Frogwares’ Cthulhu-themed Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened gets first gameplay trailer

Frogwares has shared a first gameplay trailer for its upcoming remake of Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened – the studio’s Lovecraft-themed crossover from 2007 – alongside news that the project will be launching early next year.

Frogwares revealed its plans for a “full remake and substantial rewrite” of The Awakened back in July, launching a Kickstarter campaign shortly after to secure additional funding to complete the game – a step the Ukranian studio said was necessary due to complications arising from Russia’s ongoing invasion.

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened, in its new guise, will rework the events of the original to serve as a continuation of the studio’s young Sherlock arc, which began in last year’s enjoyable Chapter One. As such, it’ll follow a young Sherlock Holmes, along with his new acquaintance John Watson, on his first big case in London – an investigation soon leading to a Cthulhu-worshipping cult and other Lovecraft-inspired horrors.

Frogwares’ new gameplay trailer gives a taste of The Awakened’s gloomy locales, alongside some of the investigatory tricks at Sherlock’s disposal as he roams Victorian London, a Swiss psychiactric ward, the New Orleans bayous, and the Scottish Highlands in search of clues.

“Like the whole country, we are grappling with constant power outages, unstable internet connections, heating issues and so forth,” Frogwares’ Sergiy Oganesyan said in a statement accompanying today’s trailer. “It’s an inconvenience that hinders our work, brought to us courtesy of an incompetent and cowardly army who need to try starve and freeze civilians in order to claim victory. But we have figured out ways to deal with these hurdles like everyone else and simply keep moving forward.”

Awakened – which includes a new third-person perspective, new investigation mechanics, new side quests, plus new art assets, animations, voice work, and cutscenes – is expected to release for PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch in February/March next year.