[CASE 1 SPOILER] Can someone please explain to me the final conclusion in Prey Tell?

[PhantamaroK]

I don't understand how, based on the evidence, I was supposed to justify that Lord Marsh was hunting/killing paupers in the special education program. There seemed to be more evidence to indicate that Hurst was a psycopath (his son's description of his mood swing(s), the secret bunker, the letter from Jack...).

Usually I'm very satisfied at the end of the case, but with this one, I couldn't understand how I would have justified the correct conclusion.

[PhantamaroK]

And why was Hurst trying to shoot/kill Sherlock?

[Serefus]

they wrapped it up poorly, i literally said, "ok then....." lol

[PhantamaroK]

Originally posted by viewtifulguy:

they wrapped it up poorly, i literally said, "ok then....." lol

You're probably right. My girlfriend said last night, "You're still mad about that? It was just poorly written."

[Snappis]

I assume they did it as a 'Aha, everything isn't obvious' twist.
But unlike Crime and Punishments (where it is beautiful) it's just plain bad in this.
I honestly expected Collin to be the mastermind.

The main reason I accused Hurst was the chase scene. He shoots you and cackles when you run into a bear traps. You literally die if he catches up with you. "I was intentionally missing" my ass.

Marsh makes no sense either. He has zero motivation.
He orders a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ of supplies.. for show?
He makes it publically known... for show?
He hunts people because.. crazy?
He stores the bodies in a cabin in the woods labelled 'Marsh' because... spooky?
He hunts unarmed poor people but refuses to hunt wounded because... honor?

Then he calls you out if you accuse Hurst, despite the only contender being a (seemingly) crazy man.

[Burger King]

Let me first confess that I too made the wrong conclusion. After doing some research, there is evidence, albeit scant, that Lord Marsh (and his companions) were the killers.

We know that Marsh and his buddies were avid hunters. The "Selected Participants" for the Special Education Programme (the list of names) were selected for a "very promising event" in October. They were in an "S" group and were the only ones with dates next to them ("S" may stand for the "special job," but that's pure speculation). John Stowbridge was among the list and we know is missing.

The physician's actions were suspicious. Why was he in disguise when he was recruiting for the special education programme? Why did he take down the poster of the missing John Stowbridge and crumple it? Why was he so careful not to have anyone follow him? Also, I think I remember Lord Marsh seemed noticeably uncomfortable when the physician was mentioning his programme and said, "Let's close this topic."

Finally, George Hurst's letter to his son does not seem to be the words of a madman, but a thoughtful farewell from a loving father.

Taken together, it seems more likely than I once thought that Lord Marsh was hunting these paupers for sport and used the Special Education Programme as a front to recruit their unsuspecting victims. I tip my hat to the developers and I will attempt to do better on the later cases.

[TTV\SoloQSights]

Good so I'm not the only one confused by the outccome in Prey Tell. When choosing my final deduction I first assembled that Lord Marsh was hunting people then asked myself "What evidence points to this" to which I then thought about the evidence implicating Hurst, with evidence pointing to the latter rather than the former although some inconsistencies in the evidence does arise

Basically, poor writing is the reason why this final deduction was not logically streamlined. It would make a lot more sense with more backstory to either party although the developers present you superficial evidence and say "now you're forced to make your decision have fun"

Honestly Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments is better than this Sherlock entry in every way conceivable

[TTV\SoloQSights]

One more thing, the achievement names and descriptions for Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments spoiled some of the story aspects and the achievement for finishing Prey Tell is called "The Hunter Becomes the Hunted". This is pretty ambiguous although I interpreted this title as alluding to justice catching up with Hurst. Spectacular choices by the developers that definitely isn't confusing

[JT]

The game gives you a few sneaky clues indicating how the lords were killing the poor:

1. All the S members of the Education Program are missing . It leads us to believe that they had in mind a standard of high ranked people within the program, that they considered to be a "worthy trophy".

2. A letter obtained from Lord Marsh's house , addressed by one of his fellow hunter lords, contains a sarcastic message, explicitly mocking their "prey" under the makeup of the education program.

3. Hurst was rejected by the program not because of his injuries , but because they avoided soldiers entirely. Lord Marsh leaves that implied in his last dialog, that Hurst "was but one of the soldiers they rejected". Soldiers are too dangerous to be tampered with, too risky for their "sport".

4. Hurst was not a psychopath . A caring father and husband, which had a best friend (according to the letters and evidence found in his home and basement). He was a broken man with lots of bad days, and when he learned what the lords were doing in Whitechapel under the guise of charity, he sought justice in the only way the war taught him.

