Frogwares has announced a Sherlock Holmes The Awakened remake for PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X | S, promising a complete reimagining and “substantial rewrite” of its 2006 Lovecraftian point-and-click adventure. This ground-up, Unreal Engine 4 remake (previously teased as Project Palianytsia) is getting all the modern bells and whistles one might expect, including new UI, animations, cutscenes, and even a switch to third person perspective. However, the Ukraine-based developer (understandably) needs a bit of assistance with Sherlock Holmes The Awakened. To help secure the remainder of its funding, the developer will soon launch a Kickstarter campaign, which will “offer fans a few more bonuses and rewards for supporting the studio at a time when their country is at war.”
The Sherlock Holmes The Awakened remake aims to be a better game for both newcomers and fans of the original. Accomplishing this goal meant Frogwares needed to alter and add gameplay elements and new sidequests, rewrite certain elements of the story, and even further flesh out the relationship between Watson and Holmes. With this comes new English voice acting recordings and the promise of support for multiple other languages. All in all, it sounds like a fresh coat of paint that will put a shining light on one of the studio’s best games.
You can read a synopsis describing Sherlock Holmes The Awakened’s story below:
The Awakened remake sees a young Sherlock take on his first major case alongside his newly acquainted sidekick, John Watson. What seems like a straightforward case of a missing person quickly spirals into a web of conspiracies by a nefarious cult that worships the eldritch god Cthulhu and are attempting to bring about an ancient prophecy. The game will take the detective duo across 4 locations — Victorian London, a Swiss psych ward, the New Orleans bayous, and the Scottish Highlands — as they try to separate reality from the supernatural while trying to put a stop to these shadowy madmen.
Frogwares producer Denys Chebotarov shed light on why the team decided to pursue a Sherlock Holmes The Awakened remake now. He says that the idea of continuing the young Sherlock story has been in their minds for quite some time, but the war on Ukraine is what really pushed them to dive in.
“By working on a title that has the bulk of its content, scope, and narrative all locked in place after just a few weeks, we are giving ourselves a much more predictable and structured development cycle. And stability and predictability is exactly what we need right now while the rest of our days remain so uncertain.”
Sherlock Holmes The Awakened remains quite ambitious regardless, especially considering Frogwares’ proximity to the war. With additions such as new voice acting, as well as plans to launch the project on most major platforms, it’s quite clear why crowdfunding makes sense as a next step.
“This safety net will allow us to put our team’s needs and safety first as we adapt further without derailing the entire development and funding,” Frogwares says.
The first Sherlock Holmes The Awakened remake trailer, as well as more gameplay details, will arrive when the Kickstarter page is published. You can take a look at a few screenshots (below) while we wait for Frogwares to share more about its remake.
