SH : CP = Sherlock Holmes : Crimes and Punishments
SH : DD = Sherlock Holmes : Devil's Daughter

I'd happily give this game a balanced review about 5/10, but I rated it "No," so I'm not going to totally recommend this game at full price. Read why.

This game has taken a major downgrade from SH : CP in its gameplay. There's not much detective stuff going on and you're left clueless most of the time of what to do. Although this time they were able to bring in a "Master Sleuth (hard difficulty)", but what is the point? If you are spoon-feeded with vague details and nonsensical minigames.

Trial and Error. The amount of trial and error mini games are very outrageous and frustrating, its called Sherlock Holmes! It's supposed to make us feel like a cunning person by putting puzzle pieces together to form a solution not some random guy who did a hit or miss.

Stealth Mini Games. First of all, the sneaking content in this game is pretty simple and stretched out, I feel like they just added this section to make your playthrough longer. While there's not a lot of investigative action going on in this segment except one, they could have better implemented this section if they had more of the "Prey Tell" sneaking in the office section instead of only sneaking through some guards. If I had to stealth my way, I would just play Dishonored or something.

Quicktime Events. To be truthful I've enjoyed most of it but there's no detective expertise required for this. It's more like a test of reflex rather than a moment to showcase your intellect. It would've been better if they actually went the RDJ's Sherlock route, in which before you head on to a battle you construct the future possible outcomes based on your own deductions against your opponent's actions all within a constructed time-frame.

Character Portrait. I really liked the change for this section. Not all character portrait deductions are direct, some of it you had to choose manually by combining together other deductions to form a fact. My only problem here is that you can see the first letter and the length of the blurred text to recognize the right choice to make, they should've blurred it better or just delete it altogether.

Toby Sniffing. Well can't hate myself for playing as a dog! But honestly I'm glad they did less of this (Sorry Toby!), because if I wanted to play a dog I'd go play a dog game. This minigame is fairly straightforward, just follow the scent and you're done and earn yourself a good sleep on Sherlock's pillow! They could've made this minigame better by adding 2 or more scents in which, at some point, the scents intersect and Toby will do his own scent tracking deductions or, in other words, they should've shown why Sherlock calls him the best nose in the entire British Empire!

Why do Sherlock and Watson look even younger than SH : CP? They're expected to be around in their mid-40s or mid-50s in this game. The voice actors in this game are different from SH : CP, perhaps a budget issue or something. I don't have any problems with the new voice actors who actually did a decent job, but I prefer the SH : CP voice actor because of his cynical humorous voice.

A lot of the characters in this game are just reused old models from previous games and they're not even trying to hide that fact (I understand why they have to do this, low budget and save time) but at least they could've made them interesting.

Watson is always absent, and Lestrade too, what's the point of making a "Sherlock Holmes game" when most of the important characters don't do much in the whole game? I blame it on poor writing. Watson played a good role in SH : CP, which exemplifies both his medical and military abilities, but Watson behaves more like a doctor and less like an army in this game. Lestrade seems quite suspicious in this game as if he's hiding something, I thought it would be part of the plot later, but not at all!

There are six cases in total that you solve, and most of the cases were just unclear, and the main storyline is unexpectedly forced into your face, at one point you solve crimes, and immediately you try to locate Kate .

Cases are confusing to solve because of the lack of hints or clues that are ambiguous, and most of the time you find yourself guessing, it's more like "Sherlock using vague clues to guess" than "Sherlock using facts for deduction". Each case is pretty short at one point I even had a "That's it?" moment, or I could perfectly summarize the whole case and the plot as "That's it?".

The visuals is very promising and it's actually better than SH : CP, it had more details and better lighting but it lacks that mystique ambience from SH : CP.

No crashes and bugs during my playthrough. Played it on all high settings yet sometimes I find the fps fluctuating at some scenes. I highly doubt its on my end because a lot of other players experienced the same.

The controls are clunky especially when you're trying to interact. You can see Sherlock jolting up in a table sometimes or being stuck in a corner.

I'm very impressed. The noise quality is enhanced (not that it needs an improvement since it was on point already) since SH : CP; the creaking sounds, gossips, street vendors, children playing, insects, and all those randoms stuffs that could be heard in a city is audible.

The music, although I prefer the previous music from SH: CP, really suits the case and the plot in most of the scenarios. The music had this exciting and enigmatic spectacle on it, which is what this game has promised!

All obtainable in a single playthrough, as long as you don't skip minigames and don't fail at it you will finish it 100%. No crazy achievements. Fairly easy.

- SH:DD failed to deliver as a "Sherlock Holmes game".
- It's would certainly work best if it is viewed as a visual novel rather than a detective game.
- If you skip all minigames you could probably finish this game in 2 hours or less.
- Gameplay is more hit-or-miss and trial-and-error and less actual detective gameplay.
- Cases are absurdly confusing with vague clues.
- The main storyline is suddenly forced the in your face.

Not recommended at full price. Get this game at or above 75% discount. Get Sherlock Holmes : Crimes and Punishments instead. I can't deduce how Frogwares f*cked up this game and not SH:CP.

