Main game
3.75 average rating based on 430 ratings
Yaasss, great game. Managed to satisfy my craving of a true detective game where you feel like you're figuring the case out instead of being completely hand held. Sherlock felt like Sherlock and the decision to split the game into cases was surprisingly well done. I had my reservations about that but each case somehow flowed into the next and they all had common themes or something that felt linked. Hoping this company release more Sherlock games along this line.
I'm impressed by how many cases are in here! There's a ton of content. Just now beginning the final case. The controls are kind of rough, some of the puzzles are tedious, and occasionally the solution to something is obvious but you can't do it until you satisfy a series of steps that might have made sense to the game's creators but don't feel obvious to me.
Like at one point we found ropes, hooks, and a crossbow, plus two different diagrams in the area depicting using the crossbow to fire like a grappling hook to form a bridge over the water. But we weren't allowed to even pick up the items until the story specifically brought up a bridge. But we STILL can't assemble the grappling hook (in the workshop) until we first go to the river and look at where we want the bridge to be, at which point Holmes is like "AH-HA WE SHOULD BUILD A GRAPPLING HOOK" -_- no shit sherlock (lmao)
I get that they wanted to prevent players from crossing the river too soon in the story, but it could have been better achieved by, say, withholding the diagrams until they became relevant and …
I'm impressed by how many cases are in here! There's a ton of content. Just now beginning the final case. The controls are kind of rough, some of the puzzles are tedious, and occasionally the solution to something is obvious but you can't do it until you satisfy a series of steps that might have made sense to the game's creators but don't feel obvious to me.
Like at one point we found ropes, hooks, and a crossbow, plus two different diagrams in the area depicting using the crossbow to fire like a grappling hook to form a bridge over the water. But we weren't allowed to even pick up the items until the story specifically brought up a bridge. But we STILL can't assemble the grappling hook (in the workshop) until we first go to the river and look at where we want the bridge to be, at which point Holmes is like "AH-HA WE SHOULD BUILD A GRAPPLING HOOK" -_- no shit sherlock (lmao)
I get that they wanted to prevent players from crossing the river too soon in the story, but it could have been better achieved by, say, withholding the diagrams until they became relevant and we find them as part of the case. I wouldn't have assumed I even needed to cross the river if there wasn't a huge sign next to it of someone using a grappling hook to get across lmao.
Still this a fun little mystery, adventure, puzzle-solving game, and I never got so stuck I needed to resort to a walkthrough or anything. (There's also a handy skip button that pops up after a while in case some tedious puzzle is really just taking too long, and it doesn't penalize you for using it, which I super appreciate. I mostly used it for things like "wipe away all the grime from this painting")
One of the best Sherlock Holmes graphic adventure games ever made (rivaled only by The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Serrated Scalpel IMHO). While none of the Frogwares Sherlock Holmes games have even nearly as sophisticated, detailed and learned writing as the Lost Files series, in Crimes and Punishments they finally arrived at a nearly perfect gameplay formula. You gather clues by varied means (observe surroundings, scan people's appearances, engage in interrogations, perform analysis and - unfortunately - do a few QTEs) and combine them in Holmes' brain to form your own conclusions. Making the correct conclusion is an engaging challenge as there are many ways you can interpret clues, which then form further and further deductions, finally letting you either absolve or condemn a suspect.
This is my favorite in Frogware's Sherlock Holmes series. The cases are engaging and the replayability is decent. The deduction system is improved from Testament. There's something of a "morality" system, only in so much you get to choose how you handle the suspect, on top of choosing the guilty party. This adds to the replay factor, and makes the overall story more dynamic.
Просто, но мне понравилось.
Если разбирать «Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments» на элементы, то она рассыпается: головоломки и мини-игры слишком простые (и их можно пропускать), в допросах нельзя ошибиться, а загрузки между локациями безумно раздражают.
Но каким-то образом, несмотря на все недостатки, почувствовать себя Шерлоком в этой игре очень легко. В этом её главное достоинство. Не все шесть дел (не связанных между собой) интересны. Но система «дедукции», когда найденные улики и факты нужно связывать в цепочки умозаключений, и на их основе обвинять подозреваемых — хороша. Ошибиться, кажется, можно только в двух делах, но всё равно — захватывает.
Графоуни, озвучка и прочее — норм. Так что это, по-моему, лучший способ почувствовать себя детективом.
Entertaining but not as good as I expected. Sometimes too simple but it manages to keep your attention. Why the possibility of skipping puzzles? I did not understand that point at all.
The game actually gave the control of Sherlock's deductions to the player but the gameplay was poorly crafted and switching between the places has been cumbersome.
Admittedly, I only played this game for less than an hour, due to the fact I just didn’t like the games mechanics. Personally, I found the game much too easy and obvious for my liking. I quickly became bored by walking around and clicking the same buttons multiple times or being told what to do next. I didn’t actually have to put any thought or effort into the game. So I couldn’t really relate to anything I was doing.
I did give this game a honest try though, because it’s obvious that effort was put into it’s making. It was detail-oriented and there was a story there to be discovered. I just couldn’t be bothered. I didn’t feel invested enough to carry on.
This was a game I discovered recently by coincidence. It's great to see a modern Sherlock Holmes game that isn't solely a "hidden object" game. It reminds me more of the style of LA Noire, a game I immensely enjoyed, and seeing as there likely won't be an LA Noire 2, this game series scratches that itch.
