Crimes & Punishments lets you become the greatest detective of all time, Sherlock Holmes! Solve six high-profile, gripping and varied cases: murders, disappearances, spectacular thefts and sensational cases will sometimes take you to the realms of the fantastic in this stunning game of investigation in the fine tradition of the Conan Doyle novels. Crimes & Punishments offers you a large degree of freedom to make moral choices that go beyond merely seeing that justice is done: your decisions have a real influence on the game both in terms of your character’s reputation and the consequences that arise in a realistic and sometimes unexpected way.
Will you listen to your moral sense, or will you impartially enforce justice?
Overall, this is the best Sherlock Holmes game we've encountered and a very auspicious debut for the consulting detective on Switch. This is far from a lazy downgrade, with developer Frogwares presenting a full-featured and compelling experience from start to perhaps-too-soon finish. It looks great and plays brilliantly, with only occasional annoyances...
Rough around the edges, and some bad puzzles, but this is an atmospheric detective adventure that actually lets you do some detecting.
At the end of a case, the player is given a rating, either highlighting their compassion or their steely sense of justice. They're also given a breakdown as to how other players resolved the case and the option to find out if they identified the right suspect. Your enjoyment of Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments will depend on whether you want...
In terms of pure gameplay this is perhaps the best serious detective game so far, but the issues with the script and characters remain more than a one pipe problem.
A great example of how player choice can shape a gameplay experience. Most cases offer a variety of conclusions