[h1] Introduction [/h1] SH : CP = Sherlock Holmes : Crimes and Punishments SH : DD = Sherlock Holmes : Devil's Daughter I'd happily give this game a balanced review about 5/10, but I rated it "No," so I'm not going to totally recommend this game at full price. Read why. [h1] Gameplay and Difficulty [/h1] This game has taken a major downgrade from [b]SH : CP[/b] in its gameplay. There's not much detective stuff going on and you're left clueless most of the time of what to do. Although this time they were able to bring in a [b]"Master Sleuth (hard difficulty)"[/b], but what is the point? If you are spoon-feeded with vague details and nonsensical minigames. [u][b]Trial and Error.[/b][/u] The amount of trial and error mini games are very outrageous and frustrating, its called [b]Sherlock Holmes![/b] It's supposed to make us feel like a cunning person by putting puzzle pieces together to form a solution not some random guy who did a hit or miss. [u][b]Stealth Mini Games.[/b][/u] First of all, the sneaking content in this game is pretty simple and stretched out, I feel like they just added this section to make your playthrough longer. While there's not a lot of investigative action going on in this segment except one, they could have better implemented this section if they had more of the [spoiler]"Prey Tell" sneaking in the office section[/spoiler] instead of only sneaking through some guards. If I had to stealth my way, I would just play [b]Dishonored[/b] or something. [u][b]Quicktime Events.[/b][/u] To be truthful I've enjoyed most of it but there's no detective expertise required for this. It's more like a test of reflex rather than a moment to showcase your intellect. It would've been better if they actually went the [b]RDJ's Sherlock[/b] route, in which before you head on to a battle you construct the future possible outcomes based on your own deductions against your opponent's actions all within a constructed time-frame. [u][b]Character Portrait.[/b][/u] I really liked the change for this section. Not all character portrait deductions are direct, some of it you had to choose manually by combining together other deductions to form a fact. My only problem here is that you can see the first letter and the length of the blurred text to recognize the right choice to make, they should've blurred it better or just delete it altogether. [u][b]Toby Sniffing.[/b][/u] Well can't hate myself for playing as a dog! But honestly I'm glad they did less of this (Sorry Toby!), because if I wanted to play a dog I'd go play a dog game. This minigame is fairly straightforward, just follow the scent and you're done and earn yourself a good sleep on Sherlock's pillow! They could've made this minigame better by adding 2 or more scents in which, at some point, the scents intersect and Toby will do his own scent tracking deductions or, in other words, they should've shown why Sherlock calls him the best nose in the entire British Empire! [h1] Characters [/h1] Why do [b]Sherlock and Watson[/b] look even younger than [b]SH : CP[/b]? They're expected to be around in their mid-40s or mid-50s in this game. The voice actors in this game are different from [b]SH : CP[/b], perhaps a budget issue or something. I don't have any problems with the new voice actors who actually did a decent job, but I prefer the [b]SH : CP[/b] voice actor because of his cynical humorous voice. A lot of the characters in this game are just reused old models from previous games and they're not even trying to hide that fact (I understand why they have to do this, low budget and save time) but at least they could've made them interesting. [b]Watson[/b] is always absent, and [b]Lestrade[/b] too, what's the point of making a [b]"Sherlock Holmes game"[/b] when most of the important characters don't do much in the whole game? I blame it on poor writing. [b]Watson[/b] played a good role in [b]SH : CP[/b], which exemplifies both his medical and military abilities, but [b]Watson[/b] behaves more like a doctor and less like an army in this game. [b]Lestrade[/b] seems quite suspicious in this game as if he's hiding something, I thought it would be part of the plot later, but not at all! [h1] Cases and Storyline [/h1] There are six cases in total that you solve, and most of the cases were just unclear, and the main storyline is unexpectedly forced into your face, at one point you solve crimes, and immediately you try to [spoiler] locate Kate [/spoiler]. Cases are confusing to solve because of the lack of hints or clues that are ambiguous, and most of the time you find yourself guessing, it's more like "Sherlock using vague clues to guess" than "Sherlock using facts for deduction". Each case is pretty short at one point I even had a "That's it?" moment, or I could perfectly summarize the whole case and the plot as "That's it?". [h1] Visuals and Performance[/h1] The visuals is very promising and it's actually better than [b]SH : CP[/b], it had more details and better lighting but it lacks that mystique ambience from [b]SH : CP[/b]. No crashes and bugs during my playthrough. Played it on all high settings yet sometimes I find the fps fluctuating at some scenes. I highly doubt its on my end because a lot of other players experienced the same. The controls are clunky especially when you're trying to interact. You can see [b]Sherlock[/b] jolting up in a table sometimes or being stuck in a corner. [h1] Music and Sounds [/h1] I'm very impressed. The noise quality is enhanced (not that it needs an improvement since it was on point already) since [b]SH : CP[/b]; the creaking sounds, gossips, street vendors, children playing, insects, and all those randoms stuffs that could be heard in a city is audible. The music, although I prefer the previous music from SH: CP, really suits the case and the plot in most of the scenarios. The music had this exciting and enigmatic spectacle on it, which is what this game has promised! [h1] Achievements [/h1] All obtainable in a single playthrough, as long as you don't skip minigames and don't fail at it you will finish it 100%. No crazy achievements. Fairly easy. [h1] Conclusion [/h1] - [b]SH:DD[/b] failed to deliver as a [b]"Sherlock Holmes game"[/b]. - It's would certainly work best if it is viewed as a visual novel rather than a detective game. - If you skip all minigames you could probably finish this game in 2 hours or less. - Gameplay is more hit-or-miss and trial-and-error and less actual detective gameplay. - Cases are absurdly confusing with vague clues. - The main storyline is suddenly forced the in your face. [u][b]Not recommended at full price. Get this game at or above 75% discount. Get Sherlock Holmes : Crimes and Punishments instead. I can't deduce how Frogwares f*cked up this game and not SH:CP.[/b][/u]