The Tale of the Disappearing Beauty (Sherlock Investigates) // Review

The Tale of the Disappearing Beauty is the debut mystery game from UK-based company Sherlock Investigates. Team up with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson as they take on a new case with unexpected twists and turns. Can you examine the evidence, eliminate suspects and solve the case before it’s too late?

Players: 1-8 // Age: 13+ // Playtime: 2-4 hours

What you need: A pen/pencil and paper. An internet-connected device.

Story

“Elspeth Jazemtook has mysteriously disappeared in England and her father is desperate to track her down. Who better to handle the case than the legendary Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson? Work alongside these world-reknowned detectives to solve The Tale of the Disappearing Beauty, which will test your skills in deductive reasoning and require a keen attention to detail.”

First impressions

If you’ve always longed to find yourself in a Sherlock Holmes adventure, you’re in luck! Sherlock Investigates has lovingly crafted a new mystery set in the world of Sherlock Holmes that is accessible to all.

The game arrives in a brown A4 envelope adorned with a red ‘Sherlock Investigates’ sticker. It contains a selection of evidence, documents and photographs to explore as you investigate a mysterious disappearance. The quality of the paper components is good and they include a range of different paper textures and document types. During gameplay you will find yourself looking for clues in a newspaper, hunting down inconsistencies in witness statements and poking holes in alibis using a map. None of the components need to be written on, therefore it is possible to regift the game once you have completed it. Always a plus!

Gameplay

Overview

The game is split into five different parts, with components for each contained within sealed envelopes. Many detective games give you access to everything from the offset, which can be overwhelming for some. Splitting it into different parts gives the game a much narrower focus and makes it easier to take a break if needed. Those who like to forensically dig through a mass of documents and piece them together may feel as if they are being a bit more spoon-fed, but I found it refreshing to break up play in this way.

Each part has its own set of questions and you’ll need to answer these before you can progress. As you work through them, it will allow you to rule out suspects and ultimately lead to uncovering the true crime/s and their culprits. I loved pulling together the photo of each suspect and paperclipping it to any connected evidence. The beauty is you can organise the documents in a way that suits you. I’m sure many a detective has evidence pinned to a corkboard, but I didn’t own one big enough.

Writing & Deduction

The writing is where this game really stands out. The Tale of the Disappearing Beauty has been written with a real emphasis on authenticity to the works of Arthur Conan Doyle. Although this is an original story, there are references to characters you’ll know and love. The language feels instantly familiar and will pull you right into the story. Engaging writing means that although there are plenty of documents to read, it doesn’t feel like a chore to work through them. The story itself is well-written and has enough twists and turns to keep you interested.

This game is primarily, as you might expect, a game of deduction. I only came across one real puzzle in the form of a cipher, which was very easy to solve. If you are looking for lots of ciphers, anagrams and maths problems to solve then you’ll most likely be left disappointed. Puzzles aren’t always a given in detective games, so this isn’t a negative – I just wanted to make it clear upfront.

Bells and Whistles

There are some multimedia elements available in the game. The audio clip worked well for me and I enjoyed the voice acting. The video on the other hand felt anachronistic and, ultimately, wholly unneeded. It was poorly edited and lacked polish. It could potentially have worked if it was in a black-and-white old film style but ultimately, the information could have been conveyed more convincingly through an audio clip. I do appreciate that the aim was to add some variety to the gameplay, but I just found the video jarring.

Once you solve the case you will gain access to an epilogue and some historical footnotes. I always find these debrief documents to be really interesting and they tend to highlight just how much thought has gone into crafting a game.

Given that this is the first Sherlock Investigates game, I am really impressed overall. There are areas for improvement, but overall it plays really well and is beautifully written. As a fan of Sherlock Holme’s, you’ll find a lot to love in the game and I am fascinated to see what is in store for the next adventure.

Hints & Difficulty

This game was fairly easy overall, so definitely won’t pose too much of a challenge for more seasoned detectives. I’d recommend it for rookie detectives and/or fans of Sherlock Holmes who want to immerse themselves in a well-realised Arthur Conan Doyle-style mystery.

The hint system is simple but effective. Hints are broken into different parts and questions you are required to answer. The hints are tiered, which I always prefer. They are, however, all displayed at the same time when you click on the specific question. I’d prefer it if you had to expand each hint individually to prevent seeing too much information if you just want a nudge.

Verdict

About Sherlock Investigates

Disclaimer: Sherlock Investigates kindly sent me a copy of this game in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influences the content of my review.