Frogwares Studio has developed six Sherlock Holmes games, which the previous game, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes had been the first to give up the point-and-click gameplay, which switched to let you experience more in third person. Now, Frogwares Studio has been developing a new Sherlock Holmes called Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments, which is releasing later this year on PC, PS3, PS4, and Xbox 360. Playing this will take you straight in the role of Sherlock Holmes, as if you were in his shoes.
In Crimes & Punishments, the game will focus mainly on investigation, but also have an emphasis on narration. There will not be just one case, there will be six different smaller cases. The choices you make in each case will change how the rest of the game plays out, which you might guide Holmes to the right conclusion, pegging the true killer in the end, or, if you’re not thorough in your investigations and rigorous in your logical reasoning, you could send an innocent person to the slammer. Though with the new gameplay mechanics, like vision toggle, that allows you not have to search every single part of the screen, or like character portrait, where you’ll be able to observe and examine the characters personality and habits to unveil new clues.
Use your talent as Sherlock Holmes to uncover the six senses you have to uncover clues that would be invisible to normal eyes, like dust marks, dried blood, scratch marks from moving something, or fingerprints. Use your ears to listen to the slightest sound in the area, which might be the faint sound of a hidden device, that could help give new clues. Sherlock Holmes has a keen sense of smell, which really helps out when asking questions, when the smell of ash or cigar linger in the room or breathe of a person. Tap into your mind as if you are Sherlock Holmes and go into his imagination as you picture the movements of the suspect and see the event happen again in front of you.
In Crimes & Punishments, you will enter Sherlock Holmes’s brain as a deduction board, which you will have to build the connections, which are clues that need to be combined to make deductions that lead up to your conclusion. During these cases, you will have moral choices when solving a crime, which is either to punish the perpetrator or to set them off with a warning, knowing that your choice will also impact others and your reputation.