#Frogwares Sherlock suffering

[lea-andres]

Get his ass, Watson.

[onceinawhilemoon]

I'm so sorry to make this EVEN WORSE but...

They both begged to be recognised and remembered by a loved one who just won't see or hear them anymore. "It's me, Sherlock!" and "You know me, you know me!" They were both horrified by the sudden betrayal of trust, by the accusations that seemingly came out of nowhere, and desperately tried to defend themselves, literally pleading for their lives.

And then when Jon tells Sherlock he's scared, Sherlock says, "I know," because... well, he's been in Jon's position once. He knows exactly how Jon is feeling. And it's like.... Sherlock is repeating the cycle by traumatizing himself all over again and lashing out at.. basically the literal embodiment of his child self...

Not…

… not Violet accusing Sherlock of being an imposter and a liar and trying to kill him…

And then…

10 years later… not Sherlock accusing Jon of being an imposter and a liar and killing him at the same spot…

Not… Sherlock projecting her words into Jon and partially finishing what she stated and killing a part of himself and…

Not Mycroft crowning the scene with telling him he’s his mother’s son…

I…

[iovitus]

hello frogwares nation i wrote another gen shco fic about Mycroft dealing with the aftermath of what happened to Sherlock when he was a child :) lots of sibling feelings and general mycroft suffering on his own

link to fic!

[beekeeperspicnic]

Have you played any other Sherlock Holmes games? If so, do you have any recommendations? Or perhaps any recommendations for mystery solving games in general?

Frogware have done lots of Sherlock Holmes games and I haven't played them all, but out of those I have I thought Crimes and Punishments was particularly good! I appreciated that it was a series of short mysteries, some based on Conan Doyle stories, some original, and that it has a really cool mechanism for letting you make deductions and stitch together your theories. (I wish my own Beekeeper's Picnic had a mechanism that cool :D)

For other mystery games there were a couple of Agatha Christie games done by The Adventure Company of Murder on the Orient Express and Evil Under the Sun that I thought were particularly good. They're probably looking a little dated now, but when they first game out I felt absolutely transported by them!

The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief is similairly fun for giving that vintage mystery feel, initially letting you play as a long suffering police detective character like those who tend to dog master thieves like Raffles or Arsene Lupin.

The Nancy Drew games by Her Interactive are always a good time. Again I haven't played them all, but Shadows at the Water's Edge and Warning at Waverly Academy stand out.

I'm trying to think of something more recent games!

Draugen can get a special mention, a Nordic noir game. It's focusing more on the psychology of its main character than presenting a challenging solveable mystery, so I'd advise anyone playing not to get TOO caught up in playing detective, but it was good. It's also the only game I've ever played where I got so caught up in the setting, I swear I could smell it.

[hey-sherry]

Act VI Screenshots and OPINIONS and spoilers and yeah yeah

Here we go! The place from all of those trailers! :D

(Some screenshots have been brightened up to look better on Tumblr)

The pre-rendered cut-scenes are gorgeous in this game, I wish there was more because I want to look at all the art in its beautiful glory.

I was quite happy with the white lilies as a guide, as I use them a lot in my own art because they remind me of a canal where I grew up... quite similar to this swamp, actually! So this area felt a little bit like home. A dreary home, but nevertheless! I thought that the choice to either follow the instructions or just explore the swamp a bit more felt really organic. We don't follow the main quest in this house, so I had fun getting lost and looking at the sunken cabins and getting eaten by the alligators. I wish there had been a side-quest or perhaps a special secret area to find, but it's also not really a time for that, so that's fine.

For Frogwares, the water lilies may be a subtle reference for Water Lily Games that released the SH hidden object games? Not sure, but it fits!

I got "lost" in precisely one place, and that is right after Watson shot down the bodies to feed the alligators. For some reason, it took me about a dozen deaths to realise I need to go back to the boat, and not continue forward. lol. Sherlock Holmes I am not!

This is as good as place as any for a mini-rant, but here goes (and yes, you have heard this one before): I am so annoyed with how random the beard thing is. They both have it, then in the cut-scene they don't, then Watson randomly gets a stubble, then then... I was never a fan of it, but the inconsistency made it worse. It made a lot more sense towards the end of the chapter and I'm okay with that.

The outfits, too! I love changing outfits in TA and CO, it's half the fun for me. But TA snaps the outfits back so often (or prevents me from picking a new one entirely!) that it's just not really fun. I completely understand that a certain outfit may be needed so you don't look like a complete clown in a serious cut-scene, but yeah... it's been kind of frustrating in the last few chapters.

Rant over, onwards! :D

I didn't take a cap of The Void (just gonna use the Dishonored term here), but I loved that puzzle SO much!!! It was just the right amount of challenging, the mirror puzzle was super cool in concept, and Sherlock having to kill himself as he calls out for Jon and Watson was just *chef's kiss* the manpain and agony I've been hoping for. Yes, I like to suffer, and I like to see my blorbos suffer. Very normal!

Watson taking the reins at the end of chapter was so great, I love to see him more confident and assertive.

The weird trance... then the exact moment from the CO ending (apologies for the derpy screenshot)... yes yesssss very gooooddddd

I enjoyed this chapter IMMENSELY!

