As I worked through the five self-contained cases of The Devil’s Daughter, each running roughly two hours, not once did I feel that swell pride in my chest that I typically associate with solving a puzzle or uncovering a mystery. He's the suave, smart, sophisticate that we wish we were.ĭeveloper Frogwares is very adept at telling us that this is who Sherlock is, but it struggles enormously when it comes to putting us in his shoes. This magical perspective of events surrounding and entangling him is at the core of his appeal. He should always be the smartest person in the room, his mind should already have worked out what you're going to be thinking tomorrow, and he should never be stuck for a solution or next investigative step. Whether reading about his adventures, watching them on the big or small screen, or interacting directly with them through a game, the key to any presentation of Sherlock is that he should seem almost supernaturally powerful through his intelligence and deductions. Even more crucially, it undermines the character of Sherlock himself. This internal struggle, as well as some technical ones, end up making gameplay frustrating and dull. The script might be intriguing and the voice acting passable, the graphics detailed and the range of activities diverse, but it's a game that can never quite decide whether it wants to give us control or have us sit back and watch a story unfold. For all it struggles and strains, Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter ultimately fails to make you feel like the titular English detective.