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Frogwares just announced a new Sherlock Holmes game for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. A different take on the character. looks promising:

As Sherlock, your legacy is written by the decisions you make in this open-world detective adventure. Deception, violence, and deduction are just a few resources in your arsenal—your mysterious companion and sounding board, Jon, is another.

Whether you choose brute force to solve problems or stay one step ahead of your enemies by using your wits to spot vulnerabilities, you decide what each situation demands as you hone your investigative skills. It’s time to confront your past so you can become the legend you’re destined to be.

Key Features
  • The Man Before: As a cavalier young Sherlock on the precipice of adulthood, you’ll earn your reputation in a way no game or story has explored before. We’ve never seen the youthful arrogance and naivete of the man before the legend—now you’re living it.
  • Global Investigation: You never know where your next clue will come from. Explore and exploit the entire city in your pursuit of truth, using clues, rumors, disguises, tags, and pinned evidence to build a solid case within your mind palace.
  • And Stay Down: Weapons might help you in a pinch, but there’s something to be said for style—and you have it in spades. Spot enemy vulnerabilities with your brilliant observation skills, or exploit the environment to take someone down while keeping your own hands clean.
  • A Different Jon: Before John Watson, there was a different Jon – your best and only friend. But who is he, really?
  • A Darkening Tide: Set in the 19th century, the vibrant island in the Mediterranean promises anything but paradise. Political corruption and crime run rampant while the islanders cling to tradition and eschew outsiders, making your job even more difficult.
  • Truth and Lies: There are two sides to every story, and the proud islanders have their own ideas about truth and justice. It’s up to you to decide whether uncovering the truth will do more harm than good—and how that will shape the man you’ll become.
 
Read more stuff about it from gamespot's dev interview:

"What we want to do with Chapter One is that we want to explore this other side of the character, and how he became the great detective that we know," said Oganesyan. "Our version of Sherlock is not a traditional character. He has this raw talent [for discovering the truth] that's sort of untamed. He's more arrogant, and much more volatile in this game compared to [other] versions. He has more fun playing with the truth, and he has no problem lying to somebody to get to the bottom of his investigation. But at the same time, he is still young. He will experience some of the things that a young man, 21 years of age, may not be ready to process in this game. This will have certain consequences on his character. Our goal is to show the events that will shape Sherlock as a great detective."

Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One is one of the rare games in the series that takes place outside of London, which gave Frogwares more flexibility for the story. In the debut trailer, we see Sherlock return to his family manor with his companion Jonathan, but things aren't as they seem when he enters, leading to one of many mysteries in the game that ties directly to Sherlock. The trailer does set the tone for the game, which looks to be something of an emotional, yet surreal journey for the budding detective as he explores the island town where everyone seems to have something to hide.

Frogwares' previous effort with The Sinking City was a departure for the studio, moving away from the fiction of Sherlock Holmes and into a more elaborate adventure game where you explored a city filled with monsters and shady individuals with ties to a dark cult. It was a fascinating experiment in how it brought the developer's established detective gameplay from the Sherlock Holmes games into a horror-filled open world. But in retrospect, the developers stated they learned some explicit lessons on how to approach that style of gameplay going forward, specifically in exploring an open city and making the activities therein more engaging and less of a hassle. Chapter One's setting is smaller in scope by comparison, yet it is much denser, with more buildings to enter and more people to interact with. The devs described Chapter One's setting as an open city; the island town encompasses different districts. Using disguises, you'll blend in and make your way to different areas of the city that you may not be able to enter.

Described as "Global Investigation," the developers explained that the city would feature different avenues to discover many secrets and events, all of which can lead back to your current investigation, sometimes in unexpected ways. Using these clues, along with some advice from Jonathan, Sherlock will be able to use his mind palace--an internal nexus of all the clues and research--to piece together the evidence to close the case.

"The main principles that we try to instill and develop in our games is the investigation principle, where all the details, minor or otherwise, are presented to the player," said Martyniuk. "So there are a lot of places in this city which contain different information on different matters. This can be used in the investigation to define and formulate which evidence you want to search for to build your evidence. This free investigation [format] is for you to decide where to go on your own. Our intent is that players who understand [the world] will feel connected to the game's investigation--[getting players] to feel smart and active within the investigation is very critical in getting into the game's story."