You don't say 💀

And what a way to end the chapter! LOVED it. Oh, the redesign for Champagne and Lucy is really neat, and I really liked both of them as characters.

Now I'm ready for some quality drama, weee!

[vividsoh]

INSPIRATIONS, REFERENCES & INFERENCES (OTHER GAMES)

BLOG 6: PHASE 0 (FRAMEWORK & IDEATION)

The following are other games which are my reference points.

Control

Release Date: August 27, 2019 Studio: Remedy Entertainment Publisher: 505 Games

Control is a supernatural action-adventure game that follows Jesse Faden as she explores the mysterious Federal Bureau of Control, a secretive government agency dealing with paranormal phenomena. The game is known for its atmospheric world-building, mind-bending narrative, and telekinetic combat mechanics.

Dishonored 2

Release Date: November 11, 2016 Studio: Arkane Studios Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

Dishonored 2 continues the story of supernatural assassins in the steampunk world of Dunwall. Players can choose between two protagonists, each with unique powers, as they navigate morally complex missions. The game is praised for its deep gameplay mechanics and detailed world design.

The Sinking City

Release Date: June 27, 2019 Studio: Frogwares Publisher: Bigben Interactive

The Sinking City is an open-world detective game inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Set in a city suffering from supernatural flooding, players take on the role of a private investigator uncovering eldritch horrors while dealing with their own creeping madness.

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments

Release Date: September 30, 2014 Studio: Frogwares Publisher: Focus Home Interactive

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments is a detective adventure game where players step into the shoes of the iconic detective, solving complex cases through investigation, deduction, and moral decisions. The game is noted for its immersive storytelling and intricate puzzles.

[raamitsu-personal]

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened has finished 😮‍💨 It was pretty... horrifying but there were no ghosts. Just... some sort of unthinkable dimensions which humans tend to commit until this day. Poor Sherry, and poor Johnny for having to take care of his not-in-a-better-state-of-mind friend. Sherry only wanted to solve the case. I just wished there was another possible ending where Sherry didn't have to go through madness in his dream, but looking at the way things went, I am not able to find a way how it could end positively.

Have a great nap, Sherry. Take a rest, John.

Also @ Frogwares could yall please develop another case-solving game for these duo where it doesn't involve rituals + cults and any similar dark horror related? SH: Chapter One is a great example and one of my favourite gameplay/walkthroughs, by the way. I like how I was able to read a map and knew where I was going, opposite to how much I suffered to do so in SHTA. Thank you.

[queerwritersingerdramaqueen]

I am about to cook so fucking hard.

SPOILERS FOR THE THUNDER SAGA PAST THIS POINT! I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU GETTING SPOILED IF YOU READ THIS WITHOUT LISTENING FIRST CAUSE I'M GONNA GET INTO IT

also, this one might get a little rough. The topic of mental health comes up a fair bit and in a bit more dark and personal way than it did before. It brings up the feeling of being in a bad place while you're friends are getting better and if anyone feels like this, I hope you can receive help wherever you are and find some catharsis in the course this saga will take. I'm also going to bring up Moran's canon drinking habits and general alcohol consumption.

FIRST OF ALL, NOT ONLY THE THUNDER SAGA BEING ANOTHER FUCKING BEAST ENTIRELY; BUT THE RE-RELEASE OF THE FIRST TWO SAGAS???? HOLY FUCK THEY'RE INCREDIBLE??? WHO GAVE THEM THE RIGHT????

Anyway, THUNDER SAGA, JESUS FUCK, I'M GOING TO BE FANGIRLING AS I GO DON'T MIND ME

The first thing I want to bring into this conversation is Mr Jalapeno throwing a fucking curveball at me during Scylla. I haven't been betrayed like that since Red Queen; but noooooooo, it just has to go and get worse because, um, excuse me? Eurylochus' confession at the very beginning of pupeteer wasn't about him disenting to Odysseus commands, it was about him opening the bag???

Also, Holy shit do I have some fucking plans for Moran this Saga.

But, anyway, here's a somewhat preliminary idea of the Yuumori Thunder Saga

The Thunder Saga:

Alright so, two options for how this starts. The general idea is that William goes away from London for a while to get his mind right. Either he goes with Sherlock (New York Ark who?) or he goes with his brothers because we left them off kind of newly together in the Underworld Saga and the relationship needs to start with William in a better frame of mind. I'm leaning towards Sherlock just because it's so deliciously close to canon.

I also had the thought that, in terms of the type of production this is, I realised it could be a Nerdy Prudes Must Die kind of deal, a series of recorded stage plays that have an audience but they are generally recorded and uploaded to some streaming service. It would allow for a lot more different dramatic techniques, especially for a musical that deals in both technology and magic. Also also also, Jay did a video one time talking about how he'd do a stage play musical and he brought up the Cirque De Soleil which gave me the idea of maybe a circus set up stage? The stage is in the centre of the theatre and the audience wrap around? there would be some more staging problems to iron out but that might be cool, since most of the musical takes place on the boat. I propose this because I've been having trouble picturing a boat on a normal theatre stage. I think this one gives the opportunity for some more "movement." Regular theatres also normally have overhangs which would make my separating the dead and living idea harder to do because people in the back wouldn't be able to see the floating people. I have something like this in mind.

