Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened (2023)

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is the remake of the 2007 Lovecraftian adventure that finally brought together the worlds of Sherlock Holmes and the Cthulhu Mythos. Set in 1882, players step into the shoes of Sherlock Holmes as he investigates mysterious disappearances linked to a dark cult worshipping an ancient god. As Holmes delves deeper into the case, he faces otherworldly entities that challenge his rationality and push him to the brink of madness. Holmes and Watson race against time to uncover clues that lead them to confront unspeakable horrors and fight to prevent catastrophic consequences.

• Release date: 04-11-2023
• Developer: Frogwares
• Publisher: Frogwares
• Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Triggers for this game

Animals & Wildlife

• Birds

  Chapters 3 & 6

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Chapter 3 — There is an aviary in the middle of the asylum's courtyard. Chapter 6 — At one point, you have to follow birds to get out of the swamp.

  • Can't be avoided

• Cats

  Chapter 2

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  A black cat crosses Holmes and Watson's path in Chapter 2.

  • Can't be avoided

• Dogs

  Chapter 1

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Both Barnes and Mrs. Flemming have dogs

  • Can't be avoided

• Misc. Animals & Critters

  Raccoons (Chapter 5); Gators (Chapter 6)

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Chapter 5 — You find severed fingers at Arneson's mansion. After investigating, you learn that a raccoon took Arnseon's finger with the signet ring on it. Chapter 6 — While navigating the swamp, you encounter gators. At one point, these gators are blocking your path while ogling hanging bodies.

  • Can't be avoided

• Rodents

  Rats (Chapter 3)

  • Can't be avoided

• Snakes

  Snake Venom (Chapter 6)

  • Can't be avoided

Crime

• Being Held Against Will

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Chapter 3 — Sherlock gets tied up and forcibly drugged by Prof. Gygax

  • Can't be avoided

• Gangs & Mobsters

  • Can't be avoided

• Guns & Shooting

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Chapter 3 — Watson brings a gun to the asylum. Chapter 6 — While navigating the swamp, you encounter gators. At one point, these gators are blocking your path while ogling hanging bodies. You have to shoot the bodies down in an intense QTE. Chapter 8 — John spots that Dirty has a gun and so pulls out his to shoot. There is now a rather quick QTE where you must shoot Dirty Sommers in the designated head area quickly or the time will run out and he will shoot Sherlock.

  • Can't be avoided

• Hangings

  Chapter 5 (in progress); Chapter 6 (dead bodies)

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Chapter 5 — After you realized Davy barricaded himself in the house, you go to speak with Eulah and bring her in for assistance. She isn't where she was initially, so you have to look for her. As you enter the barn, you find her hanging. Thankfully, you get there in time and are able to get her down. Chapter 6 — While navigating the swamp, you encounter gators. At one point, these gators are blocking your path while ogling hanging bodies.

  • Can't be avoided

• Kidnapping

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Multiple individuals, including Kimihia & Arneson.

  • Can't be avoided

• Murder

  • Can't be avoided

• Theft

  • Can't be avoided

• Torture

  Chapter 3

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  In a letter from Prof. Becker to Gygax, he describes her experimenting on & torturing Gerda. Gerda says her doll Heidi has had her eyes and arms torn off in addition to being tortured; later, you find Heidi and confirm this.

  • Can't be avoided

Death & Loss

• Abandonment

  Chapter 6

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  After you find The Stone Alcove, Sherlock decides to abandon Watson while investigating. Watson (whom you control) catches up after getting his lantern working again.

  • Can't be avoided

• Family Estrangement

  Mycroft

  • Can't be avoided

• Missing Person(s)

  Starting in Chapter 2

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Sherlock's case starting in Chapter 2 features a man named Steinweck whose servant — a Māori man named Kimihia — has gone missing. While investigating, Sherlock learns there is an epidemic of men going missing. Chapter 4 — Outside of Arneson’s Mansion, you run into Eulah whose brother Davy works for Arneson. She hasn’t seen him for days and begs for help. As you investigate, you learn that Arneson has also gone missing.

