Ms. Holmes: Five Orange Pips Collector's Edition Reviews

With around 60 cases written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself, Sherlock Holmes has a decent track record with some outstanding stories, some simple but clever in execution, and a few that can be quite unremarkable. Despite The Five Orange Pips being one of the few cases that which Holmes was actually defeated, it usually ranks among the unremarkable ones. Usually when people say “a fruit of its time” they are trying to measure something by today’s standards, but in this one, it is focused on something that your typical English man at the time would not be any wiser but nowadays anyone with any cursory knowledge about politics or American History would know. That was why Ms. Holmes: Five Orange Pips caught my curiosity: how would Elephant Games work this concept? The game starts strong with an ominous opening of someone swearing revenge and an unknown person breaking into Sharlotte’s house looking for something and leaving a threatening message. What would be the connection of the case of the Five Orange Pips? Who is behind the threats? It is a straightforward mystery, it does set up a series of questions but not all of them have a pay-off or an explanation, unless it might come up in a future title or was an overlooked detail that I failed to notice. It does expand on the current status quo of the series, presenting new allies and revisiting the aforementioned obscure case. The investigation aspect is stronger now, both as part of the hidden object scenes and casual exploration of the places and once again many of the puzzles are well-integrated with the main plot and serve a purpose. None of the achievements -that, once again, are only in-game and not steam-compatible- are too outrageous to archive or require the player to go out of their way to complete. Everything is snappy, there is hardly any inventory bloating or backtracking, and the brisk pace makes for an enjoyable adventure. Once again the graphics are mostly focused on cool colors, which makes a certain character stand out and her place in the story can be a little confusing. The story certainly centers around her motivations, but they are hardly elaborated. Will she be the “Moriarty” of this new Holmes? Only time will tell. The leitmotif of the game can be heard in many key moments to the point it can get a little repetitive, but the soundtrack itself is enjoyable. The voices are alright although the secondary cast can be a mixed bag. The bonus chapter, however, is a fully self-contained and realized story that has a bittersweet conclusion. It does brings some variety to the mix, especially in terms of visuals, and can be appreciated in its own terms. Ms Holmes : Five Orange Pips brings an interesting follow-up to a forgettable Sherlock Holmes’ case, yet leaves a lot of questions unanswered. The biggest flaw of this game is that it can be very short and it feels like it is over before it really starts. A good title for fans of the genre and a nice continuation of the series.