Sherlock Holmes: The Silver Earring

About

In "Sherlock Holmes: The Silver Earring," the iconic detective and Dr. Watson attend a party that turns deadly with a murder occurring in their presence. As Holmes investigates, the list of suspects grows and other crimes are committed, challenging players to solve the case before more innocent people are harmed. This immersive game features a complex plot written by a devoted Sherlock Holmes fan, providing a unique and engaging experience for players.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Sherlock Holmes: The Silver Earring screenshot

55%

Audience ScoreBased on 646 reviews

story144 positive mentions

gameplay44 negative mentions

The story is engaging and complex, capturing the essence of a classic Sherlock Holmes mystery.
The game features interesting puzzles and quizzes that encourage players to pay attention to details.
The graphics and voice acting are decent for a game of its age, adding to the overall atmosphere.

The controls are clunky and unresponsive, making navigation frustrating and sometimes leading to game-breaking situations.
Many clues are difficult to find, requiring pixel hunting and often necessitating the use of a walkthrough.
The game has several bugs and glitches, including crashes and issues with character movement and interactions.

story
386 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
56%
7%
The story of "Sherlock Holmes: The Silver Earring" is described as engaging and complex, capturing the essence of classic Holmes narratives with intriguing murder mysteries and a variety of characters. However, many players found the plot convoluted and difficult to follow, particularly due to an overload of characters and details, leading to confusion by the end. While some appreciated the well-written dialogue and immersive storytelling, others criticized the gameplay mechanics and pacing, suggesting that the story's potential was often overshadowed by frustrating gameplay elements.
- “✅ A well-written, engaging, and intriguing story about the murder of a wealthy man, whose murder was investigated by Holmes and Watson.”
- “As a big fan of the Sherlock Holmes series, I must say that this game is a real gem, especially taking into consideration its age. The game has a massive amount of charm to it, with a case that really takes you to many different places and has a really captivating story.”
- “The story is complicated, with many developments and revelations, but it makes sense, although some connections only Sherlock could have seen.”
- “The silver earring in the game's title only shows up towards the end of the game and never has any real significance, and the entire murder plot Holmes and Watson have been investigating is so convoluted that Holmes spends 20 minutes to explain who killed whom for what in an endless monologue that eventually lost me, so I closed the game confused, not quite understanding why the murderer did it.”
- “I must admit, that when it came to the final conclusion, I correctly deduced who the murderer was of the first victim; however, that was down to gut instinct and absolutely not down to the evidence collected, as by this point, I was completely lost with what was going on and was rather surprised that I had reached the end, as the game had just added yet another victim to the story, bringing it up to three victims by this point and I had no idea who had killed those two.”
- “The story is overly complicated (based on a published book) and some of the puzzles are very difficult without the help of a walkthrough.”
gameplay
158 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
59%
28%
The gameplay has been widely criticized for its clunky mechanics, frustrating movement controls, and inconsistent hitboxes, making clue collection and navigation tedious. While the game retains classic point-and-click elements and offers an engaging story, many players found the overall experience marred by outdated mechanics and poorly designed puzzles, leading to a lack of enjoyment and motivation to continue. Despite some redeeming qualities, such as the deduction quizzes, the gameplay ultimately detracts from the potential of the narrative.
- “The gameplay focuses on investigation, clue collection, and puzzle-solving, staying true to the detective genre.”
- “Featuring some cool story and the classic Sherlock Holmes gameplay.”
- “Gameplay-wise, it's a point-and-click adventure game where we go through different locations in a search for evidence and clues to our case.”
- “The controls and overall mechanics of the game are so bad it wasn't even worth restarting the game and trying again.”
- “The gameplay is just clunky; navigating across the map sometimes requires multiple clicks.”
- “Extremely poorly done, very clunky gameplay.”
graphics
136 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
62%
12%
The graphics of the game, released in 2004, are generally considered dated but acceptable for its time, with some users noting that they have aged reasonably well. However, many reviews highlight frequent graphical glitches, such as character clipping and low resolution, which can detract from the overall experience. While the detailed environments and pre-rendered cutscenes are appreciated, the overall visual quality is inconsistent, leading to mixed feelings among players.
- “✅ Nice looking and detailed graphics which aged quite well.”
- “The graphics are very correct for 2004 and work well with this London murder story.”
- “The visuals are actually pretty good for the time the game was made, and are acceptable even in 2021 (considering what else there is in the point and click genre).”
- “The graphics have not aged well, and the one thing that is exceptionally terrible in this game are the controls.”
- “The graphics were so dated, but I understood since it was released back in 2004. It looks a bit too dated, like N64 graphics, and the shadows were bad. Sometimes the shadows get stuck into objects, and the lighting was really bad; it's either too dark or too bright.”
- “There is frequent graphic glitches, as characters walk on walls and turn door handles while looking at walls, etc.”
music
92 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
56%
7%
The music in the game is primarily composed of classical pieces, which many players find elegant and atmospheric, enhancing the overall experience. However, the soundtrack is often criticized for being repetitive and occasionally overwhelming, as it can drown out dialogue and disrupt immersion. Despite these issues, the music is generally appreciated for its charm and suitability to the game's setting, making it a notable aspect of the experience.
- “The soundtrack consists of some classical music masterpieces.”
- “This game has some great atmosphere, music, and an intriguing mystery.”
- “With the excellent score of classical music pieces, and overall atmosphere, the game is actually kinda cozy.”