  • Can't be avoided

• Suicide

  Chapter 8

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  After engaging in eye-related self-harm (see ommetaphobia warning), Ashmat kills himself.

  • Can't be avoided

Disturbing Sounds & Sound Design

• Distorted Voices

  • Can't be avoided

• Misc. Eerie Noises

  • Can't be avoided

• Screams

  Chapter 3

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  In Chapter 3 — the middle cell as you first walk into block b has a figure in it; if you approach, she lets out a horrible scream.

  • Can't be avoided

• Sirens & Alarms

  Chapter 3

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Alarm sounds when Sherlock lets Napoleon out of his cell.

• Wet Sounds

  Near water

  • Can't be avoided

Drugs & Alcohol

• Alcohol Consumption

  • Can't be avoided

• Alcoholism

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Chapter 3 — Alcoholism (Sherlock's roommate in the asylum). Chapter 4 — Barnaby is an alcoholic who owes multiple people money.

  • Can't be avoided

• Casual Drug Consumption

  • Can't be avoided

• Forced Drug Use

  Chapters 3 & 6

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Chapter 3 — Sherlock gets tied up and forcibly drugged by Prof. Gygax. Later, Sherlock forcibly drugs a worker to escape. Chapter 6 — After finding Arnseon, you have to combine Dwale with Snake Venom to create a sedative and get him out of where he's at.

  • Can't be avoided

• Tobacco & Smoking

  Chewing tobacco, smoking

  • Can't be avoided

Financial & Resource Management

• Extortion & Ransom

  Chapter 4

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Barnaby is an alcoholic who owes people a lot of money. Watson has to dress up like Barnaby to enter the auction hall, where the sheriff notices he is in fact not Barnaby. This prompts a conversation where Sheriff Grubb extorts Watson for every penny he has on him.

  • Can't be avoided

• Poverty

  • Can't be avoided

Gore

• Amputation

  Chapters 3 & 5

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Chapter 3 — Gerda says her doll Heidi has had her eyes and arms torn off in addition to being tortured; later, you find Heidi and confirm this. Sherlock discovers an area where bodies are dismembered and their pieces are tossed into a well. Chapter 5 — You find severed fingers at Arneson's mansion.

  • Can't be avoided

• Animal Violence

  Chapters 3 & 5

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Chapter 3 — Sherlock finds a bird dissected. Chapter 5 — There is a dying horse at Arneson's mansion. While this is optional, you can save them by getting them water.

  • Can't be avoided

• Blood

  • Can't be avoided

• Body Horror

  • Can't be avoided

• Dismemberment

  Chapters 3 & 5

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Chapter 3 — Gerda says her doll Heidi has had her eyes and arms torn off in addition to being tortured; later, you find Heidi and confirm this. Sherlock discovers an area where bodies are dismembered and their pieces are tossed into a well. Chapter 5 — You find severed fingers at Arneson's mansion.

  • Can't be avoided

• Guts

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Brains in jar, severed human head (possibly just a model but impossible to know)

  • Can't be avoided

• Viscera

  • Can't be avoided

Hate & Discrimination

• Ableism

  Sanism

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Avoidable — Chapter 3 — Avoidable by not reading notes. In a note, multiple men are listed as crazy because they speak a language other than English or another well-known one. Unavoidable — Chapter 4 — In the cut scene between Chapters 3 & 4, Sherlock tells Watson about his mother's mental illness (as covered in Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One) and his own fear of going mad as she did.

  • Is avoidable
  • Can't be avoided

• Appearance Discrimination

  Fatshaming (Chapter 7)

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Chapter 7 — When Mycroft shows up, Sherlock makes several cracks about Mycroft's weight gain.

