In addition to the horrific murders and vicious insurance fraud arson cases, the most important thing for fans of Los Angeles is the closure of the development team Bondi, because any illusions about a sequel are snuffed out.
Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One is a reboot of developer Frogwares' long-form detective series. This time, they changed the original gameplay of the detective game to open world exploration, which could not help but rekindle the hope of dreaming back to "Black Los Angeles". But now, that hope is about to be dashed.
The game tells the story of the world's second-famous detective (sorry, but I think Batman's marketing team has clearly done a better job) who returns to his childhood home on the (fictional) Mediterranean island of Cordona after learning that the inside story of his mother's death may be far more complicated than originally reported.
Cordona is vast and rich in detail about the times, giving the impression of an "Assassin's Creed" sandbox world at first glance. In this open world, you must use Sherlock's sharp intellect to solve mysteries, not the hidden Hidden Blade. Disappointingly, however, the game is rather lacking in interactivity, not as fun as it seems, and there's not much to explore.
Investigating the truth inside the walls of Stonewood Manor is the focus of the game's plot, but to uncover the answer to this core puzzle, players will have to solve a series of interesting puzzles that take about 12 hours to solve. From stalking a frightened elephant to sneaking into a cult, there's some witty and humorous solutions. Presumably, not everyone has ever solved a case with a homemade inflatable elephant doll, right?
The teenager Sherlock presents us with the image of a novice private investigator, but his ability to perceive the appearance of others can be described as "supernatural", and can effortlessly guess the possibilities by studying the scratches or eye bags on people's skin. The problem with the protagonist is that from the first chapter, I always felt that he was a person whose investigative skills were full, which meant that the process of handling cases in the game did not even have the growth of time.
In this plot, Sherlock is no longer accompanied by Watson, after all, he may still be serving in the army at that time. Instead, Sherlock is followed by his imaginary friend Joe, whose name is pronounced and whose purpose is very similar to Watson's. As Sherlock researches every crime scene, trying to piece together clues with an established palace of concentration and mind, Joe takes on the role of an advisor.
Unlike Sega's relatively simplified investigation process in the Death of Judgment series, Sherlock Holmes: Chapter 1 gives players full latitude in resolving each case. Tracking leads requires not only frequent documentation and analysis, but also a variety of errands.
Carefully study the crime scene to find clues, consult the archives of the local newspaper, and find out where the suspect last appeared, and then dress up appropriately to get useful clues out of the landlady's mouth. Once you get into the rhythm, you feel like a real detective who draws inferences based on his ability, and this sense of accomplishment is unparalleled.
The problem is that the game lacks guidance, which means that sometimes my investigation can be deadlocked and clueless. At one point, I could only trace the whereabouts of a pregnant refugee with only one photograph, and after spending about 20 minutes on the streets asking for passers-by in vain, I finally met a man who seemed to be the only person in the city who could tell me the answer.
Another time, I tried to sneak into a poor man's shelter, but was always turned away by the guards, and no matter how dirty and ragged I dressed Sherlock, the guy kept calling me rich. I really don't understand how the rich in the 19th century should wear it to appear without money.
In addition to the obstacles in the process of handling various cases, Joe also feels inexplicable. He may want to play some kind of role that provides hints to the protagonist, but all he does is spit on you and say nothing constructive except tell you that you did something wrong. Compared to Taylor Durden in Fight Club, this imaginary friend is more of a grumbling burden.
In addition, Joe would record Every Mistake of Sherlock's investigation in his small notebook, and the things he complained about were all the same, and I flipped through the pages of repeated complaints, feeling that I was accompanied by a repeating machine, not a personal secretary.
If there are more interesting pastimes, then I can probably ignore the above problems, but unfortunately this game does not provide too many fun tasks, lack of immersion. From ornate cathedral spires to beautiful docks, Cordona's stunning backdrop is as captivating as a postcard (if you can bear XSX dropping frames from time to time). But aside from enjoying the scenery, this open world doesn't seem to have much depth of exploration.
In a few cases, I can eavesdrop on someone's conversation and then turn it into a substantive clue, such as finding the mastermind behind a series of sailor murders in The Red Light District of Cordona. But for the most part, I can only walk around, eager to interact more with the world, except to stop and stare at the repetitive NPCs (such as some older guy who has been peeing against the wall). The PCs that seem to be copied and pasted also make it harder for me to find clues in the crowd.
Given that there is almost nothing in this world that is worth my attention to, I am increasingly inclined to move fast as I travel to each destination. Overall, the game's open-world experience is no different from the partition map experience of previous Sherlock Holmes games.
In this game, if Sherlock hadn't found a hole in the witness's testimony, he would most likely have made a hole in the enemy's chest. Often, whether it's the climax of the plot or your choice to use violence rather than outwit the enemy's territory, Sherlock will be caught in wave after wave of fire.
Whether it's a bar or a dock, the layout of these battle scenes is basically the same, with several environmental damage elements for the player to use, such as shooting a lantern to temporarily stun the enemy, and then you rush over to trigger the QTE to stun the opponent in a limited time.
However, it doesn't matter whether you handcuff the criminal or choose to strangle him outright, because you have little moral consequence other than the condemnation of Joe (a non-existent person). Given that Sherlock had an unlimited amount of pistol ammunition, direct headshots for bad guys were always simpler and more straightforward than various nonviolent means of subduing.
Although the capture would pay more than the extermination, I really had no desire to make money, after all, no amount of money could be used to buy newspapers and furniture for the Sherlock mansion. In addition, there are some strange rules of battle in the game, such as you must shoot off the armor on the shoulders of your enemies before you can sprinkle Sherlock's snuff powder into the eyes of your enemies and make them blind for a while. How exactly does this work?
The only exception is that Sherlock cannot kill people while dealing with the scattered bandit strongholds in Cordona. While these enemies are all exactly the same as those encountered in the first chapter, since Sherlock must raid them on behalf of the police, killing any enemy in the process will result in an immediate failure of the mission.
I felt that the game's combat gameplay was too monotonous, so after clearing the first bandit stronghold (and finding that there was no substantial reward), I went straight to the cold palace. To be sure, if you want to simply enjoy the detective story, you can go to the menu to disable combat, although this means reducing the diversity of gameplay.
Sherlock Holmes: Chapter 1 presents a series of interesting puzzles, but its large open-world background doesn't really elevate the gameplay of detective investigations to a sufficient level, and the combat parts are monotonous and repetitive. When your investigation goes smoothly, you can certainly reap a certain satisfaction, but often, vague case standards can cause your investigation progress to stagnate and force you to guess, and the ruthless and helpless Joe will only further exacerbate this sense of powerlessness. Although this is a similar open-world detective game, there are still many places to be polished.
Creative open world detective reasoning game
Informative story lines and diverse plots
Although the map is large, there is not much content for players to interact with
Lack of adequate guidance
The combat system is more monotonous
This article is compiled from IGN US related content, the original author Tristan Ogilvie, unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.