Sherlock Holmes is my favorite character. The monomaniacal sleuth sacrifices so much in terms of social convention and normality in his single minded pursuit of his work as a detective. He’s so compelling that Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments was easily at the top of my list of most anticipated games of 2014. Now that I’ve finally gotten my hands on it, I can happily report this: Crimes & Punishments is an entertaining Sherlock fest, capturing the character fantastically well while still giving the player plenty of chance to play detective themselves.
Crimes & Punishments is an adventure game following the eponymous detective over six cases. Each case is singularly compelling (the first one less so than the others, but it also serves as your tutorial, so perhaps that’s to be expected), all engrossing mysteries in the classic Sherlock-style. The writing is very good, good enough in fact to include multiple endings for every case (accessible through different sets of deductions on the deduction screen), and some good Sherlocking humor and quips to keep you in the game. The writing does exceed the game’s animations, which, while adequate, are imperfect- the characters lips often move out of sync with the dialogue, for example.
Each case will allow you to explore the game environments, wandering around looking for clues (basically, attempting to click on everything in an effort to find things you can interact with). Occasionally, you’ll use Sherlock’s perceptive abilities to find things in the environment others could not (a seemingly random piece of wood that is the key to the case, a footprint, and so forth), allowing you into the detective’s mind. This perceptive ability also comes into play as you interrogate suspects and witnesses. If you’ve seen the BBC TV show, you’ll quickly identify with the mechanic- staring at a suspect, gaining clues from seemingly innocuous peculiarities from their appearance. These will affect your dialogue choices, and really give the game that Sherlock effect.
Being an adventure game, Crimes and Punishments includes a number of mini-games and puzzles. You’ll frequently utilize the lock-picking mini-game, which will get tougher as the game progresses. The last few I wasn’t able to solve at all (I might have eventually, but the game includes an option to skip so that you don’t get stuck on any particular one). Other mini-games include putting together crime scene timelines, sticking a pig with a harpoon to determine how a murder could have been committed, and a ton of laboratory experiments (a staple of Sherlock lore). The games are varied and will pull you in a variety of different directions, keeping the game fresh throughout. The one thing I could have lived without was searching for things in Sherlock’s archives, which was dull, and occasionally frustrating when you couldn’t find the obscure article the game was attempting to direct you to.
Once you’ve interrogated your suspects and gathered all the clues, you’ll proceed to the game’s deduction screen. While you may have had Sherlock’s help in getting here, drawing the correct conclusion to the case based on the clues is all your doing. Clues will let you choose one of two deductions when combined correctly. These deductions all come together in a web which, when complete, will allow you to prove someone’s guilt. Sherlock, being the master detective, is the final word here, meaning if you are incorrect, you could send the wrong person to the gallows. This part of the game is done very well, each different possible conclusion having its own cutscene. Your decision doesn’t have a material effect on later cases, but you will see your cases in newspapers, or receive letter of praise (or hatred) depending on your conclusions. You can check, at the conclusion of the cases, if you are “right,” but in my opinion, it was better to wait until the very end of the game to do so.
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments was everything I hoped it would be: a solid adventure title that allowed me to feel like a real detective while still maintaining that Sherlock Holmes feel. The game offered plenty of play, as the six cases took me around 16 hours in total to finish. The title was utterly delightful, and left me wanting more Holmesian adventures in the future. I only hope that enough gamers look away from the mass of AAA titles this fall to find this gem falling out underneath.
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments was reviewed on Xbox One using code provided by the developer.
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