Sherlock Holmes, also known as The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, is a video games series developed and later published by Ukranian based video game studio Frogwares. The series is an adaptation of the book series of the same name by Arthur Conan Doyle, though each game has an original plot and storyline.
The series lets the player control Sherlock Holmes, and occasionally his close friend Dr John Watson, to investigate and uncover clues to a mystery through point-and-click gameplay. Common gameplay elements involve having Holmes travelling across multiple locations to acquire information that will uncover more of the mystery, and making connections between different clues that are discovered. Noticeably, it’s entirely possible to fail the case by accusing the wrong person and later games also give the player the option to either bring the criminal to justice or decide that they were victims themselves and deserve a second chance.
Beginning in 2002 with The Mystery of the Mummy, the series was specifically modelled after the 1984 series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in regards to the portrayal of the main characters and the overall tone. An example of an Anachronic Order, the series jumps back and forth in the 1890s with the first game chronologically being the last in the series being set in 1899. The last game in this continuity is The Devil’s Daughter, which is set in 1896 and despite featuring a new actor as Sherlock Holmes is considered to be canon in Broad Strokes.
In 2021 the series was given a Continuity Reboot with Chapter One, which was set in 1880 and followed Sherlock Holmes when he was 21, though initially it was treated as a prequel to the original games. However the 2023 remake of The Awakened, reimagined to be a sequel to Chapter One, made this a separate continuity.
Games
Main Games
As of 2023, Frogwares has developed ten main games in the series.Original Continuity
- The Mystery of the Mummy (2002)
- Secret of the Silver Earring (2004)
- The Awakened (2007): An Intercontinuity Crossover with the Cthulhu Mythos.
- Versus Arsène Lupin (2007): An Intercontinuity Crossover with Arsène Lupin.
- Versus Jack the Ripper (2009)
- The Testament of Sherlock Holmes (2012)
- Crimes & Punishments (2014)
- The Devil’s Daughter (2016): While
Word of God states that this game features a separate iteration of the characters to the versions seen in previous games, the game acts as a Broad Strokes sequel to The Testament of Sherlock Holmes and therefore can be considered loosely canon.
Reboot Continuity
- Chapter One (2021): An Origins Episode for the character.
- The Awakened (2023): A remake of the 2007 game, with an altered story to act as a sequel to Chapter One.
Casual Games
Along with the above games Frogwares, by itself or through it’s division Waterlily, has developed four Lighter and Softer casual games with more simplified gameplay while being less faithful to the source material, usually having supernatural and fantasy themes.- The Mystery of the Persian Carpet (2008)
- Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Osborne House (2010)
- Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles (2011)
- The Mystery of the Frozen City (2012)
The series got a Creator-Driven Successor with The Sinking City in 2019, which was also developed by Frogwares and much like The Awakened was based on the Cthulhu Mythos. While not part of the Sherlock Holmes series, the games in the reboot continuity have had some easter eggs to the game, suggesting a loosely connected continuity.
Tropes in the series:
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade:
- Sherlock's adventures put him through many traumatic and difficult events, especially when it comes to his adopted daughter. Watson also gets this, with Versus Arsène Lupin revealing that he still suffers nightmares from the events of the The Awakened.
- The reboot does this to Sherlock, giving him a significantly more tragic backstory concerning his mother’s death and family’s mental illness while in The Awakened more focus is placed on Watson’s trauma as a soldier.
- Age Lift: The reboot continuity does this to Sherlock, who is 21 in Chapter One which is set in 1880, placing his date of birth in 1859. In the original books it was stated that Holmes was born in 1854, making him five years younger. In The Awakened, which is set in 1882, this makes him a couple of years younger than Watson, who’s age is left unconfirmed in the books but is usually assumed to be roughly the same and is seemingly left unchanged here. This also applies to Mycroft, who was 7 years older in Sherlock in the books which placed his date of birth in 1847, while the game made the age gap 10 years which means he was born in 1849, making him two years younger than his book counterpart.
- Alternate Continuity: The series is divided into two continuities: the original, which covers all the games released between 2002 and 2016 and follows a more experienced Holmes after the events of the The Final Problem; and the reboot, which began in 2021 and follows a much younger Holmes during the early years of his career and partnership with Watson. The remake of The Awakened seems to suggest that both continuities are canon and valid, but the reboot takes place in an Alternate Universe to the original.
- Anachronic Order: The original continuity with this, with the first game being set in 1899 and all later games being set earlier in the timeline. This results in Continuity Snarl often due to continuity not given much focus for most of the series. The chronological order of the original series appears to be: Versus Jack the Ripper, The Awakened, Crimes & Punishment, Versus Arsène Lupin, Secret of the Silver Earring, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, The Devil's Daughter and The Mystery of the Mummy.
- Broad Strokes: Despite featuring a reimagined depiction of the title character, portrayed by a new actor and inspired by more modern depictions, The Devil’s Daughter is still canon to the original continuity as it picks up the storyline left by The Testament of Sherlock Holmes.
