Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Silver Earring

Did You Know?

• Development started in January 2003.
• The game's story and design are credited to Jalil Amr, based on an unpublished pastiche novel by Amr.
• Music within the game consists of compositions by Antonín Dvořák, Edvard Grieg, Robert Schumann, and Pyotr Tchaikovsky.

Plot

In 1897, Mycroft Holmes wrote to his brother Sherlock, asking him and Dr. Watson to look into a singer performing at a birthday party for Lavinia Bromsby, daughter of construction baron Sir Melvyn Bromsby. During the celebration, Bromsby was shot dead. Holmes, Watson, and Inspector Lestrade identified two suspects: Lavinia, who had a difficult relationship with her father, and Grimble, Bromsby’s business partner, whom Bromsby had caught embezzling. Three more bodies turned up: bartender Roy Hunter, lawyer Horace Fowlett, and Bromsby’s nephew Wyatt Collins. The case also linked to the disappearance of actors Veronica Davenport and Jeffries, co-owners of a theatre troupe Bromsby had bought. Holmes eventually figured out the killers were Lt. Herrington, his servant Spencer, and Collins. Spencer was actually Jeffries, who had murdered Davenport out of jealousy and convinced Herrington to help him vanish. At the party, Jeffries disguised himself as Herrington while the real Herrington shot Bromsby. Holmes tricked Herrington into confessing, and all three were arrested.

Gameplay

Silver Earring is a point-and-click third person adventure controlled by mouse, where players take the roles of both Holmes and Watson. Clicking in the general direction moves the character; a footsteps icon indicates authorized spots, and double-clicking makes the character run. Right-clicking opens the inventory bar, which always contains Holmes's magnifying glass, measuring tape, and test tube, as well as a notebook with witness transcripts, documents, and physical evidence analysis. Players search for clues that the police miss, and can analyze evidence using Holmes's desktop laboratory.

Reception

The computer version received average reception, with GameRankings giving a score of 70.23% and Metacritic 68 out of 100. In Germany, the game achieved what publisher DTP Entertainment called incredibly high sales in its first three weeks and became a big commercial success there. Digital Jesters reported very promising early sales figures in Britain by late 2004. The game debuted at 14th place on Britain's full-price computer game sales chart, held that position the following week, then dropped to 20th in its third week before exiting the top 20. Frogwares estimated global sales of roughly 50,000 units by January 2005, which it considered strong for the genre but unsatisfactory overall. By late 2006, the game and its predecessor had combined sales above 500,000 copies in Europe.