Frogwares has revealed its brand new game in their long-running Sherlock Holmes franchise, Sherlock Holmes Chapter One. Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is a third-person, open-world narrative-driven detective thriller that focuses on the story of a young, 21-year old detective and shows us his early days which led to him becoming a world-class detective.
Check out the reveal trailer of Sherlock Holmes Chapter One before we dig deep into the game’s details.
Sherlock Holmes Chapter One features a brand new story and setting for the franchise. Antonina Melnykova, Lead Narrative Director explains the story and setting of the game as:
This time around we wanted to be more creative with the story we told and found an idea that hasn’t really been touched on by other adaptations – Sherlock’s “first big case” as a young 21-year-old adult. He is Sherlock at his core, but at this point he’s more raw talent than refined genius. Reckless and impatient and a tad brazen, but unknowingly already on the path to greatness.
Same with the location. We wanted to try something different to the all too familiar murky Victorian era London. While still set in the 19th century, we’re now exploring an isolated, sun-scorched Mediterranean inspired island where class divides and corruption are the foundations of this society. This is where our Sherlock spent his childhood. And now as a young adult, he is forced to return here and uncover the hazy truth behind the death of his mother – a loss that shattered his childhood many years ago and forced his move to London. And like always, Sherlock is not alone in his adventures. Before he befriended John Watson, Sherlock had a different best friend, Jonathan, and their relationship will be the central part of our game.”
While we’re getting more creative with the backstory of Sherlock, fans of the series and character can rest assured we’re sticking close to the source material to keep it cohesive. Most people have a firm view of who Sherlock is. Our story isn’t about changing that, but rather exploring how he could have come to be this way, exploring ideas right down to how he acquired his penchant for the violin, his distinct hat and even his addiction to drugs.
The developers have also implemented a brand new Global Investigation System in the game. This system is heavily updated from their previous release The Sinking City and further builds on the formula of ‘no hand-holding’ gameplay. The new gameplay will allow players even more freedom to solve the cases in their own way which will feel just like real-life. A brand new combat system that emphasizes on Sherlock’s legendary observation skills is also part of the game which negates the traditional brute force combat system.
Lead Feature Designer of the game, Yaroslav Martyniuk comments:
The Global Investigation system is mainly about having players rely more on their intuition and case solving skills. Clues in Chapter One are acquired and analyzed through a massive array of skills, tricks, tools and methods at Sherlock’s disposal. Since there are so many combinations, players will need to really think things through like a detective since brute forcing clues together until the game reacts isn’t going to be very effective.
We looked closely at the fan and press feedback we got from The Sinking City and previous Sherlock games. This feedback defines the features in Chapter One: investigation, story, combat, exploration etc. For example, the combat system in Chapter One has been built completely from scratch, and many other mechanics are undergoing changes / improvements to make the game pace better overall.
More details will be shared as the development on the game continues. Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is slated for release on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and next-gen consoles in 2021.