Could do some really cool camera angles for recording too.

Suffering - alright, so William and Sherlock are obviously doing this one. It's fairly simple in terms of content. Sherlock's trying to get William to jump into the water (and as a side note, the frogwares Sherlock Holmes: The awakened game inspired in me the idea that Sherlock is afraid of water so I like to think that William also imbued that into his performance like "I know you're not my husband cause he wouldn't be caught dead in any body of water.") and whatnot. It's also nice to see Sherlock and William having fun on stage together since they technically haven't done that since Warrior of the Mind. My only issue is where exactly Sherlock shows up to do his bit since 1) the sirens come from the water and 2) it's still a stage production. I'm thinking maybe he stands on the bow of the ship and William is tied to the mast, like in the original odyssey but it just doesn't line up properly for me (could walk around the base? I don't know).

Different Beast - So, there'd be a little switcheroo at this point and Sherlock would get replaced with someone else. I know this Saga is supposed to be super big and serious but bear with me for a sec (and know I'm writing this while cackling in my seat), the women from the tea party play the sirens, and this is William's equivalent of taking up a spray bottle and scaring them off like cats ("Back Wench! Back I say!" *Women hissing like cats*). But on the more serious side, this is the first show that William is taking control back of his life. He's not going to continue being friends with people he doesn't like or entertaining people who have no intention of thinking about him as more than a symbol or figure (Imagine the Moriarty's are super famous or something and that circle of hell is probably made up of people he hates). The crew are representative of this growing dislike for him amongst those circles he's running from (the crew are, not the actors, their cheering him on big time).

Scylla - True to my word, MICHELLE BURTON FITS A SCYLLA SHE'S GOT THE PART. I also think it fits really well for her as the first person William ever helped in the manga (as an adult). Now it's her turn to help William and give him the guidance that they are all just trying to do what it takes to survive ("You and I are the same"). But when she is giving this warning, she's talking about people closer to him than he thinks. Either way, she is in the air with the longest gown they can possibly fit to represent her big body and there's more puppets!!! So, this is sort of structured around Post Final Problem where Moran goes on his little journey to self-fulfilment now that William's gone. Moran and William were kind of like each other's rock, they were both in a bad place but they were there together and William was there for him and all of their friends; but now that William is trying to get better, Moran feels as though he's being left behind to rot. This gets worse when William goes away and Moran doesn't have him to fall back on. Seeing William/Odysseus sacrifice/remove the things from his life that are getting him down, he's see's himself as the potential next target. It's a guilty, shameful thing for him but William getting better is the equivalent of Moran drowning in his eyes. Maybe opening the bag represents Moran's own attitude to life pulling William further into his own issues and that's sort of the centre of their argument before the show. William doesn't want to see his friends in the same rough patch as him, and maybe he comes on a little strong but he's got the right idea. Two opposing forces, we could think of it as. Which makes these next two songs Therapy for Moran time as he works through this using song.

Mutiny - I was not expecting this song to be what it was, it blew me away, especially with all the references to Luck runs out, Survive and Just a Man. Lets say that just before this saga is recorded, William and Moran have something of an argument over it and it reaaaaaaally comes out in the song. This is the moment that Moran lets all that fear about losing the only friends who understood him and helped him comes out in song. The Chorus chanting Eurylochus is the actors trying to warn him to back down, to not lose his head. The idea of William telling him that he would have "done the same" sort of breaks the horse's back and the line "If you want all the power, you must carry all the blame!" is Moran finally coming out an saying that he can't get better (in his eyes) and that the only thing he had was William and the rest of the group's support. Obviously the script of the actual musical has the crew turning on Odysseus so their isn't a heap of metaphor in this part; but FUCK IF IT ISN'T ACTUALLY DEPRESSING AND TERRIFYING. also, the layer build up on the luck runs out chorus from the men is just *faints* So, the hunger... I think... could be representative of drinking and making mistakes when your inebriated. Apollo and Zeus are just the bigger dude he picked a fight with (which works really well cause Zeus is Jack, the oldest of the group and the mentor, and *spoilers for what i want to do in God Games* Billy is Apollo, the only one who might be able to step up to him in terms of professional skill in canon. Essentially the two dudes with some sort of advantage on him). That might be how Moran was trying to deal with his demons even before he met William. Also, I know the actual sound when he kills the cow is like a sword but Moran's whole thing is shooting, so he could shoot the cow from across the theatre OR he's not on the boat during this part and it could represent the divide between Odysseus and Eurylochus, one wanting to give up, the other still fighting. He'd have to run to get back on the ship though. (But this allegory does not have to come up. I'm starting to realise that there is a lot of allegory and metaphor happening that does not need to explicitly happen.) ALSO, CAN WE TALK ABOUT JAYS FUCKING VOICE ACTING AT THE END??? HOLY SHIT THIS MAN'S VOICE??? "WHO DO YOU THINK HE'LL SEND?" SANG IN THAT TONE OFH MY GOD. THE PANIC WAS PALPABLE AND I WAS SCARED. AND FUCKING ODY???? HOW ABSOLOUTELY FUCKING DARE YOU HURT ME LIKE THIS MR JALAPENO

