Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments Gets Gamescom 2013 Trailer and Screenshots

Frogwares brought Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments to Gamescom 2013 with a new teaser trailer and a fresh set of screenshots showing the detective adventure’s redesigned presentation.

The footage gave a clearer look at the visual changes first outlined when Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments was announced, including Frogwares’ switch to Unreal Engine 3 and a redesigned version of Sherlock Holmes. The setting remained rooted in Victorian London, but the character models, environments and lighting were being pushed much further than in The Testament of Sherlock Holmes.

Crimes & Punishments was also moving beyond the more linear investigation structure of earlier entries. Players would gather evidence, question suspects and connect clues before deciding who they believed was responsible. Their final judgement could then determine whether the accused person was condemned or absolved.

At this stage of development, Frogwares was presenting the game around eight planned cases involving crimes such as murders, disappearances and thefts. The structure later changed before release, with the finished game containing six cases.

The Gamescom material also emphasised that investigations could produce different outcomes depending on the deductions and moral decisions made by the player. Rather than simply reaching a fixed conclusion, Crimes & Punishments was designed to let players make the wrong deduction and live with the consequences.

The 2013 release window mentioned at the time did not hold. Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments eventually launched in September 2014, with the final platform line-up expanding to PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.