Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One
Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One
Sorti le 16 novembre 2021, Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One est une aventure indépendante développée et éditée par Frogwares sur PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 et Xbox Series X|S. Propulsé par l'Unreal Engine 4, le jeu propose une relecture des origines du célèbre détective en le plaçant dans la peau d'un jeune homme arrogant et naïf, bien avant sa rencontre avec John Watson. L'intrigue se déroule sur une île méditerranéenne baignée de soleil où Sherlock revient pour enquêter sur la mort de sa mère, découvrant derrière le vernis urbain un terreau de crime, de corruption et de morale nébuleuse.
Le gameplay s'articule autour d'une investigation universelle en monde ouvert où le joueur forge sa réputation par ses décisions. Les outils à disposition incluent la déduction, les déguisements, l'étiquetage d'indices et la constitution de preuves au sein d'un palais de la mémoire, mais aussi la ruse et la violence pour ceux qui privilégient la force. Le joueur peut choisir de déjouer les plans ennemis en exploitant leurs faiblesses ou l'environnement, le tout accompagné de Jon, un compagnon mystérieux qui tient lieu de confident bien avant l'arrivée du docteur Watson. L'accent est mis sur la subjectivité de la vérité : chaque résident possède sa propre vision de la justice, et les choix du joueur déterminent l'impact des révélations finales.
Côté contenu, l'histoire principale demande environ treize heures pour être bouclée, tandis qu'une approche complétionniste peut en exiger près de trente. Le titre est actuellement proposé à 4,49 euros sur les plateformes de distribution numérique.
L'accueil critique et public s'avère globalement favorable, avec un score Metacritic de 77 et une note agrégée de 76,71. La presse a salué une approche rafraîchissante du mythe, Video Chums qualifiant l'œuvre de « chef-d'œuvre du jeu de détective » offrant une aventure en monde ouvert «thoroughly enjoyable», tandis que Player 2 a souligné l'humanité de cette version du personnage et la satisfaction procurée par ses méthodes de déduction. Du côté des joueurs, les retours mettent en avant la beauté de l'île — identifiée comme Cordona par certains — et l'intérêt des enquêtes, tout en notant que certaines nouvelles mécaniques peuvent paraître rugueuses ou déstabilisantes au démarrage, un avis positif sur Steam décrivant néanmoins l'opus comme « délectable pour les aficionados ».
Médias
Avis des critiques et joueurs
Critiques de la Presse (Metacritic)
« Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is a masterpiece of a detective game as it manages to deliver a thoroughly enjoyable open-world adventure with an interesting cast, stunning environmental visuals, and highly immersive and engaging sleuthing gameplay. The fact that I was having such an awesome time made dealing with the odd progression issue worth it as I loved taking in all of the sights and stories. »
« This version of Sherlock feels human, his methods of deduction are satisfying, and his cases are certainly intriguing enough to make aspiring detectives want to solve them all. »
« Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One is an exemplary experience for anyone wanting to enjoy time with our eccentric investigator. The story behind Violet Holmes' demise will pull at your heartstrings, and the cases you’ll decipher on the way there just make you appreciate Chapter One all the more. Yeah, there are some technical issues, and you’re most likely going to get stuck at least once, but unraveling the best laid plans of the most conniving criminals is a delight to accomplish. »
« Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is one of Frogwares’ best games to date. »
« The entire investigation was worth it and this is an origin worth exploring for any fan of mysteries or the great Sherlock Holmes. »
« Sherlock Holmes Chapter One puts the detective into an open world setting whilst giving him plenty of murders and side cases to investigate. There is the odd bit of action here and there but those who like to explore, examine and deduce will get the most out of this adventure. »
« Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One is Holmes but not as you know him, with a fantastic and unique story, plenty of crimes to solve, and a sprawling tropical island to explore. »
« There are a few rough edges to Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One; the odd duff texture here and there, and lip syncing that never quite looks right. But none of that ever gets in the way of just how engaging a game this is to play. Stepping into the shoes of the young Sherlock Holmes is a real treat, and Frogwares continues to excel at doing what it does best: delivering an immersive experience that really makes the player feel like they’re actually a detective. This is by far the developer’s best yet. »
Avis des Joueurs (Metacritic)
« New, fresh approach to Sherlock Holmes series. Really beautiful open world. Cordona looks amazing. Some new mechanics are quite rough, but... a lot of them are new in the series. Personally i really like new "alchemist table" (nice minigame that requires some math). This game is much more difficult than any other game in the series so i believe thats why it has so poor notes. »
« [SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.] »
« It was the worst Sherlock game I've ever played in my life. Who came up with the idea of making the Sherlock character schizophrenic and making the big John Watson his imaginary friend? The game never holds the player's hand, I was wondering "what should I do now" during the 5 hours I played. The character has a teenager-like face and is not interesting at all. It's not a AAA game, but still the animations look very amateur. In addition, the fighting mechanics are also very unnecessary, they are made only to extend the game time. It's beyond awful, I give 2 points only to the graphics and Turkish voice acting. »
« I don't think open world experiment went into the right direction. Overall game is good but not as good as previous parts. »
« I admire the effort they put into this to try something different, but the execution falls short. I didn’t have fun while I was playing. I feel like I spent most of the time confused about what to do and where to go, and forced to do something tedious to proceed. The majority of the game felt like a chore, where I constantly got stuck at what to do next. I think the game design fails to point you in the right direction. I wanted to spend more time finding clues and solving puzzles. I don’t think the open world works well for a Sherlock game. »
« Not more open world to a Sherlock Holmes' game. Please. It just does not fit. The cases are also very strange and uninteresting. »
« A captivating experience seeing the story unravel through the eyes of a Young Sherlock Holmes and a certain improvement on past games like Crimes & Punishment or Devil's Daughter. The combat system was quite fun, but also janky. Surprisingly, it didn't feel repetitive. The emotion in the game from the main story to side stories aim to bring about a better understanding of the character we have here, closure to his internal trauma and how his imaginary friend Jon plays a massive role in it. »
« As someone who has played almost all of Frogwares' previous games, this is an interesting new direction they've taken with Sherlock. This Sherlock is younger, better looking, more of a jerk, and with some serious mental illnesses. Although the mechanics of solving crimes will be familiar to Frogwares' veterans, the cases themselves are presented in a free-form manner embedded into an open-world for the player to explore and discover. There's also a good helping of pathos and family drama thrown in to the story, which I found unwelcome and distracting from the main business of solving cool and crazy **** main issue is the same I've always had with this series. "Finding evidence" by clicking on hidden items, and needing to do things in a specific order without missing any steps. Often I can't reach the next phase of the case because I missed some secret item or didn't follow through on some obscure connection in another part of the map or there was some other procedural element I needed to complete first. It makes one feel like they're trying to solve a puzzle not knowing if they have all the pieces, and can be aggravating and time-wasting. There's a tacked-on combat minigame here that is pretty terrible, and serves no purpose. Also, some of the moral logic in the game didn't work for me, and I found the ending especially disconcerting and senseless. It's still a pretty decent puzzle game. »
