the illogical puzzles. This time I was surprised with how smart the puzzles actually were. Now there was some hard puzzles and some of them are kind of stupid, but mostly really smart and well thought out puzzles.

Voice acting ranges from well done to incredibly horrible. Some of the voice acting is just incredibly funny. When they talk about serious situations all I did was smile at the voice acting.

If you do plan on playing the game I do recommend saving quite frequently and backing up your save file, cause there is a bug where you can lose your save file. Apart from that there's not many other bugs.

The game took me 8 hours to finish and apart from the one run of the game you will do, there's not much replay value as nothing really changes.

In the end I have to say I loved my time with Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened and I might say it's the best Sherlock Holmes game I've played to date. The interesting story and puzzles are great in this game, because I felt they were the biggest flaw in The Mystery of the Silver Earring. If you like Adventure games, Sherlock Holmes and you like the work of H.P. Lovecraft you will love this game.

Final Rating:
8/10 - Worth to consider buying it.

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BottomLine at the Top: The third entry in Frogware games' Sherlock Holmes series has some good aspects that Arthur Conan Doyle fans will appreciate but would otherwise be a weak 3D point and click game that lacks substance. Decent story, mediocre graphics, and a very unfulfilling ending. Recommended only to fans of the later Sherlock Holmes titles that are looking for something to satiate their urge for more of these kinds of games.


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Pros
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-Story does feel very Sherlock Holmes-y, there are a few points where the mystery starts to feel really intriguing. (Later entries in the series pulls this off better but I get the feeling this is the first one where Frogware started perfecting it). The overall Holmes/Cthulhu mythos mash up piqued my interest as a big fan of both genres. (Note: Those expecting a supernatural thriller should keep in mind that the solution in Doyle's stories was never ghosts. This game stays true to that mantra which fans of Sherlock Holmes will appreciate but fans of Lovecraft might find lacking. It is, first and foremost, a Holmes game.)
-Some good quality of life features: Double click run, map allows for fast travel, lots of save slots, object highlight function.
-Get to play as both Watson and Holmes.
-Detailed and tiered in game hint system (which ends up being crucial)
-Loads fast on modern systems.


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Meh.
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-Issues with getting the game to run properly the first time. Had to reinstall Nvidia’s old PhysX engine drivers to get it to work. Once that’s all set it runs well even on a moderately powered machine.
-Main menu design screams "low budget 2000's indie studio title".
-This remastered version allows you to play in 3rd person instead of the default 1st person. It ends up feeling tedious to use the 3rd person version so I stuck to 1st for the most part.


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Cons
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-Graphics seem dated even for the era in which this game was released. Environments feel stale (streets feel bared and sterile) and lifeless. A notable exception is the water physics, which look surprisingly good for a 12-year-old game. Textures quality varies from poor to acceptable.
-The lack of in game dialogue interaction with Watson was a huge miss in my opinion. It really would have brought a sense of immersion to the world to ask him his opinions more often like in the Stories/movies/tv shows. As well as offering a more natural way of bringing hints in game without having to revert to the menu-based hint system. During actual game play his primary response is "What do you make of this Holmes?". They could have at least recorded like 3 or 4 default responses but it's just this one over, and over, and OVER AGAIN. His only other response is "we must act quickly Holmes" which made me say out loud "No S*** Sherlock how ‘bout some insightful commentary there Watson?!?" on more than one occasion.
-The reuse of prerecorded responses by Holmes is also irritating and feels like a cheap cop out to save on having to write dialogue or pay the voice actors more.
-More than a few puzzle designs are stupid.
-Cutscenes character animations are laughably "stiff" and just plain poor. Lack of music during some of them just makes it even more awkward.
-Ending is incredibly anti-climactic and the final puzzle was just godawful. We are left being told that we stopped a great evil but reflecting on the whole story it just feels like it built up to nothing.


At 7.5 hours game play for the regular $10 asking price it's not a terrible value but due to the so-so quality of the overall game I only recommend you pick this one up on sale. I originally played the last two entries in the Frogware series "Crimes and Punishments" and "The Devil's Daughter" first. They are both excellent games that I highly recommend any mystery adventure fan play. This title seems to be the first that incorporates mechanics that would later be refined by the time "Crimes and Punishments" and "The Devil's Daughter" were released. If you are a fan of either of those, I would say give this one a shot but keep your expectations low.

