Play Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Online

Summary

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective broke new ground as the first live‑action video game, and the TurboGrafx‑CD version lets you wander fog‑laden London streets through full‑motion video clips starring real actors. The disc’s CD‑quality video and audio make each suspect interview feel like a mini‑movie, while the simple directory interface lets you hop from a crime scene to a newspaper stand or a Baker Street Irregular’s hideout with a click. Clues are gathered by watching the FMV scenes, reading the mock London papers, and asking the informants for leads; once you think you have enough evidence you face a judge and answer a series of questions to close the case. The game rewards efficiency, tracking how many locations you visited before the final verdict. Familiar faces from Conan Doyle’s canon appear throughout – Inspector Lestrade, the shady Shinwell Johnson, and gossip‑monger Langdale Pike – adding a nice touch of authenticity. With a production budget north of $2 million, the title earned glowing reviews (5/5 stars from *Dragon*, multiple scores in the 6‑9/10 range from *EGM*) and helped push the three‑volume series past 360,000 copies sold across all platforms by 1994.

Storyline

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective on the TurboGrafx‑CD drops you into Victorian London as the famous detective and his partner Dr. Watson. Together with a live cast of colorful characters you interview suspects, gather clues from witnesses and street informants, and bring the killer to trial.

The first case, “The Mummy’s Curse,” is set on 12 April 1889 and follows three archaeologists who are found strangled, each with a mummy’s wrapping around the victim. The murders occur in London, Egypt and even at sea, prompting the London Times to sensationally blame an ancient mummy. Holmes and Watson must sift through the exotic clues to uncover the true culprit behind the orchestrated killings.

In “The Mystified Murderess,” dated 4 July 1888, Francis Nolan is discovered hovering over her lover Guy Clarendon’s body in a hotel, pistol in hand, yet she has no memory of the crime or of purchasing the gun. Arrested on the spot, she insists on her innocence while Holmes probes Guy’s shady nocturnal activities. The investigation tests Watson’s patience as the pair untangle a web of deception and hidden motives.

The final mystery, “The Tin Soldier,” takes place on 10 June 1890 when an elderly general is slain by a mysterious visitor who vanishes without a trace. Possible motives range from a veteran tontine lottery and a secret diamond‑search manuscript to a disgruntled marriage and a buried scandal. Holmes must piece together these disparate leads to reveal who pulled the trigger.