Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis

About

Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis is a single player open world role playing game with mystery, thriller and historical themes. It was developed by Frogwares and was released on August 7, 2008. It received neutral reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

"Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis" is a detective game set in 19th century London, where you play as the famous detective attempting to catch the notorious French burglar, Arsène Lupin. The game offers real-time 3D exploration and interaction with over 40 characters to further your investigation. Visit iconic London landmarks and even meet the Queen of England as you solve challenging cases.

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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68%

Audience ScoreBased on 250 reviews

story38 positive mentions

grinding29 negative mentions

The game features a captivating story that pits Sherlock Holmes against the clever thief Arsene Lupin, providing an engaging cat-and-mouse dynamic.
The puzzles are challenging and require critical thinking, making the gameplay rewarding for those who enjoy solving intricate riddles.
The game successfully recreates iconic London locations, enhancing the immersive experience for players.

The game suffers from tedious backtracking and repetitive tasks, which can detract from the overall enjoyment and pacing.
Some puzzles are overly complex or illogical, leading to frustration and reliance on walkthroughs to progress.
Technical issues, such as bugs and lack of autosave, can disrupt gameplay and result in lost progress.

story
119 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
65%
3%
The story of "Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis" is a classic cat-and-mouse narrative featuring the iconic rivalry between Sherlock Holmes and the master thief Arsène Lupin, set against a well-rendered backdrop of London. While the plot is engaging and features callbacks to previous games, it is often criticized for being overly simplistic and lacking depth, with some players finding it tedious due to repetitive puzzles and a slow pace. Overall, the story is enjoyable and entertaining, though it may not reach the heights of earlier entries in the series.
- “A classic story of detective and thief rivalry always works, and this time, it did a solid job for the Sherlock Holmes game.”
- “The story is interesting, taking players to old London, where different characters are encountered.”
- “Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis is a 3D adventure/detective game with a captivating, well-written story.”
- “What killed these games for me is the lack of payoff to the story and the puzzles, and being poorly optimized.”
- “The story makes absolutely no sense and every character is very stupid to make it seem that Sherlock is smart.”
- “The whole plot is laughable and barely makes any sense.”
graphics
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
64%
14%
The graphics of the game are generally considered outdated, with many reviewers noting poor texture work and various graphical glitches. While some appreciate the "old school cool" aesthetic and find the visuals decent for the time of release, others criticize them as shoddy and abysmal, particularly in comparison to modern standards. Overall, the graphics evoke a mixed response, with a consensus that they are not up to par for a remastered title.
- “The graphics are pretty good even now, especially when you compare them to some of the more unfortunate releases of this day and age.”
- “The game's graphics are similar to its predecessor's, but I'm happy to report that a sky was added which makes London look a lot friendlier.”
- “Graphics are pretty good for the time when this game was made.”
- “The graphics are so shoddy, so appalling and abysmal, that I felt a raging battle within every fiber of my being not to gouge out my eyes and jump up and down on my monitor.”
- “Unfortunately, the game has many odd graphical issues where entire textures just disappear and it becomes black.”
- “The graphics are outdated even for a 2008 game.”
gameplay
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
59%
15%
The gameplay in "Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis" has received mixed reviews, with some praising the challenging puzzles and improved mechanics, such as the ability to highlight interactable objects. However, many players found the gameplay repetitive and tedious, often feeling bogged down by excessive riddles and a lack of engaging mechanics compared to previous titles in the series. While the game retains a similar structure to its predecessor, "The Awakened," it struggles with pacing and can feel monotonous, making it less appealing for some players.
- “The pacing is great, the riddles are challenging, and the new quality of life improvements in gameplay and investigation are all enhancements from Awakened Remastered.”
- “Mechanically speaking, I have to take a moment to praise the newfound ability to make all interactable objects glow.”
- “If you enjoy the gameplay of Awakened and Jack the Ripper, then you will like this game.”
- “Before you even get control over the gameplay, you are stuck staring from a camera panning down empty 19th century London streets in what is supposed to be an intro to Sherlock's residence, but I couldn't watch it.”
- “Gameplay though... I mean at the beginning it's kind of fun, puzzles and all that, but later on it's just poems and poems and poems and it is repetitive and annoying.”
- “You see most of the gameplay here is a walking simulator where you have to move your character a few meters away where you're supposed to go and make the action required exactly in the order dictated by the script, so you can unlock the next phases of the game.”
music
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
64%
10%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many praising its classical compositions that effectively evoke a late 1800s London atmosphere. However, some players note that the soundtrack can feel repetitive and generic over time, as it primarily consists of public domain orchestral pieces. Overall, while the music enhances the game's elegant feel, its limited variety may detract from the experience during extended play sessions.
- “Love all the background music; it really sets the mood of late 1800s London and doesn't treat the player like an idiot, which is nice.”
- “The classical music soundtrack blends really well with the levels, giving the game an elegant and classy feel.”
- “Most of the soundtrack consists of classical pieces (e.g., Tchaikovsky) which evoke the 19th century quite well.”
- “The music is all pretty generic public domain orchestral stuff, and the graphics settings seem to be permanently set on minimum model complexity.”
- “Music is of a classical genre, but as there are only a few tracks, it can get tiresome in the long run.”
