Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter

Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter is an adventure mystery video game in the Sherlock Holmes series developed by Frogwares for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2016. It was released for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on 25 October 2016. Though it was originally scheduled for release on 10 June 2016, the console versions were delayed. However, the PC version was released on schedule.[1]

Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter
Developer(s)Frogwares
SeriesSherlock Holmes
EngineUnreal Engine 3
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
Release
  • Windows
  • June 10, 2016
  • PlayStation 4, Xbox One
  • October 25, 2016
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

Like its predecessor Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments, the majority of the game involves exploring crime scenes and examining clues. Once discovered, clues are added to a "deduction board", a gameplay mechanic which involves linking pieces of information together, leading to possibilities for different deductions. Once deductions are connected together, the player will have a full tree of deductions in the player's memory called mind palace. Depending on how players interpret the clues, they will arrive at different conclusions. Thus, the player can fail or succeed in finding the culprit.

Premise

Across five linked cases, Holmes confronts dark family secrets, both in his cases and personally, when a visiting woman begins interfering in his personal life, especially with his adopted daughter.

Plot

The game features five separate cases. Each case is self-contained and apart from in-game achievements, such as moral choices, do not relate to one another. The cases are as follows:

Prey Tell: Holmes is visited by a young boy, Tom, whose father has gone missing. With the help of Wiggins, Holmes investigates and finds a string of related disappearances linked to a distinguished British benefactor.

A Study in Green: Holmes competes in a lawn bowls tournament hosted by a local Archaeological Society. The award ceremony is called off after a member of the club is found dead under mysterious circumstances, and the case ties back to an earlier Mayan expedition.

Infamy: Holmes is followed around by an actor seeking to study him for an upcoming role. After he solves the case of Mary Sutherland (adapted from "A Case of Identity"), Holmes thwarts an attempt on his own life. The investigation uncovers a series of burglaries and a disappearance that all lead him to an abandoned abbey.

Chain Reaction: While travelling, Holmes and Watson encounter a massive road accident that has killed and injured several people. Holmes investigates the area to deduce the series of events, finding the situation is not what it appears.

Fever Dreams: Holmes' new neighbor has kidnapped his adopted daughter. He must find her before it's too late.

Development and release

On 8 May 2015, an eighth installment in the series was announced.[2] Kerry Shale was originally expected to reprise his role as Sherlock.[3] However, it was later confirmed by Frogwares that the game would focus on a different incarnation of Sherlock Holmes featuring Alex Jordan in the titular role.

The game was distributed by Bigben Interactive, which claimed to be the publisher but was only a distribution intermediary.[4] The exact role of Bigben (and Focus Home Interactive previously) was explained by Frogwares CEO in an interview given to the French media Planète Aventure in February 2020, in which he explained that Frogwares had never worked with publishing companies. Bigben Interactive and Focus Home Interactive were only licensees which do not possess intellectual properties on the games.[4]

Reception

GameSpot awarded it a score of 6.0 out of 10, saying "It's a fantastic detective game; it's just a shame that it's bogged down by myriad technical issues, and a mediocre attempt to inject some action into proceedings."[8] IGN awarded it a score of 5.0 out of 10, saying "Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter has good mysteries, but the way you interact with them is rigid and limiting."[9]

The Devil's Daughter received "mixed or average" reviews. Aggregating review website Metacritic gave the Microsoft Windows version 65/100 based on 19 reviews,[5] the PlayStation 4 version 71/100 based on 28 reviews,[6] and the Xbox One version 66/100 based on 12 reviews.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Bigben Interactive and Frogwares Reveal the New Sherlock Holmes Game". 22 October 2015. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  2. "Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter Launching on May 27 for PS4, XB1 & PC". PlayStationLifeStyle.net. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  3. Kerry Shale [@kerryshale] (24 October 2015). "Watch this space, Mark. I'm expecting a call, but the voices are added towards the end of the production" (Tweet). Retrieved 25 October 2015 – via Twitter.
  4. Bargue, Xavier (22 February 2020). "Waël Amr: "Focus's relationship to Frogwares has never been that of a publisher to a developer"". Planète Aventure.
  5. "Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  6. "Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  7. "Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  8. Wakeling, Richard, June 7, 2016 "Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter Review" (http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/sherlock-holmes-the-devils-daughter-review/1900-6416449/). GameSpot. Accessed 14 June 2016.
  9. Robertson, John, 17 June 2016, "SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE DEVIL'S DAUGHTER REVIEW" (http://uk.ign.com/articles/2016/06/17/sherlock-holmes-the-devils-daughter-review). IGN. Accessed 17 June 2016.
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