Review of “The Awakened Sherlock Holmes” – a gloomy detective

We have also prepared a review in the form of a video.

The Ukrainian studio Frogwares is constantly improving with almost every game. Lately, he’s been mostly behind the adventure games The Sinking City and Sherlock Holmes Chapter One, a prequel to the famous sleuth’s story that I’ve also managed to rewatch and, despite the reservations, I really enjoyed. The developers then wanted to embark on an even more ambitious project, but the Russian invasion got in the way. There was a period of uncertainty, full of rocket attacks and power outages, which are now part of everyday life in Ukraine. Despite all these difficulties, Frogwares did not hesitate to remake the 2007 game Sherlock Holmes The Awakened, adapting the story from the first chapter. Despite all the obstacles, the title was completed in an absolutely record time – in just one year. And now I can tell you how the old detective adventure ended.

• Platform: PC (review), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch
• Publication date: 04.11.2023
• Developer: Frogwares
• Publisher: Frogwares
• Genre: Adventure
• Czech localization: yes (subtitles)
• Multiplayer: No
• Data to download: 26 GB
• Game time: about 10 hours
• Price: €39.99 (Steam)

Non-standard connection

I must say right away that I did not play the original, but after playing the remake, I looked at some frames and I can say that the backbone of the story is really very similar. This is a very peculiar crossover of the famous detective from the pen of Arthur Conan Doyle and the myth of Cthulhu writer Lovecraft. The Awakened is essentially the exact opposite of the prequel Chapter One, which takes place on the sunny island of Cordona. A very dark, even disturbing atmosphere awaits you in the new adventure.

The plot is relatively simple at first, Sherlock reveals the disappearance of a servant, but gradually begins to show that the matter is much more complicated and it is not at all local. In addition to London, Sherlock and his relatively new roommate Dr. Watson will visit Switzerland or the American city of New Orleans. There seem to be many more abductions, and they are carefully orchestrated. So who is behind them and where do all the people disappear to?

As with virtually all Frogwares games, the story is one of the strongest parts of the game. The whole affair is shrouded in mystery, almost to the very end. The beginning is still quite quirky, but the game gets darker and scarier as you progress. You become a witness to very strange and confusing things, for which even Sherlock himself is looking in vain for a rational explanation.

Immersive Atmosphere

I was probably most surprised by how much the game affected me with its horror, or at least the unsettling atmosphere in some locations. Of course, this is a crossover with Cthulhu, but still I did not expect this combination to work so well that I would be very scared to play at night. The game really focuses solely on the atmosphere and not the embarrassing jump scares, which makes it even scarier. This is especially noticeable in the second half of the game. In addition, the atmosphere is also very well illustrated by the sound system, and especially the soundtrack, whose songs fit perfectly into the overall tone of the game.

The characters are equally great, especially of course the main couple Sherlock and John, whose relationship grows stronger over the course of the adventure. Their dialogue, as well as Holmes’ internal monologues reflecting his deteriorating mental state, are not only well written but also well acted. Alex Jordan did a great job as Sherlock’s voice actor again, and the same can be said for the other actors. The secondary characters are also very interesting in this game, especially in terms of revealing their character and backstory. In a word, none of the characters is “just like that” and does not play a significant role in the story.

Cutscenes are related to the plot and characters, which I really liked in the first chapter, but here the developers have gone even further. Movies with such tension, editing, and camera playfulness would be nothing to be ashamed of by any larger game that usually takes a much more conservative approach anyway. Indeed, in the previous part, the developers said that when creating videos, they were strongly inspired by films, and in The Awakened this is really evident.

fundamental weakness

Unfortunately, the difference between cutscenes and gameplay is even more noticeable, the latter is in many ways just bottomless. The technical processing certainly does not meet today’s standards and at some points seems to be completely “low budget”. Don’t misunderstand me, the graphics themselves are not bad at first glance and certainly won’t offend, but that’s not the point. In short, the environments seem pretty flat and dead, the character models aren’t very high quality, and their movements aren’t natural. The facial animation isn’t great either, which is a shame because of course you’ll be talking to other characters a lot in this game. In general, this is a step back from the first chapter, although I also had doubts about this.

I don’t like optimization either. The game can work quietly at 60 FPS for some time and use the video card minimally, but then it suddenly “goes crazy” and the number of frames per second drops sharply. In addition, in some locations on the PC, stuttering occurs quite often when bypassing, and once the game crashed altogether. I also encountered a fair amount of graphical glitches and regular texture bouncing. It could be worse, but it’s definitely not in perfect technical condition. The good news is that the game supports DLSS upscaling technology, which at the same time corrects problems with aliasing to some extent.

However, I liked the gameplay itself. In essence, it is very similar to the first chapter, only without the open world. Since you mostly move around more closed locations, the gameplay is not far from the popular Crimes and Punishments. You will spend most of your time exploring locations, searching for clues and talking to various witnesses. Probably my favorite mechanic was the reconstruction of events, which is also nothing new. On the contrary, I was somewhat disappointed by the deduction system, which is absolutely significant for Sherlock, but in The Awakened it is found in a very simplified form – there is only one correct version, and basically there are really few separate deductions. Then you make a few choices and they usually only have a small effect, mostly a purely linear experience.

strong connection

An interesting feature of the new part is that you will play not only for Sherlock, but also for Watson. On the one hand, it’s a pity that playing as John is exactly the same, but I have to say that I really enjoyed a few passages where you switch between characters. This usually happens when solving puzzles, which, although few, are successful. In addition, the collaboration of the main couple perfectly shows their gradually deepening connection. Although they are all very different in character, they do have things in common, such as past traumas and not fitting in easily with society. Gradually he finds his way.

At the end, it is appropriate to add that, like the previous parts, The Awakened also contains Czech localization in the form of subtitles, which again was taken care of by the translator Petr Tihachek. The translation is very good and natural, I didn’t even find any mistakes. There is no language barrier here and everyone can truly enjoy the game.

In general, after passing the new part of this long-running series, I have positive impressions. The technical side, as in previous games, is far from ideal and the gameplay could be a little more polished, but the excellent story, characters, cutscenes and atmosphere definitely outweigh all the cons. Fans of the famous detective and Frogwares games in general will not be disappointed. However, the previous title in the form of Chapter One remained unsurpassed.

Assembly feedback:
CPU – Intel Core i5-13600K
GPU – Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
RAM – 32GB DDR5 6000MT/s