Sherlock Holmes is perhaps one of, if not the most, famous fictional detective in history. His stories have been adapted time and time again into television shows, stage plays, and movies. So it only makes sense that he would star in a few video games. While none of his original stories get directly adapted into the medium in an attempt to keep an aura of mystery, there are plenty of interesting gaming tales about Holmes.
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Being a public domain figure who anyone can use, it can be hard to determine which Sherlock Holmes games are worth playing and which are just cash grabs. to make that decision easier for you to make, here is a list compiling some of the best Sherlock Holmes games currently available to play.
5Fate/Grand Order
A Journey Through History
Fate Grand Order
Topping off the list is a game that doesn’t star Sherlock Holmes, but does feature him in a major way: themobile gacha gameFate/Grand Order. While Holmes wasn’t part of the game’s main party from the start, he debuted within the game’s second year and has been a major character ever since. In particular, the Shinjuku and Traum arcs of the game explore his character and the concept of James Moriarty from a literary standpoint in very interesting ways that should thrill any Holmes fan.
While Holmes and Moriarty do play major roles in Fate/Grand Order, the game must rank very low on this list as the game as a whole isn’t entirely about them. They may have some incredible arcs, but that is merely a taste of what Fate’s universe and its grand stakes have to offer. Every other title in this list will be entirely about Sherlock Holmes solving mysteries like in his original tales.
4Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishment
Frogwares at their Peak
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments
When it comes to Sherlock Holmes video games, one cannot have a conversation about them without first bringing up Frogwares. This studio has been creating fantastic Holmes games for over two decades by now, with the series currently having two continuities. Of the pre-reboot games, perhaps the very best of them was 2014’s Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishment.
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This game has fantastic investigation segments which will both make players feel incredibly smart and remind them of classic point-and-click adventure games of old. The mysteries are all very well crafted, with some of them being references to specific Holmes tales without being direct adaptations to avoid spoiling the player. If you want to experience a video game version of Holmes who is exactly what you would imagine him to be, then pick up Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishment.
3Tantei Opera Milky Holmes
The Cutest Detective
Next up on the list is a game that was almost forgotten by time: Tantei Opera Milky Holmes for the PSP. This visual novel stars a young anime girl named Sherlock Shellingford who runs a detective agency with her friends known as Milky Holmes. Together they must fight off against the Phantom Thief Empire and have fun misadventures with the player along the way.
While Tantei Opera Milky Holmes is relatively unknown in the Western half of the world, in Japan it spun off into a media empire with four different anime, several music albums, and multiple different collaborations in various mobile games. With the series being as successful as it is, it only feels right to place the original PSP visual novel on this list.
2The Great Ace Attorney
A Great Revival
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles
Capcom’sAce Attorneyfranchise’s western release order is very interesting and complicated. While none of the mainline games released out of order, spinoff titles would later reach English shores after games that were made before them, such as the series’Crossover gamewith Professor Layton which was originally released before Dual Destinies in Japan. This trend also applies to the franchise’s greatest spinoff: The Great Ace Attorney.
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The Great Ace Attorney takes the typical Ace Attorney gameplay formula but transplants it into a Victorian England setting as Phoenix’s ancestor must team up with the famed Herlock Sholmes, a detective who is nowhere near as smart as his assistant’s novels appear to be. This game is an absolute treat as a Sherlock Holmes fan, as the game is constantly twisting and referencing the classic stories in unique ways. If you are an Ace Attorney or Sherlock Holmes fan in any way, you must pick up this title.
1Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened
Holmes Meets Lovecraft
Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened
In contrast to the previous game on this list, which was about a version of Holmes who was incapable of solving mysteries, the number one slot of this list goes to a game all about a very competent Holmes who is forced to face a mystery so complex that even he is incapable of truly solving it: Sherlock Holmes the Awakened. This title is the second game in Frogwares’ rebooted Sherlock Holmes continuity and is one of the studio’s finest showings so far.
Seeing the rigid and logistical Sherlock Holmes come face to face with the unexplainable is an equal part fascinating and horrifying. While this title is much shorter than the previous game, Sherlock Holmes Chapter One and no longer features anopen-worldit’s a very well-paced tale that is easily one of the best Sherlock Holmes games ever released. Anyone who enjoys this classic detective owes it to themselves to play through this title.
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