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This is my third Sherlock Holmes Adventure From Frogware and let me get straight to the point: this was quite unexpected.
This version is a Remastered and modified edition from the original game so it presented itself as a classic Point and Click Adventure Like its predecessor but it still keeps the option to allow you play it in First Person View, which along the adventure it really proved to be useful to move fastly and to notice places, items or other particular useful details.
Aside From that the thing that really got me unprepared was the total tone change: it's not a secret, in this adventure Our Holmes And the Good pal Dr. Watson will investigate murders and disappearences that will lead to a cult that worship Chtulu himself. So obviously this adventure won't be a classic adventure in the high society London (well, at least not entirely), but the settings and the character will be quite dark and even disturbed sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I don't get impressed at all by anythig I saw here, it was simply unexpected.
Anyways this dark tone is a good innovation, but not the only one. The Sherlock Holmes adventures seem to be improving title by title. The interface is now polished and intuitive (not over-decorated) and the brief quiz has been resized to be a single question to be answered by writing the answer (nothing too complicated, it usually is a thing or a name -spoilerless-). A good innovation is the clever use of the map, which can be used to move fastly from one place to another. Unfortunately I've still noticed few issues here and there with the hot zones while using the classic point & click interface, but actually nothing that bad. Another thing that often annoys me is that you need to accomplish every action to move ahead or to allow an action prior to move ahead. I know it's right to have Sherlock analyze everything and talk with everyone, but some riddles are easy enough to be solved before they're supposed to be (an example? The lemon plant).
I enjoyed the story n this chapter even though I've missed the final Sherlock monologue where the guilty is revealed (though it's fine in a Dark adventure like this, and the One behind all is revealed at the very end, and I appreciated the consequences of this adventure).

• CHTULU. This chapter's story revolves around Chtulu's myth, hence the cult, the temples and locations you'll encounter or visit are quite disturbing and this unusual setting is very innovative for a Sherlock Holmes Adventure.
  
• INTERFACE. From this chapter the interface is not over-decorated and is now intuitive as it was supposed to be. It features also the orginal First Person View and a map system that allows travelling from place to place faster.

• ACTIONS REQUIRE ACTIONS. I know it's right to have Sherlock analyze everything and talk with everyone before you move on, but some riddles are easy enough to be solved before they're supposed to be so I don't get the sense in preventing certain actions.

I started Frogware's Sherlock Holmes series in chronological order of the games. Currently, this is my favorite Sherlock Holmes game. I have always been a fan of H.P. Lovecraft in addition to Sherlock Holmes. The only way to make it even better is to include H. G. Wells to the mix, but I digress. This game set the standard of how the rest of the Sherlock Holmes Adventure Games are presented and produced. The story walks a fine line between the two worlds of H.P. Lovecraft and Sherlock Holmes and surprisingly the resolution is satisfy for both worlds. The adventure felt like Sherlock Holmes was on the case while the Lovecraftian themes never felt like a gimic. When I finished I sat back and pondered if the Lovecraftian themes were real or not; which is how Lovecraft should make the reader, or in this case the player, feel.

This is also the fist Sherlock Holmes game where I took extensive notes with a pen and paper. I am not saying that the game presents a bad summary of the clues or even that you need to take physical notes, but I found that it was more enjoyable when I did. I never felt, atleast to my memory, that the game was unfair with its puzzles or logic.

Furthermore, refrences will appear from this game to the next game in the series, Sherlock Holmes - Nemisis. So to fulfill that experiance you should probably play this one.

In summary: This game does a fantastic job combining H.P Lovecraft and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's worlds. This is a rare game which uses Lovecraft correctly, which will please any Lovecraft fans. Buy this game if you are a fan of either litature. I also suggest this game to individuals who would like to try Frogware's Sherlock Holmes Adventure series but are not sure which game to start with. This game is a great Point and Click game with a strong atmosphere. I at this time of writing palyed this game for 9 hours, and after writing this review I want to replay this game from the beginning.

I've been enjoying the modern reimaginings of Sherlock on CBS (Elementary) and the even better BBC series. So, when the Sherlock collection went on sale on Steam, I decided to give it a try. Of course, this game portrays the original Sherlock Holmes.

This is mostly typical point-and-click adventure fare and puzzles, with a little more than the usual pixel hunting due to the forensic nature of the story. For a game created in 2006 and then "remastered" in 2008, the production values are low, but the voice acting is pretty good. There are a few brain teasers thrown in, which can be difficult, but there is a built-in hint system. The game requires a little bit of deductive reasoning, but it falls short of making you feel like Sherlock. All too often, you gather all the evidence only to have Holmes pull it all together in a cut scene. The story is kinda slow, but it comes together nicely in the end. All in all, not a bad game, but not great either.

A good game including a fun chase through New Orleans dock area. Only complaint about the game is that Dr. Watson is constantly in my face and is more a pest than an asset. Interesting puzzles and several colourful locations. Lots of game for the price (about 3$ CDN on sale).

This game has too many flaws to be recommended on its own. I bought it as a bundle containing a lot of Frogware's Sherlock Holmes and enjoyed it thinking that the other games were enough for the price I payed but I wouldn't pay for it on its own.

The reason I don't think it is worth buying itself is the badly executed gameplay mechanics. Through the game you have to switch between third person and first person. A lot of the first person perspective gameplay is just too difficult. The areas are huge. I don't think many people like pixel hunts in giant 3D environments.. There is a hotspot highlighter but not all hotspots highlight depending on which perspective you are playing from. You also have to get really really close to some of the hotspots to make them highlight.