In addition to taking on different investigations throughout the city, Sherlock will also run afoul of some of the city's more unsavory individuals. While combat is a crucial part of Chapter One, it won't be as pronounced as it was in The Sinking City, which featured gunfights in the city streets against eldritch monsters and cultists. Chapter One's combat system has been completely revamped and focuses more on hand-to-hand engagements that lean into Sherlock's particular skill set. In a fight, Sherlock will be able to use his deductive skills to pinpoint weak points on enemies to end battles easily. According to the devs, battles take place where they make sense, and certain areas of town will have individuals looking for a scrap.

The COVID-19 pandemic did create some challenges in the development of Chapter One. With over a year in development at this time, the game is shaping up to be the biggest Sherlock Holmes game to date, however, the producer made it clear that Frogwares has adjusted to the shift in development well, and that the game was still on track for a 2021 release on consoles and PC.
 
Saw a new trailer:
 
They posted more stuff:

1. Estimated Play Time and Number of Quests

Antonina Melnykova, Lead Narrative Designer: “Currently we feel the main story will take approximately 15 hours to complete, while a completionist playthrough will be closer to a 30 to 40-hour mark. We will have five main quests that span multiple hours and more than 30 side quests of varying size and complexity, with each offering a moral choice.

“In each main quest you’ll also have several suspects, and whether or not you will find the right one depends on how good a detective you are. You can interpret your clues in a number of ways that can lead to different theories. Some of these theories are easier and more convenient than the others, but it does not mean they’re correct. Once you’ve found your suspect, no matter if they are the right person, you will get a chance to decide their fate. Justice on the island is a bit twisted and our goal is to avoid a black and white morality, so it’s possible you’ll want to side with the wrongdoer.”

2. Let There Be Blood: Combat

Yaroslav Martyniuk, Lead Feature Designer: “Combat only takes place where it’s justified by the story. You cannot shoot random people on the streets, as we don’t think it fits the character and you are encouraged to take the non-lethal approach. However, if you are cornered in a gunfight or you don’t have enough time to find an enemy’s weakness, it is possible to shoot and kill them. This will have certain consequences, for instance, it may worsen your relationship with your friend Jon, but we do not want to take away this option and make players feel forced to use only one playstyle.

“Chapter One is an action adventure game, with an emphasis on detective gameplay, but combat is still an important element. Sherlock is quite agile, so you’ll be able use his agility to switch cover or evade being hit. He wields a small handgun and certain tools like smoke bombs that he uses to incapacitate enemies. He can also use the environment to his advantage, for example, shooting out a weak balcony support to bring it down.”

3. An Eye for the Finer Things: Customization

Martyniuk: “Though abandoned and run down, Sherlock has his own mansion on the island as this is where he spent his childhood. You will be able to restore and custom decorate the mansion as you see fit, with goods from local merchants. Also, some rooms in the mansion will only become accessible later, helping to reveal the secrets about Sherlock and his family.

“You can also buy or find outfits for Sherlock throughout the game. Some will be cosmetic, changing how Sherlock looks while others will be required to complete quests.”

4. Current Progress and Post-Release Plans

Sergey Oganesyan, Producer and Community Manager: “The game is now in pre-alpha and we hope to show a deep dive into detective gameplay around December / January. We are also planning to support the game post-release with additional content, but we are not making this into a ‘Games as a Service’ title. Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One is a complete, standalone game, developed and self-published entirely by Frogwares. We’re aiming to release sometime in 2021 on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and next-gen consoles.”
 
Saw latest video of dev explaining more stuff:

Hey everybody, my name is Sergey and I’m a part of Frogwares, and today I got a list of questions you guys had about Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One, and in this video, I want to answer some of them, while the rest is coming soon! Alright, let’s go to our first question.

How big is the game going to be and how many cases will it cover?