Thunder Bringer - before i start anything, DO YOU THINK ODYSSEUS KNEW ZEUS WAS COMING??? WITHT HE PARALELLES TO THE HORSE AND THE INFANT, DO YOU THINK HE COULD FEEL ZUES COMING BECAUSE HE'D FELT IT BEFORE??? AND THAT'S WHY HE WAS SO DESPERATE??? Ahem, sorry about that, anyway. So jack is coming back this saga (Yay!). The other really big thing here is that Moran is reading into this way more than anyone else. William/Odysseus' actions in this number are not reflective of what he does or who he is in the real world. Moran is having trouble separating the art from the artist, lets say. So this is Jack's turn to step in as basically William's surrogate father and be like, "Will, it's ok to put yourself first." while side-eyeing the fuck out of Moran for, to put it very simply, knocking William back into his depression. Neither William or Moran are at fault here either. Everyone around them sort of understands that Moran and William have come to rely on each other a little too much, with Moran needing a guiding figure in William and William needing an advisor in Moran. The central theme is that William needs to take the first step, even if it means he loses his advisor, so Moran follows suit. Moran needs to find help just like William did, not just push it away. He can't keep asking William to be there for him either because that's just hurting both of them in the end. William's not a trained psychologist. ANYWAY, back to the actual thing we are here for. I HAD NO FUCKING CLUE HE CHOSE THE CREW TO DIE???? EX-FUCKING-SCUSE ME??? My original idea was that William chose the crew to live to show Moran that he still cared and was still there for him even if he was taking a step back; BUT NOPE, I GUESS WE'RE PROLONGING THE ANGST. So, this is one of those moments where the musical does not translate to the real world and basically everyone except Moran knows that. Moran takes it as a betrayal. (and I'll re-iterate, the crew may be mad at Odysseus but the actual actors are literally just doing their jobs. I'll go on a whole rant about Odysseus and Eurylochus after this.) The best way I can describe this whole thing is the idea of the caretaker drunk, the thing I was and everyone basically told me was good but not good for me. So, William is like the caretaker and when everyone is having fun drinking, they get to a point where they start vomiting or getting emotional. Once everyone hits that stage, the caretaker starts doing just that but neglects the fact that they too are also at the party and supposed to be having fun. This makes it stressful to even be there, especially once the person starts sobering. While everyone else may still be reaching a point where it's not good for them to be at the party anymore, the caretaker is also not doing too well, regardless of if they are sick or not. But yeah, Jack's questioning of "who are you going to chose, yourself or your crew," is a bit of a double edged sword. Moran and William have been treading water together for a long time, and now that William knows how to swim, he has a chance to reach the shore; but at the cost of Leaving Moran to either learn how to swim himself or drown. Moran makes one final plea towards the end and the whole theatre is dark except two spotlights. I'd imagine William is on his knees in anguish and Moran is starting to realise what exactly he's been doing to his friends. AND AGAIN MY DUMBASS MAKES THIS DIFFICULT, because I thought Odysseus wasn't going to reveal his choice until he came back in the next saga. It wasn't until I watched an assortment of animatics that I realised, oh shit, he really gave up his crew so he lived (and again, I'll go into that once I'm done here). And Sherlock appearing for his little Penelope cameo is deliberately there to remind him why he's trying so hard. So in a way, it's not William's pride that needs to be checked, it's Moran's.

Anyway, Moran goes off the radar for a little while to sort himself out. He's still around and still talks to the others but there isn't much interaction between him and William. I have no clue if they ever meet again but if they don't, then Moran would face William at some point later down the road, maybe after Calypso's island. This Saga is more or less about the journey to self-betterment and how to continue being the person your people once knew while also getting better. Sherlock and Louis definitely lost their shit on Moran a little bit but I'd reckon James, Fred and Moneypenny would stick close to him and make sure he understands what exactly he needs to do if he wants to keep his relationship with William healthy.

I'm also going to throw the point out here right now that I'm not a professional of mental health and neither William or Moran are in the right or the wrong in this scenario. It's just that Moran needs to find a way to take care of himself that doesn't involve self destructive behaviour that affects others; while William maybe has to ease Moran into it and not "enable" him, in a way.

Now, bear with me for a hot second, CAUSE I AM SO FUCKING MAD AT EURYLOCHUS. Look, I am not happy with Odysseus' actions either; but their is at least a degree of method in his madness. It was made obvious in the start of the saga that Scylla's lair would come at a cost and it was the only way to get back to Ithaca. So by that logic, six men is a hefty price to pay but it was better than forty two fucking men!? Odysseus couldn't even confide that in Eurylochus because who want's to sacrifice their men??? AND I'M NOT FUCKING FINISHED, because not only did they mutiny against what is, in ancient Greek myth logic, reasonable terms, THEY FUCKING DIDN'T LISTEN TO ODYSSEUS WHEN HE WARNED THEM ABOUT APOLLO'S COWS??? What did they think would happen?! They killed a God's cows DESPITE KNOWING WHAT WOULD HAPPEN??? AND THEN WHEN ZEUS GIVES HIS ULTIMATUM, THEY EXPECTED HIM TO SACRIFCE HIMSELF FOR A CREW THAT MUTINIED AGAINST HIM AND PUT THEM IN THAT MESS TO BEGIN WITH!?!?! LIKE, OF COURSE HE WOULDN'T WANT TO HELP THEM, HE'D WANT TO GO BACK TO HIS WIFE. LIKE, YOU FUCKED AROUND, YOU FOUND OUT AND YOU STILL EXPECTED HIM TO SAVE YOU??? WHAT LOGIC IS THERE IN KILLING A GOD'S COWS??? IS THAT HOW BAD THEIR HUNGER WAS??? CATCH SOME FUCKING FISH JESUS CHRIST. *EDIT* ALSO, IM FUCKING SORRY, THIS ALL COMING FROM THE GUY WHO WANTED TO LEAVE BEHIND THE MEN CIRCE TURNED TO PIGS??? CUT OUR LOSSES AND RUN MY FUCKING ASS MAN