To continue the comparison, this game is no where as difficult as LA Noire. All the mysteries are intriguing, but the trains of thought are simple enough that you are never unsure what the game is asking from you. I felt the "Vanishing Train" was the most unpredictable, and best, mystery. If you do happen to fail a challenge or make a wrong guess, there's no real in-game punishment. While it does neuter the challenge, it makes the mysteries more fun as you aren't constantly worried about guessing wrong & having to reload the save.
The whole "deduction" gameplay was a neat feature. It allowed you to work out the clues and organize them in Sherlock's head to piece together the possibilities of how the crime played out.
The late 1890s London atmosphere was well done, most of the locations and people made …
This was a game I discovered recently by coincidence. It's great to see a modern Sherlock Holmes game that isn't solely a "hidden object" game. It reminds me more of the style of LA Noire, a game I immensely enjoyed, and seeing as there likely won't be an LA Noire 2, this game series scratches that itch.
To continue the comparison, this game is no where as difficult as LA Noire. All the mysteries are intriguing, but the trains of thought are simple enough that you are never unsure what the game is asking from you. I felt the "Vanishing Train" was the most unpredictable, and best, mystery. If you do happen to fail a challenge or make a wrong guess, there's no real in-game punishment. While it does neuter the challenge, it makes the mysteries more fun as you aren't constantly worried about guessing wrong & having to reload the save.
The whole "deduction" gameplay was a neat feature. It allowed you to work out the clues and organize them in Sherlock's head to piece together the possibilities of how the crime played out.
The late 1890s London atmosphere was well done, most of the locations and people made you feel like you were in turn of the century England. Sherlock and Watson are both well acted and they stay pretty true to the original source material, even passing reference of Sherlock's coke habit.

Unfortunately this game is mercilessly short with only 5 cases to solve vs. the 20-25 in LA Noire. All around, this game is relatively simple, not a lot of frills. The graphics are passable, the levels are small, and the music is okay.
I was surprised there was not even a vague mention of Holmes mainstay, Moriarty anywhere in the game and I was upset you could only wear the typical Sherlock hat in only one case.
After completing the third case, I can confirm what I said in previous posts. That said, there seem to be small details that, while open to interpretation, do help a bit in making the right decision. I wish the game was more about finding foolproof evidence (maybe making the process of finding the evidence more difficult, since it's a bit easier), but I really can't complain since I'm having fun.
I also love the writing. I'm not talking about the case themselves, but about the dialogues. Sherlock is absolutely hilarious and Watson despairs as he tries to figure out what goes on through his dear detective's mind
Some minigames are a bit annoying, but you can skip them, and while the controls are clunky they usually don't get in too much in the way (unless you're in a small room... You'll have to get used to it).
I'm enjoying the game and I'm looking forward to see what will happen next
Just solved the second case. This time I managed to figure it out, but I wasn't really sure of my solution and it certainly still felt kind of random, although it was somewhat easier to decide.
I'm not sure if the case itself was easier or if I simply paid more attention, because it didn't feel much different compared to the first case
Just finished the first case and... I'm kinda disappointed about how circumstantial the final evidence feels? Is every case like this? Because I'm not a big fan honestly. Maybe I need to pay attention to more stuff than just what shows up in my evidence menu? I never even considered examining anything outside of what is considered evidence by the game, since it's never been important in any game I've ever played, though I'll try to do so in the next case. Overall the game is fun though, I just wish it would let us question the suspects more, it feels like you barely talk to them.
Once again I spoke too soon – not all of the cases in this game are based on real Sherlock Holmes stories. It's a mixed bag.
With my habit of jumping to conclusions you'd think I'd be much worse at this game lol.
I should note that contrary to the previous status I made after playing only one case, saying that the Sherlock Holmes stories give away the conclusions to the cases, that's not necessarily true. It seems some of the cases are based loosely enough on the stories that you can still get a challenge out of the game even if you've already read them.
I've finished the first case in this game so far – at first I was planning on reading some Sherlock Holmes before this but I'm glad I didn't because reading the stories the cases are based on just gives away the ending. They do add in some elements that aren't in the original stories and change some things so it could still be interesting for those who have read them but it still spoils the most important clues and conclusions.
Since I read the story the first case was based on after I finished it, I know I picked the right conclusion but I still have some questions ... maybe someone else who has played it can help me:
EDIT: After reading what's below see my comment also because I realized I'm still overlooking some important things lol.
I've finished the first case in this game so far – at first I was planning on reading some Sherlock Holmes before this but I'm glad I didn't because reading the stories the cases are based on just gives away the ending. They do add in some elements that aren't in the original stories and change some things so it could still be interesting for those who have read them but it still spoils the most important clues and conclusions.
Since I read the story the first case was based on after I finished it, I know I picked the right conclusion but I still have some questions ... maybe someone else who has played it can help me:
EDIT: After reading what's below see my comment also because I realized I'm still overlooking some important things lol.
As frustrated as I might be with the case not being as airtight at the end as I would have liked it to be, it's possible there are just key things I overlooked that would have made it come together more cleanly. I have some other gripes with the game, as well as compliments, but I'll save them for my actual review.
This is free on the Epic store this week. Direct link:
https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/product/sherlock-holmes-crimes-and-punishments/home
Direct link for the extra free game, Close To The Sun:
https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/product/close-to-the-sun/home
Next week we get Just Cause 4 and Wheels of Aurelia.
Is this game free on the Epic Store this week? No shit, Sherlock. (?)
Okay, the final case in this game involves Holmes hiding in a dark alley over and over while you try to find him with your lantern........... in an attempt to prove there was no place for a murderer to hide......... we're literally playing hide and seek with Sherlock
Looking forward to finishing Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments tonight! It's been a great ride, albeit a slightly linear one.