5. In the final act, Hurst wasn't the one hunting you . In the starting cinematic you can hear the voice of your predator, his good mood and happy whistling. That does not match the voice and behavior of Hurst. Later, it is confirmed that there was a second marksman during the chase, the lord's corpse was killed by a clean shot, with no signs of struggle, while the indigent one died like an animal. Another evidence is that Hurst was tracking Lord Marsh and captured him. He could not be the one chasing you. Later, if you accuse him of shooting you, he confirms that if it was him, he would've killed you in one shot (he was an elite marksman in the war). Which confirms his M.O. in killing quickly and efficiently, instead of toying with their targets.

6. Hurst was planning to come back home . He had something to lose, in contrast to Lord Marsh, who was rich and alone, dying from advanced tuberculosis. Hurst did not delivered his mortuary letter to his son, indicating that he had hope to return.

7. Lord Marsh shows traits of a dissimulated person. The hiding of a serious disease, his recruitment methods, his misleading speech patterns.

[TTV\SoloQSights]

Originally posted by Jorge:

The game gives you a few sneaky clues indicating how the lords were killing the poor:

1. All the S members of the Education Program are missing . It leads us to believe that they had in mind a standard of high ranked people within the program, that they considered to be a "worthy trophy".

2. A letter obtained from Lord Marsh's house , addressed by one of his fellow hunter lords, contains a sarcastic message, explicitly mocking their "prey" under the makeup of the education program.

3. Hurst was rejected by the program not because of his injuries , but because they avoided soldiers entirely. Lord Marsh leaves that implied in his last dialog, that Hurst "was but one of the soldiers they rejected". Soldiers are too dangerous to be tampered with, too risky for their "sport".

4. Hurst was not a psychopath . A caring father and husband, which had a best friend (according to the letters and evidence found in his home and basement). He was a broken man with lots of bad days, and when he learned what the lords were doing in Whitechapel under the guise of charity, he sought justice in the only way the war taught him.

5. In the final act, Hurst wasn't the one hunting you . In the starting cinematic you can hear the voice of your predator, his good mood and happy whistling. That does not match the voice and behavior of Hurst. Later, it is confirmed that there was a second marksman during the chase, the lord's corpse was killed by a clean shot, with no signs of struggle, while the indigent one died like an animal. Another evidence is that Hurst was tracking Lord Marsh and captured him. He could not be the one chasing you. Later, if you accuse him of shooting you, he confirms that if it was him, he would've killed you in one shot (he was an elite marksman in the war). Which confirms his M.O. in killing quickly and efficiently, instead of toying with their targets.

6. Hurst was planning to come back home . He had something to lose, in contrast to Lord Marsh, who was rich and alone, dying from advanced tuberculosis. Hurst did not delivered his mortuary letter to his son, indicating that he had hope to return.

7. Lord Marsh shows traits of a dissimulated person. The hiding of a serious disease, his recruitment methods, his misleading speech patterns.

5 would have helped immensely in my understanding. I had music playing over which is probably why I figured it was Hurst hunting Sherlock

I did notice the letter Hurst was planning to send to his son and figured he was fighting for survival against others with nefarious intent although it seemed too far fetched for me. Honestly the writing in Prey Tell is far better than some of the other cases in this game

[TTV\SoloQSights]

Hurst also wasn't a psychopath, I know that, although I believed the developers misattributed the word as in Hurst's situation the delirium he would face could cause "psychopath"-like behaviour, which would be plausible. Greater elaboration would have helped

[Tall Rooster]

I agree, it was terribly done. It's just poorly written. I was almost sure the evidence indicated Hurst as a psychopath. When I saw the conclusion I was like "There is no way I'm the only one to mess this up" and looked online and I'm glad to see people having the same exact complaints as me.

It also didn't help that I counted empty spaces where bullets in it's case in his bunker thing and saw that 20 people were on the list. I thought maybe that the current missing one may be still alive and that Hurst was going to kill him.

Also I saw a motive for Hurst, I didn't see any for Marsh. And it's like the ending tries to trick you into thinking it's Hurst when it isn't with the way the whole chase is set up.

I gotta say this is certainly no Crimes and Punishment. It's a fine game but the last was so much better overall, and the cases were so much better done. I only failed one case last game and I found it completely my fault and realized my mistakes, I found it a fair loss. I don't feel that way this time, I truly feel like this one was poorly written.

[madkhiNg]

He orders a ♥♥♥♥ton of supplies.. for show?
He makes it publically known... for show?