The trigger mechanism of the game is also annoying. The game will wait until you have located all the hotspots in a certain area before the plot can advance and some of these aren't very relevant to the plot and can be really hard to find.

In theory you can consult the game's built in hint system but it reveals more spoilers than help.

This is all a shame as the plot and character scripts are really, really, good. Playing it with a walkthrough close to hand I actually really enjoyed the story and some of the puzzles which didn't require too much hunting in huge 3D locations.

If you happen to be buying a bundle of Sherlock games then 'Testament', 'Silver Earring', or 'vs Arese Lupin' are worth about $10 each on their own so don't be put off by the inclusion of 'Awakened' but I wouldn't buy it alone.

Do not purchase this game. At some point, you'll run into the issue that it will not allow you to save the game.

I finished playing Sherlock Holmes: the Awakened from 2008, and it took me 8.5 hours of playtime, give or take. I don't regret playing it! In fact, I'm honestly thrilled it was interesting enough to keep me playing for the whole game, and I finished it pretty satisfied.

That said, uh, holy cannoli this game is jank personified. You know it's going to be a rough ride when the remaster includes an in-game walkthrough accessible at literally any time...and you still need the aid of other walkthroughs for some of the late-game puzzles.

So, what's the deal, what is this game? It's a Frogwares adventure game about Sherlock Holmes investigating the mysterious disappearance of an abused servant, taking him to all kinds of locations, domestic and international. The original game was a standard third person point n' click game, but the remaster added a first person POV that you can swap to at any time, and I wound up playing in that mode for the majority of the game - simply because movement is faster, and ramming Sherlock's face into points of interest to click on them was funnier than mousing over them to find the hotspots to click on.

Play goes like this: watch voiced in-engine cutscenes, listen to the dialogue, then run around interacting with hotspots to pick up items, talk to people, etc etc. Use the mouse wheel to select the items in your inventory, then apply item to hotspot to see if it'll solve the puzzle. Go into your inventory to combine objects by dragging them on top of each other. Standard adventure game fare, I have no complaints with this. The game looks good for the era, with a charming kind of visual design, and the voice actors are also pretty good - Sherlock was a bit rushed at times, but it was all fun to listen to. (Especially the ones from the USA segment, they picked VAs from the "generic southern accent" store and it was hilarious.

So, my god, the jank. The jank. You will rapidly discover two things:

1) The game devs built this game as a linear experience, with NO deviations from the script. And I mean NONE. Example: you're in a cave. You have picked up a funnel. You walk to an area in the cave and realize you can shout to Watson for help from a crack in the ceiling. But he can't hear you! You think - aha, use the funnel to amplify your voice! You try to do this. Sherlock does nothing. Why? Because you didn't go back to the first room with the funnel and interact with the lantern in there first! orz That might be the worst example, but it's not the only one. You MUST do things in order, and Sherlock WILL refuse to leave an area if you haven't done everything in it.

2) "sherlock I have been over this shed with a fine-tooth comb there is nothing LET ME LEAVE THE AREA" you plead as he says "I haven't collected all the evidence yet." and refuses to go. You turn back to the shed. You have examined it 50 times in first person POV and third. There's nothing. You begin again. Oh. There is a tiny pixel on the door that you missed. Or, in another location, you didn't notice the invisible blood in the footprint examination screen, and it's holding up everything.

It's enough to drive one silly. Fortunately you can get through most of this with the walkthrough, as it's clearly laid out and gives good hints before giving the answer. There are a few puzzles in the game that are utter ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, though, but... well, I made it.

My reward? A pretty fun, if disjointed story of the investigation going from the Docks to an insane asylum to America to a really cool puzzle involving using latitude and longitude to locate a mysterious lighthouse with a real map. The puzzles aren't arbitrary, either - mostly - in the sense that you can read the hints and see how the developers got there. And the story itself is fun, as Sherlock pieces together what the hell the cult is up to, and it leads to a cool finale.

Would I recommend this game? It goes on sale for 2$ (abouts) on a regular basis and at that price... yeah! But like, with a lot of caveats. You HAVE to the kind of person who wants to see Sherlock getting up to something, and you HAVE to be patient with the jank. But if you are, I'd say it's worth the time.

But... alas... it did not contain creepy watson. He was fully animated and did not teleport around.

(I intend to pick up the remake from this year at some point and play it, fwiw, but I'm busy now playing Dracula Origins, which is like this game but much worse as there's no in-game walkthrough or first person POV so I have to tediously mouse over everything all the time. But my god, it's funny watching Van Helsing hunt for Dracula!)

Steam should ban developers from selling games that need to be debugged to launch in modern Windows systems.

I'm not here to debug your game and run compatibility tests. Make it work or delist it from Steam.