Sherlock Holmes Chapter One – Official FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Sherlock Holmes Chapter One?

• Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is an open world detective adventure that explores Sherlock’s very first case. It is our own interpretation of what this first case could be like.

How many chapters are you going to make?

• Just this one. This is not an episodic game, Chapter One means the beginning of Sherlock’s story, a prequel, if you will.

When is the release date? Can I pre-purchase the game?

• November 16th for PC and current gen consoles. You can pre-purchase the game now and claim a free copy of Sherlock Holmes Crimes & Punishments, as well as the Victorian Starter Pack that includes one additional side quest, two new costumes and 500 manghirs (in-game money) that you can spend to buy new costumes for Sherlock or restore your family mansion.

The game is also coming to old-gen at a later date.

How much is the game?

• Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is $44.99/€44.99 on all platforms. There’s also a Deluxe Edition that costs $59.99/€59.99 – it comes with a season pass that includes four pieces of DLC: Saints & Sinners quest (available Day 1), Beyond a Joke quest (coming later), Mycroft’s pride questline (coming later), and M For Myster questline (coming later).

You regional prices may vary, see the game’s page for more details.

Are there microtransactions?

• Of course not.

How long is the game?

• 10-12 hours for the main story. 30-40 hours for a completionist run.

Can I change Sherlock’s appearance?

• Yes, you can customize your Sherlock’s appearance and change his costume, facial accessories and more. There are dozens of cosmetics to choose from. If you want a more traditional look, you can achieve it.

Is John Watson in the game?

• The game takes place before Sherlock met John. However, he has a different companion this time, his name is Jonathan, and he plays a huge role in the story. We cannot really say more, but it will all make sense when you complete the game.

I don’t like the fact that there’s combat in the game

• You can skip it in the Settings – if you want to focus on the story and investigation, you can. However, please know the following:

1. We only have combat where it makes sense and you cannot attack random people.
2. Combat symbolizes Sherlock’s skills and character – it is more of a puzzle, where you need to think ahead and prioritize your actions.
3. Non-lethal approach is considered canon, but we do not want to limit your options and take away the ability to kill enemies.
4. Killing enemies will have certain consequences, for example, it will impact your friendship with Jon.

Does the game start on a menu or a cutscene?

• Main menu. You will see an intro cutscene when you press the “new game” button.

Is there a time limit to work on the cases or explore the city? For example does it get dark and you need to go home and try again the next day?

• There’s a day and night cycle which impacts the atmosphere of the city, for example, at night there’s fewer “normal” people on the streets, but more thugs\bandits\beggars etc.
• However, it will not affect gameplay like that. We thought about it but ultimately decided to prioritize the player’s convenience.
• Here’s the thing. Creating a proper and believable “routine simulation” for the entire city would require a loooot of resources, and we honestly did not feel that it was a crucial mechanic for a detective game.
• And if we could not treat it seriously, there was a good chance that it would end up being just a gimmick designed to artificially enhance your playtime. So, we decided to direct our efforts elsewhere.

Does this game have multiple endings?

• Yes, there are several endings.

Can we change Jon’s clothes?

• Yes to that as well.

Will Jon and other people react differently if Sherlock put on some strange clothes?

• When you approach people on the streets to ask about something, you may hear remarks about your appearance, especially if you do not fit in with the rest of the crowd.

What happens if you fail the eavesdropping minigame? Do you get to do it again or does the case turn up at the manor later?

• If you fail it, you can try again. When playtesting the game, we got feedback that it was the best approach – too many people felt frustrated losing the ability to just redo the eavesdropping.

Will there be classical music in the game?

• All the music was composed by us internally, and we used a lot of different instruments to create it, including piano, violin, hammered dulcimer, precussion, duduk and many others. There will be more traditional “Sherlockian” tracks as well as more exotic, Mediterranean ones.