  • Can't be avoided

• Classism

  • Can't be avoided

• Dehumanization & Objectification

  • Can't be avoided

• Eugenics

  Asylum (Chapter 3)

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  In the asylum, multiple patients have been harmed by individuals that believe eugenicist thoughts including that mental illness cannot be treated and the brain must instead be violently altered through processes like lobotomy and electric shocks.

  • Can't be avoided

• Racism

  Chapters 2 & 3

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Unavoidable — Chapter 2 — Steinweck only wants to find Kimihia because of his financial investment; he harbors racist thoughts towards Kimihia, such as assuming he doesn't speak English, keeping his wages for "safety" in his own safe, and stating that he "rescued [Kimihia] from savagery." Avoidable — Chapter 3 — Avoidable by not reading notes. In a note, multiple men are listed as crazy because they speak a language other than English or another well-known one.

  • Can't be avoided

Horror Themes

• Demons & Devils

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Lovecraftian monsters

  • Can't be avoided

• Mind Control

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  The cult regularly engages in mind control, including in chapter 8 where they've done so in the the Underground Caves.

  • Can't be avoided

• Monsters

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Lovecraftian monsters

  • Can't be avoided

• Possession

  • Can't be avoided

• Psychological Horror

  • Can't be avoided

Law Enforcement

• Police Brutality

  Chapter 3

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  The staff at the asylum (who are more police than caregivers) are abusive towards the patients.

  • Can't be avoided

• Prison & Incarceration

  Chapter 3

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Incarceration in the asylum

  • Can't be avoided

Mental Health

• Depression

  • Can't be avoided

• Dissociation

  Chapter 3 (mentioned in note)

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Chapter 3 — Mental illnesses mentioned in notes include dermatilomania (Eloise), mania (Maurizio), dissociation (Maurizio), hysteria (Marianna), nervous breakdown (Nix). You could choose not to read the note.

  • Is avoidable

• Family References

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Unavoidable — Chapter 4 — In the cut scene between Chapters 3 & 4, Sherlock tells Watson about his mother's mental illness (as covered in Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One) and his own fear of going mad as she did.

  • Can't be avoided

• Hallucinations

  Starting in Chapter 2

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Starting in Chapter 2, Sherlock has visions seem to take him to an Eldritch location in another dimension with impossible physics and rules. In Chapter 6, Sherlock can hear drums while Watson cannot. In the end, it's hard to tell what actually happened during the game and what was a hallucination.

  • Can't be avoided

• Mental Illness

  Chapter 3 (mentioned in note)

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Chapter 3 — Mental illnesses mentioned in notes include dermatilomania (Eloise), mania (Maurizio), dissociation (Maurizio), hysteria (Marianna), nervous breakdown (Nix). You could choose not to read the note.

  • Is avoidable
  • Can't be avoided

• Misc. Mental Health

  Paranoia; Meta conversation; Watson vs Jon

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Paranoia — In Chapter 1, Holmes is paranoid about an assassination plot. Meta Conversation — In Chapter 8, Rochester mentions that he and Holmes have fought each other before. After disrupting the ritual, Rochester states that he thought "this time" would be different, confirming that he's aware of the events of the 2007 game. Watson vs Jon — In moments of distress, Holmes will sometimes call out for Watson. If he gets really upset, he'll shout for "Jon" instead. Only the player can see from the subtitles that this isn't a case of him switching to Watson's first name in a break in formality — he's trying to summon Jon, his imaginary childhood friend from Chapter One.

  • Can't be avoided

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

  Watson

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Watson mentions serving in Afghanistan multiple times, including sharing traumatic stories. One such story is about how he became the Sole Survivor after his superior ordered him to flee a losing battle, arguing that as a doctor he would be able to help more people. He then became lost in the desert and almost died, only to be found by British soldiers just in time. Also comes up in a DLC side case in Louisiana, with a man who saw his brother's murder at the hands of Sheriff Grubb.