I don't know man, maybe I'm reading into his wrong but by my logic, Eurylochus made the worst mistake and very much could have avoided it. I suppose that's the point of the Odyssey though, he has to struggle at every turn.

Ok. I'm done. There are new things I would really like to explore with the re-release of the first two albums too now that there are some super cool additions in terms of expression and music. It's just so fucking incredible what these people can do with just their voices and instruments. Like, the "I don't think you're ready-" cutting out instead of playing on in the Horse and the Infant has so many more implications about destiny and the gods; or Penelope singing her own name later on is just so fucking cool.

I've been writing this post roughly since this Saga came out so the idea is, for all intents and purposes, is preliminary and needs a lot of work. I'd love to hear feedback!!!

As always, thank you to my good co-writer @aka-no-ken for being the void I shout all this nonsense into!

I'm bored and I can finally chill out for a little bit.

SO IM GOING TO WRITE A LIST OF MY BRAIN THOUGHTS AND YALL CAN READ AS YOU WISH (FEEL FREE TO ASK ME).

Yuumori in a stage-production AU of Epic

A part two to that one post I made about reverse AUs in Detroit: become Human

Yuumori Detroit: Become Human AU

Fankids

The hilarity of a Reed900 fic where they hide their relationship flawlessly and everyone is confused

My Yuumori fic based on the frogwares games universe

Indie Horror Games

Musical moments that make me froth at the mouth

Everything about Epic the Musical

Rearranging my room

Educating Rita managing to fundamentally change my brain chemistry

In contrast, hating Pygmalion (Or just Higgins, everyone else is ok)

And oddly enough, hating the implications of the original Pygmalion but finding an inherent romanticism in finding love in your art. (If I have actually interpreted the poem right)

A game called preliminary model assessment and the scarily good voice acting and chilling concept.

I have many a thought but need motivation

[lucere-aeresta]

Every fucking thing about China and certain aspects of East Asian culture triggers me. It is insufferable. Everyone's benevolence and innocent assumption turn out to be poisonous for me. I never personally feel the concept of gender, yet I learned to empathize with transgender people from, lacking a better word or analogy, "cultural dysphoria".

There is a paradox for me: The people who understand my cultural background would mostly identify with the culture and shun me; the people who don't simply can't understand my struggle, or even think of me being racist or discriminating against certain country of origin; the people who experience the same as I do either never got the proper opportunity to heal, or go to another extreme--a lot of them are toxic, triggering, and suffering themselves. They can't help me, nor could I them.

You know what about the Frogwares' Sherlock attracts me the most? One thing was described well in the artbook, in the "Welcome to Cordona" section at the beginning.

"But deep down, he is dark and disillusioned...he is reality a permanent stranger to others."

"But behind the praise and satisfaction of his vanity, the pain remains: he is and will always be out of step with society."

Sherlock Holmes is well loved by neurodivergent people and they self-project all the diagnoses and personally struggles into this character. Someone also head-canon him to be a transman. I used to be mad at some of the self-projection, but now I understand, agree or not, them all.

He is a hermit in the largest, busiest city in the world. He is an outcast who is praised and respected for his skills.

I don't even think he is vain. It is not vanity, but a meager substitute for a sense of belonging and being loved, the struggle between the need for, and the lack of, human connection, due to one's being different from most others, negatively or positively.

I am living a relatively comfortable life now, at least materially. Not as successful as him, but not too much to complain. I even got a job I like.

But there is always that emptiness, that I can see in this character and feel within myself. In the artbook, when I read the part "his impatience, his contempt, and his boredom, described in Conan Doyle's work, are the salt of his character." I immediately knew that he can be a mirror that I would love to look into.

In SHCO, the topic of trauma and healing resonates with me so well that after so long I still can't get over it. There is so much that makes sense to me, that I can take as part of me, and never let go.

Being neurodivergent, or trans, or just being "weird", or in the wrong culture...whatever it is, you are bound to be hurt, isolated, and never belong. You can't be the one fitting the norm, nor can you be your true self due to all the doubt accumulated over the ages.

Dilwyn told Sherlock, "You desperately hope to find somewhere you belong, but you never will. Nowhere, no one, will ever be enough."

Yes, no one will be enough, because you are different; you are the unwanted; you are taught by the world that you are not enough. You either deal with that by believing the world is not enough for you, or accept that you are never enough for the world. Either way is the path to suffering.

What is the saddest part of this? Not that we all suffer, but the fact that we all suffer so differently that we can't possibly understand each other's suffering; that one's suffering is triggering to another. Our hearts are spiky huggers. Love hurts.

