Review TheKentuckian 4/5 · Feb 22, 2018
Jack be Nimble, Holmes be Quick
What if Sherlock Holmes had been there to solve the case of Jack the Ripper, well now we know. To start off with the basic gameplay. It gives you the Bethesda option of playing from either the 1st or 3rd person perspective. I found 1st person easier over the point'n'click 3rd person movement. Like the other Sherlock games, it's all …
What if Sherlock Holmes had been there to solve the case of Jack the Ripper, well now we know.
To start off with the basic gameplay. It gives you the Bethesda option of playing from either the 1st or 3rd person perspective. I found 1st person easier over the point'n'click 3rd person movement. Like the other Sherlock games, it's all about solving puzzles and using your deduction skills to figure out the killer. Maybe it's me being spoiled on modern games, but some of the puzzles were challenging just because you aren't told how the puzzle works or what they're asking for.
The graphics are fine for the generation. Voice acting is good for the most part, lots of very cheesy British accents among the NPCs.
I will admit, the first part of this game is a bit dull. They have to stretch out the crime to make a decently long game. So, a lot of the first hours, when there is only one or two victims to examine, is a lot of doing random, unrelated favors for people to gain some information.
As morbid as it sounds, once the body count starts to rack up, the plot really gets rolling and there's less, "find my cat & I'll tell you what I know."
Now, unlike most Holmes stories, Jack the Ripper is a real mystery from the real past. Frogware handles the history masterfully. Sometimes media likes to paint Jack the Ripper this larger than life, almost mythical, super genius killer. cough AC Syndicate cough. This games keeps it all very grounded. They stick close to the real history & accepted theories, without taking any major artistic liberties. Obviously Frogware's going to write it to makes sure Sherlock is right, but tracking down the killer feels like a real investigation without giant leaps in logic. At the end it makes sense who they reveal Jack to be.
One of my favorite parts of playing games based in history is seeing all the hints of the real history to come, like Watson finding a journalist writing with red ink, which tips you off that he will fabricate the "Dear Boss" letter later on.
It's played off well when Sherlock does confront Jack the Ripper, as in the real history no one really knows who it was. Sherlock, in character, doesn't alert the police as he cares about knowing the truth, not justice. He also insists Watson not write about it & instead pen the Hounds of Baskerville.
All in all, I recommend this game for fans of Holmes or Jack the Ripper. It's faithful to both and once the plot gets going, it goes.