- Continuity Reboot: Chapter One, while initially treated as being a prequel, became this with the release of the 2023 remake of The Awakened, which acted as a sequel. The Devil’s Daughter is also apparently this, but it uses enough lore from the previous games to be considered canon to the original continuity in Broad Strokes.
- Continuity Snarl: The original continuity suffered from this, due to it's Anachronic Order not being firmly defined and resulting in games set earlier in timeline referencing events that haven't happened yet. The biggest example is Testament being explicitly set in 1898 by Watson's narration only for The Devil's Daughter, which is set after, introducing a child character whose date of birth is confirmed to be 1887 and for Holmes' deduction to state that he's now eight year old, placing the events of the game in 1895 or 1896.
- Deuteragonist: As usual, Dr. Watson takes on this role in the series and is even playable on occasion.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: The original continuity ends on this. Despite the many tragedies and horrors he experienced in the 1890s, especially between 1894-1896, along with the difficulties of his original literary adventures, Sherlock’s life is a relatively happy one where he lives with a close friend, has a loving relationship with his adopted daughter Katelyn, and still has time to solve cases here and there. Testament also confirms with the ending that Katelyn grows into a very happy woman with a great education and has a family of her own, making Holmes a grandfather, and Holmes and Watson remain good friends for the rest of their lives.
- Experienced Protagonist: Except for Versus Jack the Ripper, all the games are set after Holmes' final confrontation with Professor Moriarty in The Final Problem and subsequent return after faking his death. This means that this version is a very accomplished and experienced crime solver who has solved all of the famous mysteries from the books and is highly respected for his many accomplishments. This is subverted in the reboot, as while Sherlock has prior history with crime solving he's still learning and is in the early years of his career.
- The Gay '90s: Except for Versus Jack the Ripper, which starts in 1888 and covers the next four years, all the games in the original continuity are set in this decade.
- Intercontinuity Crossover: Through Public Domain Canon Welding, Holmes and Watson encountered a cult seemingly worshipping the Cthulhu Mythos which may or may not exist and come into conflict with Arsène Lupin.
- Master of Disguise: Holmes is treated as this, having a wide range of clothing, fake facial hair and make up to appear as a completely different person and blend in with any other social class.
- Multiple Endings: Starting with Crimes & Punishment, at the end of each case Holmes must make a conclusion about how the crime was committed and accuse one of the suspects, with only one option being correct. Not only that, but Holmes also must decide whether to bring them to justice by arresting them, or let them get away with the crime for whatever reason is given, usually because they can be viewed as victims themselves who deserve a second chance.
- Prequel: The first game in the series is chronologically the last, making the next seven games this. Chapter One was intended to be this but eventually became the start of a new continuity.
- Public Domain Canon Welding: The original continuity had Holmes encounter both the Cthulhu Mythos and Arsène Lupin. The Awakened also has Holmes and Watson briefly interact with a young boy named Hercule who they advise to use his brain to solve puzzles after the child gave Holmes a puzzle box. The reboot continuity would also have that version of Sherlock investigate crimes that are revealed to have been committed by a young Lupin and later encounter the Cthulhu Mythos.
- Sherlock Scan: As usual Holmes can do this, with Crimes & Punishments introducing "Sherlock Vision" as a mechanic to help reveal clues the player might otherwise have missed, an idea that was inspired by Sherlock. The games also have the player observe and click on highlighted areas on a person that reveal details about them, with later games requiring the player to deduce from the available clues what this reveals about a person.
- String Theory: Sort of. Many of the game have a page where you can make connections between the different clues that are uncovered during a game, allowing you to create a conclusion.
- Took a Level in Badass: Initially Watson was portrayed as being more of a buffoon who always states the obvious, but later games will treat him as a more equal partner to Holmes that he can bounce ideas off of and who's military background often comes into use. Of course given the Anachronic Order of the series, this is more likely a case of Took a Level in Dumbass In-Universe.
- Ultimate Universe: The reboot continuity seems to be this. It's a Darker and Edgier continuity featuring a slightly younger Holmes who has a much more angst, has certain characters appear earlier than in the original games, and other characters like Watson and Mycroft have slightly different personalities.
- Versus Title: Versus Arsène Lupin and Versus Jack the Ripper are examples of this.
- The Watson: Dr. Watson appears in all the games in the series, though he's just a cameo in Chapter One. In that game he's replaced by Sherlock's imaginary friend Jon.
- Younger and Hipper: Downplayed with The Devil’s Daughter, as both Holmes and Watson were still grown men, but they seemed to be a little younger than in previous games and visually Holmes seemed inspired by more modern portrayals which made him seem younger. Chapter One does this more successfully, featuring a far younger version of the character who has yet to become a famous detective. Somewhat downplayed in the sequel since it’s set when Holmes and Watson are now living together, but still noticeably present as it’s set in 1882 which is 12 years earlier than when The Awakened occurred in the original continuity.