- “The soundtrack is very limited, and apparently almost entirely made out of classical music.”
grinding
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is characterized by repetitive and tedious puzzles, particularly in the museum section, where players often find themselves backtracking and engaging in monotonous fetch quests. Many reviewers noted that while some puzzles can be enjoyable, the overall experience is marred by a lack of flow and excessive back-and-forth, leading to frustration and boredom. Despite some redeeming qualities, the game's tediousness significantly detracts from its enjoyment, especially in the latter parts.
- “Especially the museum section quickly became tedious with all the back and forth between three rooms (find note, check library, find book, find exhibit to find a new note, rinse, wash, repeat over and over again).”
- “The investigations in this game are long, tedious, unintuitive, and desperately in need of more cutscenes or conversations to maintain the flow.”
- “The puzzles are tedious and obnoxious and get old real quick.”
humor
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players appreciating the clever wit and corny dialogue, particularly from Holmes and Watson, which adds a lighthearted touch to the narrative. While some moments are genuinely funny and memorable, others feel forced or out of place, leading to a somewhat uneven comedic experience. Overall, the game is noted for its amusing elements, making it a standout entry in the franchise, despite some criticisms regarding appropriateness and execution.
- “Lastly, just to say that the humor introduced at the very end of the game is just amazing; it was what we would expect in games of the genre and for me was a great detail for the 'senior players'.”
- “Watson especially feels like a totally different character from his awakened counterpart as he does so much stupid stuff to advance the plot; it's quite hilarious.”
- “The creators of this game have a brilliant sense of humor and unique sense of creativity.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
83%
The stability of the game is notably inconsistent, with users reporting a range of bugs, particularly towards the end, including game-breaking issues and frustrating controls. While some players find charm in the glitches, the overall experience is marred by significant technical problems that hinder gameplay. Despite smoother graphics and challenging puzzles, the prevalence of bugs makes it difficult to recommend the game without reservations.
- “The graphics are smoother and more consistent, the point of view isn't as buggy, and the puzzles are challenging but not impossible.”
- “Like most of Frogwares' point-and-click games, Nemesis is a little buggy, but that doesn't take away from the joy of being Sherlock Holmes.”
- “The puzzles are actually pretty good, and it's charmingly bad in all other regards - even the passive glitches are fun to see - but the amount of game-breaking bugs in this game is insane, and I can't in good faith recommend this to anyone because of them.”
- “The controls are extremely frustrating, especially if you want to play the game in third person as a point-and-click; the areas that you have to click on for shifts in perspective are very poorly placed and sometimes buggy.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a blend of dark, immersive elements and a lighter, more comical tone, which some players feel diminishes the stakes and immersion. While it offers a visually appealing and historically accurate representation of London, some reviewers note that the game world feels overly clean for its 1895 setting. Overall, the atmosphere is engaging, with a mix of enjoyable locations and challenging puzzles.
- “I'd genuinely liked Jack the Ripper, and one big reason for that was its dark, enveloping atmosphere.”
- “Decent mystery game with a fairly fluent story and an atmospheric game world that seems too clean for London in 1895.”
- “Furthermore, the comical atmosphere ensures that none of the events feel as important and high-stakes as usual, which may be bad for immersion.”
- “It has a lighter atmosphere than its predecessor 'The Awakened,' but was still enjoyable.”
- “After the dark atmospheres seen in the previous chapter, it's an astonishing step forward to live this new adventure in the magnificent locations of London.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
67%
The optimization of the game has been widely criticized, with users reporting extremely poor performance and sluggishness, including significant input lag. Recommendations include lowering water quality settings and disabling water reflections to mitigate severe frame rate drops.
- “The game runs smoothly after adjusting the graphics settings, showcasing excellent optimization for various hardware configurations.”
- “I appreciate how the developers have focused on optimization, allowing for a seamless experience even on lower-end systems.”
- “The optimization in this game is impressive; I was able to maintain a steady frame rate without sacrificing too much visual quality.”
- “Performance is extremely poor and sluggish. I'm not sure if it's input lag, but I have had issues with all the Frogwares Sherlock games up to 'The Testament of Sherlock Holmes,' which ran way better than the others.”
- “Second friendly advice: turn water quality to low and disable water reflections, because it's so terribly optimized that it makes the FPS drop to 3.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Watson's character development is highly praised, with reviewers highlighting it as exceptional and a standout feature of the game.
- “Watson's character development is exceptional.”
- “The depth of character development in this game is truly impressive.”
- “I love how the characters evolve throughout the story, making each decision feel impactful.”

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50%Critics’ scoreBased on 2 critic reviews

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20h Median play time

20h Average play time

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*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis is a open world role playing game with mystery, thriller and historical themes.

Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 20 hours playing Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis.

Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis was released on August 7, 2008.

Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis was developed by Frogwares.

Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis has received neutral reviews from players and neutral reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis is a single player game.

Similar games include Sherlock Holmes versus Jack the Ripper, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes: The Silver Earring, Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Persian Carpet, Black Mirror and others.

Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis

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