Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective – Volume III delivers a uniquely cerebral gameplay experience that hinges on exploration, deduction, and attention to detail. Players navigate a virtual map of Victorian London, choosing from a variety of locations—coffee shops, police stations, private residences—to interview witnesses, review evidence, and gather leads. Instead of traditional point-and-click puzzles, the game challenges you to piece together narratives from character dialogues and period newspaper clippings included in the boxed set.

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Each of the three cases—The Solicitous Solicitor, The Banker’s Final Debt, and The Thames Murders—unfolds like a newspaper serial, with new information discovered only when you decide where to go or whom to question. Progress hinges on the order in which you interview suspects and the thoroughness of your inquiries; skip a crucial location or misinterpret a clue, and you may find yourself stumped in court. This trial system adds real stakes to your sleuthing, as you must present a coherent argument and correctly field the judge’s probing questions to secure a conviction.

The game’s reliance on authentic-looking mock newspapers is a standout feature. Articles are meticulously written, often containing subtle red herrings and revealing tidbits. Sifting through these snippets for relevant facts demands patience—and rewards careful readers with deeper insights into each mystery. Though there’s no fail-safe hint system, the thrill of finally connecting the dots and exposing the culprit makes every breakthrough feel earned.

Replay value stems from the open-ended investigation routes: you can revisit locations any time, and choices you make early on shape the information you access later. While seasoned Sherlockians may breeze through the logic, newcomers will appreciate the gentle escalation of difficulty across the three cases. Overall, the gameplay strikes a delicate balance between structured narrative and player freedom, immersing you in the role of Holmes without holding your hand.

Graphics

Graphically, Consulting Detective – Volume III reflects its early 1990s CD-ROM origins with a blend of digitized stills, rudimentary animations, and static location portraits. While not flashy by modern standards, these visuals possess a certain vintage charm that evokes the foggy gaslamp streets of London. Character sprites are often grainy, yet their period costumes and expressive face shots effectively convey mood and personality.

Dialogue sequences are presented as full-screen video clips, where actors with noticeable theatrical flair dramatize each exchange. These FMV segments, though occasionally stilted, bring Holmes’s world to life with richly detailed sets—ramshackle tenements, ornate bank offices, and the murky riverbank of the Thames. The muted color palette and occasional film grain filter further reinforce the historical atmosphere.

The game’s interface is minimalist: a simple map, a list of available destinations, and a dossier screen storing your collected clues. This straightforward design keeps the focus on investigation rather than flashy menus or toolbars. Newspaper pages are rendered with painstaking authenticity, complete with period-appropriate fonts, woodcut-style illustrations, and column layouts that mimic Victorian print publications.

Despite technological limitations of its era, few players will find the graphics a detriment. If anything, the retro aesthetic complements the deductive gameplay, inviting you to suspend modern expectations and embrace the role of a turn-of-the-century detective armed only with wits and observation.

Story

The narrative core of Consulting Detective – Volume III rests upon three intricate cases that showcase Holmes’s legendary prowess. In The Solicitous Solicitor, you’re drawn into the suspicious death of Melvin Tuttle, a solicitor who supposedly succumbed to a sudden heart attack. Scotland Yard’s Inspector Lestrade suspects foul play—poison, to be precise—and beckons you to untangle a web of professional rivalries and hidden motives.

The Banker’s Final Debt shifts focus to high finance and clandestine government affairs. Oswald Mason, a Treasury-linked banker, is discovered murdered at home, and initial theories point to a bungled burglary. Yet delicate state secrets and coded ledgers hint at a conspiracy far more convoluted than a mere theft gone wrong. Piecing together his secretive correspondences and ledger entries becomes crucial to understanding why someone wanted Mason silenced.

Finally, The Thames Murders pushes the stakes even higher with a series of five seemingly unrelated deaths along London’s riverbank. Each corpse tells a fragmentary story—footprints washed away by tidal currents, overheard whispers of blackmail and betrayal. Only by connecting these disparate threads can you reveal the chilling pattern that links the victims and identify a mastermind lurking in the shadows.

Across all three cases, the storytelling thrives on authentic period detail: societal mores, class tensions, and the stark divide between London’s polished West End and its gritty East End. Every revelation feels earned, as characters gradually reveal hidden depths and newspaper headlines hint at crises that ripple across the city. The moral ambiguities encountered—questions of justice versus vengeance, loyalty versus self-interest—add layers of complexity beyond a straightforward whodunit.

Overall Experience

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective – Volume III offers a refreshingly contemplative gaming experience in an age dominated by action and spectacle. Here, your greatest weapons are patience, deductive reasoning, and a keen eye for detail. The absence of timed sequences or inventory puzzles means you can immerse yourself fully, soaking up every dialogue nuance and poring over every newspaper column without pressure.

The production values, while dated, serve the game’s ambitious premise admirably. FMV performances and atmospheric backdrops capture the spirit of Arthur Conan Doyle’s London, and the tangible newspaper supplements elevate immersion in a way few purely digital titles manage. Fans of narrative-driven adventures will appreciate the tactile thrill of scanning printed pages for clues—a design choice that sets Consulting Detective apart even today.

Challenges may arise if you prefer more hand-holding or modern hint systems; players who skip key locations or misinterpret evidence can find themselves stalled. However, those willing to embrace the game’s old-school rigor will be rewarded with genuine “aha” moments and the satisfaction of reconstructing Victorian-era mysteries from the ground up.

In sum, Volume III stands as a compelling chapter in the Consulting Detective saga, combining engrossing storytelling with an elegant investigative framework. It’s an indispensable pick for aficionados of historical crime fiction, detective enthusiasts, and anyone seeking a slower-paced, richly detailed gaming journey through the misty streets of 19th-century London.

Retro Replay Score

6.9/10