Then I think about Sherlock again, the one in Frogwares games and the one in canon. The young, fragile man who has suffered so much and is looking for a path of healing, and the old, lonely detective who rarely got a chance to see his beloved friend since retirement.

It hurts me; it also comforts me; it haunts me; it also saves me. I feel less lonely and more peaceful, by being with the greatest detective who has never lived.

[kyndaris]

Eliminating the Impossible

Ever since I watched the show Detective Conan, I’ve always wanted my sharp mind to the test and solve gruesome murders.That desire was only heightened by reading the adventures of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous fictional character: Sherlock Holmes back in Year 8. The idea of emulating the greatest detective in the world was what drove me to study criminology and helped train my keen eye to the minutest detail. 

For a good long while, my one desire was to throw on a deerstalker cap, have a Stradivarius violin sitting in the back corner of my room  and exclaim: ‘The game is afoot!’ to a doctor friend. 

So when video games were released that encapsulated that feeling of being a master detective, as well as the Victorian setting of the time, I was hooked. Being able to deduce everything with just a quick glance and arrive at awesome conclusions? Yes, please!

Frogwares has come a long way in terms of their Sherlock Holmes titles. Many of the early titles were focused on one huge case that spanned the entirety of the hours spent on it. Holmes would traipse from one corner of London to the next in order to unravel the dastardly villain behind it all. That all changed with Crimes and Punishments where players could enjoy a myriad of shorter cases that allowed players to arrive at their own conclusions. So, eager to try my hand at actual crime solving instead of sitting on the couch and letting the playable character solve it all in several long drawn out cutscenes, I dusted off my PlayStation 4 Pro to enjoy a romp around London before I jumped into the much more open-world interpretation of my favourite detective in his younger years. 

Lo and behold: Sherlock Holmes and the Devil’s Daughter.

While I enjoyed the first three cases of the game, the latter ones felt much too rushed. Despite the strong opening, I was disappointed at how quickly the intrigue petered out. From a narrative standpoint, it was also disheartening to see how little the cases tied together. Yes, there was an overarching arch but the writers only touched upon it with small snippets rather than letting them breathe or have Kate (Moriarty’s daughter) be more involved rather than shunting her off to the sidelines.

It would have also helped if Holmes was more receptive to communicating with his adopted daughter instead of ignoring her wants and needs. For much of the game, he is constantly reminded by Watson that Kate deserves the truth. This also plays into the ending as well, which falters a little due to how little Holmes has interacted with Kate throughout the game. 

Still, the whole deduction business was very much in keeping with the great detective. The way he would file away certain clues and then make deductions in his mind palace was a sight to see. I also liked that the players had the options to select certain choices when it came to evidence. The most important aspect from the books was that preconceptions could colour or bias a deduction. Rather than come up with a hypothesis and pick and choose what evidence to neatly fit into it, it was far better to use the evidence to formulate the circumstances and motives.

Fittingly, the gameplay was primarily focused on solving cases although there were occasional diversions such as lawn bowling or navigating one’s way through a secret Mayan temple within the confines of Sherlock’s mind. While these had their own intriguing problems to solve, they were more or less a gimmick to provide something fresh and different to the formula that was mastered in the last game. 

My experience with the Devil’s Daughter was still, however, marred by the technical limitations of the platform. It was clear from the outset that the game wasn’t terribly optimised for consoles. There was quite a bit of screen tearing and suffering through long load times (after getting acquainted with much faster speeds on the PlayStation 5). Worse were the janky movements from Holmes to Watson and the inexplicable lack of instructions for new functions. While tutorials might have bogged down the pacing, they would have made certain puzzles a lot easier to deal with. 

As it always the case, the Sherlock Holmes titles from Frogwares are not triple-A games. That doesn’t mean, however, that they are not enjoyable. 

These grumbles aside, my time with Frogwares attempt at changing up the formula before heading back into the distant past, was still a detecting feast for my Sherlock loving heart. Here’s hoping Sherlock Holmes Chapter One will bring a breath of fresh air to the franchise whilst still balancing the a-ha moments with as much style as possible.

[pixelgrotto]

Calling Cthulhu, part four

At the onset of this year, I decided to play through all of the games that bear the official Call of Cthulhu tabletop RPG license. The results have been a decidedly mixed bag, ranging from dated point ‘n click adventures to a first person exploration game that was solid, but still missed the mark in various ways.

Finally, we come to The Sinking City, probably the most advanced entry out of the bunch - though still rough around the edges. It’s the last on my list to play, and the only game that doesn’t bear the Call of Cthulhu title. But from what I understand, developer Frogwares (known for making five hundred Sherlock Holmes games) were originally working with Focus Home Interactive, a publishing company tapped by Chaosium to make a product with the CoC license. Frogwares and Focus Home parted ways for undisclosed reasons, and Focus Home then teamed up with dev studio Cyanide, whose efforts would morph into the 2018 Call of Cthulhu game. But Frogwares’ efforts weren’t for naught, and The Sinking City, I believe, is what they ended up turning their early work into.

