I do feel this game captures the spirit of a Sherlock Holmes story, even though it's not strictly accurate to the novel. That got a big thumbs up from me right out of the gate. I believe this was also the first time I've ever seen a game on Big Fish that offered easy and hard levels that actually made a difference to the difficulty of the puzzles. I haven't tested the hard level yet, but I plan to.
One big problem I find in a lot of games of this genre is the "tail" of locations where you have things to still do gets too long and you forget things. This game packages all that up quite neatly. You can complete all tasks in a given area, to a great extent, in more than two or three entries, and the game even gives you a little "Location Completed!" sign when you're done. While useful, I did feel that took some of the mystery out of the game, but I'm sure lots of people adore this feature, so it's probably worth keeping around.
One thing I did find absolutely flabbergasting was that the strategy guide was not implemented with the game, and more than that, one needed to purchase it separately. Glad I only needed to use it once, which meant I managed to get the info I needed in the allotted trial time. But still, ridiculous. And that could be a problem when I play through it on the hard level.
But to end on a positive note, the ending (which I will not spoil) is MUCH more developed and satisfying than most games of this genre, which thrilled me. I actually felt like the story had true closure, which was a fantastic feeling. That's the reward I really shoot for with games like these.
I really enjoyed this game. The plot was simple and interesting enough, the puzzles are varied and fun, and I completely adore the fact that you had the option to do a matching game instead of an HOS. There was only one lock that I found incredibly unintuitive, but other than that, everything was doable as long as you thought carefully.
I did not particularly care for the imp following you around. It felt unnecessary, not organic to the gameplay. There was nothing the imp does that the heroine couldn't do with two working arms and a step ladder, and god knows those are hardly uncommon in HOPAs. Just stick them in your pocket with the screwdriver, life-sized stone statue of Cthulu, the broadsword, and all the other stuff you end up carting around in a HOPA.
MINOR SPOILER ALERT: I did not at all care for the final puzzle. I felt it implied the possibility of multiple endings, and it just doesn't deliver. So I found that a waste of time.
I'm also rather confused as to why the witch hunter is on the cover. He is not an important character. Would make more sense to have the witch instead.