  • Can't be avoided

• Psych Ward

  Edelweiss institute is an asylum

  • Can't be avoided

Natural Events

• Misc. Natural Events

  Fog (heavily used in Chapter 6)

  • Can't be avoided

• Storms

  Rain, thunder

  • Can't be avoided

Non-Sexual Abuse & Violence

• Altercations

  • Can't be avoided

• Blackmail

  Chapter 3

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Prof. Gygax is forcing Mr. Schnitzer to house drugs in his warehouse due to his son's mental illness.

  • Can't be avoided

• Bullying

  • Can't be avoided

• Child Abuse

  Chapter 2

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Asylum

  • Can't be avoided

• Child Endangerment

  Chapter 2

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Mudlarkers — Girvesh's brother is left alone. Asylum

  • Can't be avoided

• Emotional Abuse

  Chapter 3

  • Can't be avoided

• Gaslighting

  Chapter 3

  • Can't be avoided

• Harassment

  Chapter 4

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Watson has to dress up like Barnaby to enter the auction hall, where the sheriff notices he is in fact not Barnaby. This prompts a conversation where Sheriff Grubb extorts Watson for every penny he has on him. After leaving the hall and returning to their ship, Watson & Holmes find someone has thrown all their belongings off the pier and into the water.

  • Can't be avoided

• Mutilation

  Self-harm (Chapter 3)

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Self-harm — Gerda self-harms in her cell while threatening Sherlock; she says her doll Heidi has had her eyes and arms torn off in addition to being tortured.

  • Can't be avoided

• Narcissistic Abuse

  Chapter 3

  • Can't be avoided

Phobias

• Acrophobia

  Chapter 2

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Partway into Chapter 2 (when Sherlock enters the floor — after you see The only way forward is the abyss) — You enter a series of challenges that require Sherlock to jump / fall off high areas.

  • Can't be avoided

• Agliophobia

  • Can't be avoided

• Agoraphobia

  • Can't be avoided

• Hemophobia

  • Can't be avoided

• Megalophobia

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Large statues of people & sea creatures

  • Can't be avoided

• Merinthophobia

  • Can't be avoided

• Necrophobia

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Multiple dead bodies

  • Can't be avoided

• Ommetaphobia

  Chapters 3 & 8 (trauma)

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  End of Chapter 3 — Prof. Gygax is murdered by having a pencil stabbed in her eye. You find her with her eyes open and the pencil still in. Chapter 8 — When you find Ashmat's corpse, you discover that he gouged his own eyes out.

  • Can't be avoided

• Thalassophobia

  Sherlock actively has a phobia of water

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  If he goes in deep enough (roughly to his ankles), he will grow faint and pass out.

  • Can't be avoided

• Traumatophobia

  • Can't be avoided

• Trypanophobia

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Chapter 3 — After Sherlock breaks out of his cell, you find and use syringes.

  • Can't be avoided

Physical Health & Body Issues

• Acquired Disability

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  'Dirty’ Sommers has a metal eye.

  • Can't be avoided

• Hospitalization

  Chapter 3 takes place in an asylum

  • Can't be avoided

• Pain & Physical Suffering

  • Can't be avoided

Religion & Sects

• Cults

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Lovecraftian

  • Can't be avoided

• Ritual Sacrifice

  Chapters 2 & 8

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Lovecraftian; Chapter 2 — you find a dead body on an alter. Chapter 8 — As you approach the Lighthouse, you’ll see people sacrificing themselves in preparation of The Lighthouse Ritual.

  • Can't be avoided

Sex & Erotica (Consensual)

• Sex Work

  Chapter 4

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  A sex worker named Lucy helps Watson after their belongings are thrown overboard by inviting him on her boat and giving him extra clothes.

  • Can't be avoided

Traumatic Events

• Accidents

  • Can't be avoided

• Human Experimentation

  Chapter 3

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  In a letter from Prof. Becker to Gygax, he describes her experimenting on & torturing Gerda.

  • Can't be avoided

War & Military

• Historical War

  Watson

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Watson mentions serving in Afghanistan multiple times, including sharing traumatic stories.

  • Can't be avoided

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