There was a letter between the Lords that was an evidence that they were doing this just for politcal interest. And remember that when talking about that program, they were unwilling to provide details. The behavior of the physician was also really weird.

While Hurst was just gathering evidence to be sure that the Lords were using the poors as a preys for their hunting games.

I can share more details if you want as to why it was obviously not Hurst !

[TTV\SoloQSights]

Originally posted by LeviathaN:

He orders a ♥♥♥♥ton of supplies.. for show?
He makes it publically known... for show?

There was a letter between the Lords that was an evidence that they were doing this just for politcal interest. And remember that when talking about that program, they were unwilling to provide details. The behavior of the physician was also really weird.

While Hurst was just gathering evidence to be sure that the Lords were using the poors as a preys for their hunting games.

I can share more details if you want as to why it was obviously not Hurst !

"The behavior of the physician was also really weird."
It's almost as if doctor-patient confidentiality is a thing
I'm being partially sarcastic although there was more evidence pointing towards Hurst granted that evidence may have been circumstantial although there was not much to go off of

[madkhiNg]

Originally posted by Man of the Hour, Every Hour:

"The behavior of the physician was also really weird."
It's almost as if doctor-patient confidentiality is a thing
I'm being partially sarcastic although there was more evidence pointing towards Hurst granted that evidence may have been circumstantial although there was not much to go off of

Doctor-patient confidentiality is a thing but only about medical conditions. Here it was said multiple times that he was also working as Marsh assistant. And the special condition program had nothing to do with the medical part.

Honestly it was the most obvious case to me. Hurst was a loving father and he disappeared really late in the timeline of the facts (look at the dates). Marsh got tuberculosis from cutting his body victims => that's why they didn't want to talk about it because how could he contract it ? He was a rich man who let his assistant do it all for him. So he was barely in close contact with the poor and living in luxury.

Hurst was just collecting evidences that the lords were playing hunting parties with poor people as prey. He was refused because he was a soldier in the past so he would have been a tough one. Everything points in the direction of Marsh including the fact he's playing the political game.

[Glorious Success]

It really depends if you read those letters with a sarcastic theme in mind I guess.
To me it seemed to be more ofa "oh my how quaint" type of deal that the other lords had going there, but the devs probably thought otherwise.
I also dont see how an article about the political nature of lord Marsh's undertaking would make it clear that he only does this for his own gain.
About the tuberculosis Holmes actually remarks "oh because of his work?" sort of, so the motive of keeping this under wraps because lord Marsh does not want his peers to know he will die because he was helping peasants is actually very strong (you do not need to cut people's bodies up to get it lol, this also does only get revealed after you made your choice and does not even correctly prove the source of infection imho).
I was really sure that this was the old nobles hunt peasants schtick but actually got off that track seeing the education program was actually real and nothing else apart from the lord's doctor crumpling the search notice up made me think there was something going on (as in hard evidence). You can't even talk to the wife of the missing guy to see what he was up to (special task etc.) you only have Hurst's own note for it, which he acquired how exactly?

The only point might be, if you think about revenge for not getting into the program made him want to kill lord Marsh, then it would not make sense for him to kill the peasant (fresh kill also). But how does he know all this anyway (the meeting place and hunts)? He must have gotten the last special job and ended up killing lord Harrington (blue face, headshot), so how come they just start hunting new peasants (and Holmes) instead of Hurst? Also I highly doubt lord Marsh was the one chasing you, since he is seriously ill (Watson was commenting on his bad health) so it must have been lord Collins? So where is he? Why isn't he the one bursting in the shed followed by Hurst?

Is he dead and Hurst made up the meeting? So why is Marsh hunting Holmes then and not fleeing from Hurst? It is just so weird.

So given the meeting was real and Collins and Marsh started the hunt, then found Holmes and started chasing him. I cannot see how Marsh could have followed Holmes through half the forest, and also when did Hurst get into the picture. Did he just let the peasant die and let Marsh (assuming he got some kind of cocaine high) chase Holmes without intervening? Also, where is the hunting dog you can hear while being chased, or was it my imagination?

It would have been nice if you could have at least investigated the missing person (personS? the others have a marked date, but nothing else says they are actually missing), or checked if they actually were missing as well.

Or even investigate the lord's hunting buddy lord Collins himself, since you have known his buddies since sneaking into his office.
You could have also found out that lord Harrington was missing (his face was already blue when you found him, so he was probably killed when Hurst went "missing" 3 weeks ago.