Developer Frogwares has unveiled that a Sherlock Holmes The Awakened remake is in the works. The original game released in 2007 and saw Sherlock Holmes take down Cthulhu. This decision was made after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced Frogwares to stop working on its last project. The studio has decided to reallocate resources to a game it can still create under its current circumstances.
The story will follow a young Sherlock Holmes who has just moved to London. After settling in, he begins his first case, an investigation into recent strange happenings. Someone has gone missing, but this isn’t your usual kidnapping. A nefarious cult is at work and intends to summon the eldritch god Cthulhu to fulfill an evil ancient prophecy. The narrative promises to be dark and eerie, taking direct inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft’s iconic works. Although it primarily takes place in London, Holmes and his partner John Watson will also explore Switzerland, New Orleans, and the Scottish Highlands.
As expected, the remake will feature updated visuals, but Frogwares isn’t stopping there. After all, this is a remake, not a remaster. It will also have a fully rewritten story that reinvents the narrative of the original.
The Sherlock Holmes The Awakened remake is being created in Unreal Engine 4 from scratch. Frogwares is making new animations, overhauling all of the cutscenes, introducing new gameplay mechanics, and much more. It isn’t using any assets or code from the original game, making this a true remake.
Frogwares’ experience
This is by no means the first time Frogwares has created a Sherlock Holmes game. The Ukraine-based developer has been making Sherlock Holmes games for 20 years. In that time it has released nine different Sherlock Holmes games with 2021’s Sherlock Holmes Chapter One being the most recent. In other words, the studio knows what it is doing and can be trusted to handle this project.