The Sinking City bears a huge resemblance to Cyanide’s CoC game, and even to Dark Corners of the Earth. All three games have you playing a forgettable private eye suffering from madness induced by the Mythos. (Cyanide’s Edward Pierce is probably the most interesting out of these three generic white dudes, seeing as how I don’t even remember the names of the other two off the top of my head.) All three have you investigating fishing towns full of Deep Ones that are either Innsmouth or heavily based on Innsmouth. All three choose to exemplify CoC’s sanity effects in a similar way - with wavy effects wobbling on screen that threatened to give me motion sickness. All three feature a mishmash of standard Lovecraft lore, though The Sinking City unveils a deep cut by featuring the octopus-faced elder god’s little-known daughter, Cthylla. (I had to Google her to see if she was something that the game made up, but no - Cthulhu actually became a dad at some point, at least according to Mythos writer Brian Lumley.)

But unlike the others, The Sinking City is an open world game, and quite an atmospheric one. The town of Oakmont is collapsing into the sea due to Cthylla’s machinations, and amidst all the corals, crustaceans and barnacles clinging to buildings, there’s an odd beauty to Oakmont’s exteriors, especially when you’re travelling flooded streets via boat and the game’s most memorable song kicks in. Unfortunately, there’s noticeable copy and pasting going on when it comes to NPCs and interior areas, which have lots of empty rooms in them with naught to find nor see. Oakmont is an occasionally striking berg, in other words - but it’s also a strangely repetitive one. 

With an open world game comes the usual variety of open world shenanigans to contend with, like filler side quests, lots of zipping across the map, NPCs that can be attacked (but not too much because doing so will drop your sanity like a ton of bricks), etc. The Sinking City’s gimmick is that it doesn’t hold your hand as much as say, a Ubisoft game, though. For instance, instead of putting a destination marker on a map when you accept a quest, you’ll be given street names - ie, “in between Freedom Ave and Orchard Ave,” and you’ll have to find the spot yourself. You’ll also carry out investigations via archives in Oakmont’s library, town hall, hospital and police station, which amounts to combining key terms in a menu to mimic filing through records. Then, you’ll assemble clues in the main character’s MIND PALACE, which is a swipe from both Frogwares’ previous Sherlock Holmes games and the BBC Sherlock show. Inside said Mind Palace, you can come to various A or B conclusions, like “those Deep Ones were guilty” or “those Deep Ones were unjustly framed,” which will influence the story a little bit - but not nearly enough for my liking.

All of these mechanics are nifty at first, and the first time you find a killer by triangulating his address and profile via the police station’s suspect book, you’ll be like, “Hey! I’m following directions, just like in real life! I’m doing research, just like a real private dick!” But after the 20th time, completing this procedure gets old, like most features in open world games. Still, The Sinking City is perhaps the closest that these CoC games have gotten at replicating the investigation segments in an actual tabletop session of Call of Cthulhu, which involve player characters making rolls, rifling through handouts and piecing together revelations from a line in a newspaper here and a fragment of a diary entry there. The detective parts of the game are certainly better than the mediocre combat sections - another trend in officially licensed CoC games - as well as the odd diving sequences that feel like on-rails walking simulators more than anything else. 

So at the end of the day, is The Sinking City the best title I’ve encountered on this playthrough project, warts and all? It’s certainly the most ambitious, but I think I prefer some aspects of 2018 Call of Cthulhu more, like the main protagonist and the ending. Also, I’m not entirely convinced that Call of Cthulhu needs to be a giant open world experience. Lovecraft was renowned for his short tales that barely described the monsters existing on the outer fringes of the cosmos, leaving most of the details to reader imagination, and I’m increasingly wondering why none of the CoC games I played decided to represent this feeling with the survival horror genre. 

I’m convinced that something like a cross between Silent Hill and Gabriel Knight would suit this franchise more than the FPS action of Dark Corners of the Earth or the “run around a metropolis without a minimap” gameplay of The Sinking City. And just like how film directors have yet to make a proper movie embodying the Cthulhu Mythos, after five games, I’m left with the feeling that Call of Cthulhu has yet to receive a proper video game exemplifying its best parts. Maybe some of the games that wear Lovecraft influences rather than the official Chaosium license are better (I really need to try Eternal Darkness one day), but for now, Cthulhu still lies asleep, dreaming at his house in R'lyeh. Maybe one day he’ll wake to a superior selection of games bearing his name. 

[spiteful-crow]

I loooove Jon‘s diary as a game mechanic! I trialed and errored my way through the older Sherlock Holmes games completely, so in Chapter One, there was finally something that made me pause and actually pay attention to the clues because I genuinely hate upsetting Jon 🤣 I definitely give Frogwares plus points for making me too anxious to make mistakes 🤣 I really love that part.

That said, the combat can burn in hell. I don’t know how it’s on PC because the game is kinda laggy and I hate playing there, but to me personally, the combat on the PS is impossible. I never managed a single lair in my life. I think the game wouldn’t have suffered at all had they removed the combat entirely.

Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One is obnoxious.

The combat is clunky, repetative, and boring.

The morality system disincentivizes me from actually trying things, ESPECIALLY research.

I don’t think I can ever recover my reputation with Jon, and why? Because I killed a man? No. Because I spent like fifteen minutes trying to research the wrong thing.