Well, I can tell you that there are five main quests in the game and they are all connected through one continuous story, and we also have more than 30 side quests and some of them are actually as big as the main ones. Also I’d say it would take around 12 to 15 hours to beat the main story and maybe 40 to 50 hours if you want to see absolutely everything there is in the game.


Will the game be focused solely on the mystery involving the death of Sherlock’s mother or will we have minor mysteries to deal with along the way too?

Sherlock is indeed driven by his goal to learn the truth about his mother—that’s his motivation for the main quest, but keep in mind that he also wants to prove to everybody that he’s a real detective, so he’s eager to investigate any incidents—or side quests if you will—that occur on the island, and they all offer different stories. Some of them are linked to Sherlock and Jon and their past, while the others revolve around the people on the island and the skeletons in their closet.

Is the game very linear or will we have options as to what quests we do and when?

Chapter One is of course an open-world game so after you complete the first main quest you’ll be free to explore the island and find new quests on your own. It’s up to you to choose what you want to do and when, so you can juggle both main and side content.

Will Sherlock wear any disguise costumes this time?

Uh, yeah! Disguises are a big part of Chapter One—as you play you can find or buy new outfits that will help you gain the trust of different social groups, gain access to closed off areas or simply customize how your Sherlock looks. You can get new outfits, hats, glasses, change facial hair, etc. You can even apply bruises and wrinkles if you need to look older.

I read that we’d be able to decorate the mansion, so will we be able to shop for furniture and clothes or will they get unlocked as we play?

It’s actually both. You can find or earn some as a reward or sometimes you’ll need to buy them from the local vendors—that’s how it works.

Will the game have multiple outcomes for cases or endings like in the previous ones?

Oh yes, definitely! All main quests and more side quests will have different outcomes based on your deduction choices as well as moral choices. And of course, the game itself will offer several different endings.

Will it focus on just solving puzzles or will we see Sherlock do some fighting?

We’ll see Sherlock do some fighting as well. Where it makes sense for the story, that’s all I can say for now.

Next question.

When can we expect to see gameplay and who’s on the voice cast?

I’ll be honest we’re not ready to show you gameplay just yet because a lot of things are still being worked on. As for the voice cast, let’s have a small demonstration…

(Demonstration from 3:05 to 3:40.)

All right, and the next question is, how much of The Sinking City structure will there be. The inquiries will be conducted in a linear way, or will be free to make mistakes and declare guilty the wrong person?

Yes, you can definitely accuse the wrong person, like in Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments, for example. In each main quest you will have several different suspects and usually you can make deductions that either of them could be responsible for the crime. It depends on how many clues you have found and how you interpret their context and piece them together, so it’s possible to fail your investigation, but this story will continue regardless.

Okay, and the last question for today.

Will there be a teleporting Watson option? I always enjoyed how in the older games he would standstill as you walked away from him, you would turn around and BOOM, he’s standing right in front of you! I miss that.

Well I guess it would be quite a shocker if Watson teleported in Chapter One… considering that he’s not even in the game. Yeah…

All right, thank you everybody, as I said, the rest of the questions is coming soon, so I’ll be seeing you then. Enjoy the rest of your day.
 
TripleEyeIndieGaming said:
I love Sherlock Holmes (read all the original stories and countless pastiches) but this sounds like a bad idea. The BBC Sherlock show a few years ago already did such a great job with the early years of Sherlock. I appreciate they're trying something different, but I do not like the direction they're going. Especially after The Devil's Daughter.
Click to expand...
I am not a fan of the devil's daughter too. They haven't shown any real gameplay yet with this one, so I'll wait and see first before giving the final verdict on this one...
 
Saw New Trailer:
 
Saw new trailer with gameplay:
 
Demon_Skeith said:
kind of tempted to get it.
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New Combat stuff looks promising. Detective stuff is pretty much like their previous games from the trailer. wonder with the actions and consequences stuff, need a trailer showing that too.
 
Saw new gameplay trailer:
 
Saw release date trailer:
 
more gameplay trailer:
 
Saw Launch trailer, reviews said the narrative is strong:
 
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