- “The music by default is quite loud and drowns out dialogue, but other than that I didn't need to change any settings, which was nice for a 20-year-old game.”
- “The music sometimes was louder than the dialogue and was annoying at times.”
- “Having said that, the game is riddled with faults - a lot of the time you have to hunt for microscopic items to progress in the investigation, the placement of 'cursor spots' (for pathing and interactive points in the environment) is incredibly poor, the music is repetitive and dull.”
stability
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is plagued by numerous stability issues, including frequent crashes, graphic glitches, and unresponsive gameplay, making it frustrating and at times unplayable. Players have reported that these bugs hinder progress, particularly in timed puzzles and precision-based tasks, leading to a generally negative experience. While some find humor in the glitches, the overall consensus is that the game's stability significantly detracts from its enjoyment.
- “I've enjoyed playing it, sure, but I also had a hell of a time getting the game to run in the first place and have encountered glitches that have slowed my ability to progress through the puzzles.”
- “All that could be forgiven, I suppose, had it not been for the many glitches which made some clues all but impossible to detect and in some cases crashed the game.”
- “It ran alright on my first laptop, but since I have now changed to a Windows 10 computer, it constantly freezes and is basically unplayable.”
atmosphere
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
31%
14%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its blend of cozy and creepy elements, enhanced by a strong classical music score and a rich, Victorian art style. While the voice acting has received mixed reviews, it does not detract from the overall immersive experience, which is complemented by well-developed characters and a compelling mystery. However, players are advised to use a walkthrough to navigate potential frustrations in gameplay.
- “This game has some great atmosphere, music, and an intriguing mystery.”
- “Creepy, atmospheric, beautiful.”
- “With the excellent score of classical music pieces, and overall atmosphere, the game is actually kinda cozy.”
- “The characters are well fleshed out and the story has depth and atmosphere.”
- “I really liked the music and the atmosphere of the game.”
grinding
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, characterized by slow character movement, clunky controls, and frustrating puzzles that often require extensive backtracking and pixel hunting. The lack of clear guidance and poorly designed loading screens exacerbate the experience, making progress feel laborious and disheartening. While some content is engaging, the overall experience is marred by the repetitive and time-consuming nature of the gameplay.
- “The character's movement is slow, and on many occasions tedious. Depending on the perspective, the areas that load other parts of the scenario become annoying due to the poor location of the loading screens, especially evident in the area of the monastery and its labyrinth.”
- “Making characters move anywhere or do anything is slow and tedious. The stationary camera angles can be quite disorienting at times, and the puzzles are sometimes complete nonsense. You cannot advance to the next stage unless you've gathered all of the required clues, which requires aggravating pixel hunts and looking at all pictures everywhere.”
- “The controls are clunky and the animations are tediously slow.”
humor
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is often likened to a "so-bad-it's-good" experience, reminiscent of a poorly made movie that provides unintentional laughs through its graphical glitches and quirky NPC interactions. While some players found the humor entertaining, the novelty wore off after extended play, leading to eventual boredom despite the initial amusement. Overall, the combination of funny bugs and odd subtitles contributed to a lighthearted, if flawed, comedic atmosphere.
- “The overall graphics look fine, especially the rooms are very detailed, but there are a lot of graphical bugs that break the immersion and bring a lot of unintended laughing moments.”
- “The occasional typos and strange subtitles were more funny than annoying to me.”
- “Graphic glitches, don't get me wrong, most of them were hilarious, but some made it hard to see if there was something that I might be missing, like the floating table in the dining room.”
emotional
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report a strong emotional engagement with the game, feeling immersed in the role of a detective through its intricate storytelling and evidence-based gameplay. The quizzes enhance this experience, making them feel invested in solving crimes and deepening their connection to the narrative. Overall, the game successfully evokes a sense of purpose and excitement in players.
- “The exorbitant amounts of evidence made me feel like I was thrust into the role of a real detective instead of an adventure-game detective, if you know what I mean.”
- “These quizzes make you feel like a detective, and made me feel much more invested in the clues and story.”
- “But the last one - the most important - made me feel like I should solve crimes for a living.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
50%
The game's optimization is severely lacking, with players experiencing slow movement, poor pathing, and frequent stuttering that disrupts gameplay. Additionally, the absence of an autosave feature and sluggish performance, even on capable hardware, further detracts from the overall experience.
- “The puzzles are hard; you have to find all the objects you can interact with using the mouse pointer (no help function). There is no autosave, and the performance is sometimes extremely sluggish and terrible, despite using a 2014 system (Intel 4-core with HT and a GTX 970).”
- “Slow walking mixed with horrible pathing leads to frustrating movement and stuttering.”
- “The optimization is severely lacking, making navigation a tedious experience.”
- “Character movement feels clunky due to poor optimization and pathfinding issues.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization model is perceived as outdated, reflecting a lack of innovation that aligns with the game's overall presentation.
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews indicate that the game has low replayability, with multiple users stating that it lacks sufficient value for replaying.
- “Replay value: no.”
- “Replay value: no.”

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Sherlock Holmes: The Silver Earring
$9.99
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10h Median play time

13h Average play time

8-25h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 8 analyzed playthroughs

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