Even now, I have an icon of something I can research and I don’t want to do it because I’m gonna get fifteen more things wrong and Jon’s going to hate me.

The only reason they made Jon an imaginary friend is so I can’t pull out my gun and shoot him in the head.

[oldgamerschannel]

The Sinking City, the teaser

Taking place in the 1920s, The Sinking City is a game of adventure and investigation set in an open world inspired by the works of the famous American horror author H.P. Lovecraft. The player steps into the shoes of a private investigator who arrives in the city of Oakmont, Massachusetts - a city suffering from unprecedented floods of supernatural phenomena. Players must uncover the source of whatever has taken possession of the city, and the minds of its inhabitants. About Bigben  Bigben is a major video game publisher, designer and distributor of mobile phone and gaming accessories as well as audio products. The group, recognised for its innovation and creativity, aspires to become a European leader in each of the sectors it is active in. www.bigben.fr amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "frhuynh-20"; amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "search"; amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; amzn_assoc_region = "US"; amzn_assoc_default_search_phrase = "bigben"; amzn_assoc_default_category = "VideoGames"; amzn_assoc_linkid = "9f2685f59d4f8306b19df42e9b012be3"; amzn_assoc_design = "in_content"; amzn_assoc_default_browse_node = "468642"; About Frogwares Frogwares is an independent video game development studio based in Dublin and Kiev. Since 2000, the studio has become renowned for its vast catalogue of games, ranging from RTS to action-adventure games. The studio is most known for creating the critically acclaimed Sherlock Holmes games franchise. Frogwares' games are available on all major game platforms, including the latest generation consoles. It is now concentrating on its upcoming new IP The Sinking City For more information, please visit www.frogwares.com or www.facebook.com/frogwares . About Maximum Games Maximum Games ranks as a top 15 global video game publisher of interactive digital entertainment spanning all genres and supporting multi-platforms. The company’s mission is to provide a proven and strong hands-on approach to publishing, marketing and distribution. Established in 2009, the company is led by female entrepreneur Christina Seelye, a seasoned executive of digital consumer products and channel marketing. Under Seelye’s leadership, the company has been recognized with numerous awards such as “Fastest Growing Tech Company” by American Business Awards, and has made the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest Growing Private Companies for the past three years. Maximum Games has offices in both the US and UK, and continues to expand its scope of global publishing and distribution via direct reach and strategic partnerships. For more information on Maximum Games, visit the company’s website at http://www.maximumgames.com .

[lucere-aeresta]

It is the first big case Sherlock solved together with Watson, and we see what he looks like when he meets Watson. It looks like they wait 10 years to work together :///

If Sherlock becomes a fish person would he fear the air? lol

What if Moriarty is not a patient but a cult member who infiltrates the asylum?

They specified that the new game is "a continuation of young Sherlock's story" after SHCO. So I guess SHCO universe is a thing.

Poor Sherlock suffers too much in the new universe...Childhood trauma, mental health issue, then cultists and monsters...oh man Ii can't wait to see what's next XDDDD

There will be a disguise system I think? So we can change the stupid beard even if they want to keep it.

But seriously, Sherlock Holmes does not have a beard in canon nor in any of the major adaptations, so why add it out of nowhere???

"As a Ukrainian developer, it feels fitting that our next game should be about stopping brainwashed cultists who worship an ancient monster." --This is from Frogwares' new tweet. I am so excited for this because it is not only relevant to Putin and his regime, but also fits Xi and most importantly, the entire CCP regime, which is more relevant to me personally. I can't wait to see it plays out in the game!

BTW I appreciate Frogwares' outspokenness regarding the war and related political issues. It means so much to me in various aspects.

Slava Ukraini!

Mornin’! It’s SH The Awakened preliminary thoughts time now that I’ve managed to get some sleep… :D

 AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The goddamn stubble/beard has to go or I’ll cry

Yeehaw Watson! It kiiindaaa looks like they’ve modified him so he’s not a 1:1 copy of Jon - which they should or it’ll be too weird lol

So excited about a darker setting!!!

TENTACLES AND FISH PEOPLE!!!

No seriously @lucere-aeresta​ and I came up with a bunch of ideas yesterday to justify the beard it’s so bad I don’t want to be stuck with it in important cutscenes :’(((

I do wonder how much of the story will be changed, or rather, stay the same. The 2006 Awakened has a major case set in a mental asylum and it’s as insensitive as you can imagine. SHCO was brilliant at exploring mental health issues, and I hope that, if they do keep the asylum, they make it right this time. It could be so good!

You meet Moriarty at the asylum - this probably won’t happen in the remake, as it’s the first case, or it may be an easter egg… who knows?

Sherlock let me shave you

Excited to get to know Watson!

WHAT IF we get a brief Jon cameo and it rips our hearts out? Pls :)))

The OG has a weird section somewhere in the South and the characters have heavy accents and you know what, I hope they keep them and keep it ridiculous. The young lady especially.

Also the lady who calls Sherlock “pretty one”

What if she doesn’t call you pretty if you have the stubble equipped. What then

I hope they pull a Resident Evil: Damnation and make the final boss look like a certain shitty president

I wonder if Sherlock overcame his fear of water. Cuz there’s kinda a lot of water out there in the swamp.

I am begging

Let me know what you think! :O