
30 Dark games like Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One that you should try
Games like Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One · Find similar →
More about this game →We filtered the 50 games similar to Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One down to the 30 that fit the “Dark” category. Mafia II: Definitive Edition, I Am Alive and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - The Definitive Edition top the list, ranked by affinity and similarity score to Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One.
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Within the “Dark” category, the closest game to Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One is Mafia II: Definitive Edition — scoring 84/100 on our similarity scale. I Am Alive and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - The Definitive Edition follow close behind.
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The best dark games like Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One
Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One. Each one has been evaluated across 8 real attributes — from combat style and progression mechanics to world structure and visual perspective — so every recommendation is based on how the game actually plays, not just its genre label.

✓ Same family of open-world action games: adventure storytelling, dark, oppressive atmosphere and strong narrative focus
≠ Stands apart with survival mechanics, precision platforming and post-apocalyptic world
On reception: its Steam reviews are mixed, against mostly positive for Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One.
It predates Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One by 9 years, with what that implies technically.

✓ Same family of open-world action games: adventure storytelling, strong narrative focus and dark, oppressive atmosphere
≠ Its own twist: horror tension, shooter and first-person shooting
On reception: its Steam reviews are mixed, against mostly positive for Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One.
It predates Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One by 13 years, with what that implies technically.

✓ Both are open-world action games — sharing adventure storytelling, strong narrative focus and dark, oppressive atmosphere
≠ Where it differs: brings sandbox freedom, deep simulation and sandbox world
Set in Bullworth Academy, a fictional British private school, this game tells about school bullying and the troublesome period of growing to adolescence. You assume the role of Jimmy Hopkins, a 15-year-old boy and a “problem child”, who was already kicked out of many schools for his misbehavior.
It predates Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One by 13 years, with what that implies technically.

✓ Same family of open-world action games: adventure storytelling, dark, oppressive atmosphere and strong narrative focus
≠ Stands apart with third-person shooting, shooter and deep simulation
The one that established the template: a 3D open city with radio stations, missions on call and free roaming between them. Historically it matters enormously. It has aged the hardest of the era — no mission checkpoints, no map markers for much of it, a silent protagonist, and shooting that amounts to auto-aim and hoping.
It predates Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One by 20 years, with what that implies technically.

✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with adventure storytelling, dark, oppressive atmosphere and strong narrative focus
≠ Where it differs: brings shooter, first-person shooting and setting scifi, while skipping visual third person
Where it drifts furthest from Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One: visuals.

✓ Both are open-world action games — sharing adventure storytelling, dark, oppressive atmosphere and strong narrative focus
≠ Its own twist: shooter, third-person shooting and sandbox freedom
On reception: its Steam reviews are mixed, against mostly positive for Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One.

✓ Same family of open-world action games: adventure storytelling, dark, oppressive atmosphere and strong narrative focus
≠ Stands apart with first-person shooting, shooter and third-person shooting
Good or Insane? The choice is yours. Following the Apocalyptic end to the Postal Dude’s week in Paradise, we follow him and his insane pitbull Champ as they emigrate to its appropriately named sister city, Catharsis.
On reception: its Steam reviews are mixed, against mostly positive for Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One.
It predates Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One by 10 years, with what that implies technically.

✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with adventure storytelling, strong narrative focus and dark, oppressive atmosphere
≠ Its own twist: shooter, third-person shooting and racing gameplay
New Bordeaux and its period soundtrack are exceptional, and the story handles race and its era with more seriousness than the genre usually manages. Driving feels heavy and right. The structure undercuts all of it — the same racket-clearing loop repeats across every district, and the mission variety runs out long before the map does.
On reception: its Steam reviews are mixed, against mostly positive for Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One.

✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with adventure storytelling, strong narrative focus and dark, oppressive atmosphere
≠ Stands apart with third-person shooting, shooter and racing gameplay
Tighter and more focused than the open worlds that followed it, with a compact city you learn by heart rather than by map marker. Driving carries most of the game. The shooting has aged badly — no proper cover, stiff aiming — and missions restart from the beginning, which turns a late failure into a long redo.
It predates Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One by 19 years, with what that implies technically.

✓ Both are open-world action games — sharing adventure storytelling, strong narrative focus and dark, oppressive atmosphere
≠ Stands apart with puzzle design, vibe casual and multiplayer gameplay
Where it drifts furthest from Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One: visuals.
Same studio: Frogwares.

✓ Same family of open-world action games: adventure storytelling, strong narrative focus and dark, oppressive atmosphere
≠ Stands apart with horror tension, shooter and first-person shooting, while skipping visual third person
Where it drifts furthest from Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One: visuals.

✓ Both are open-world action games — sharing adventure storytelling, strong narrative focus and dark, oppressive atmosphere
≠ Its own twist: survival mechanics, shooter and first-person shooting, while skipping visual third person
Where it drifts furthest from Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One: visuals.
Complete list of dark games like Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One
The full catalog of games sharing gameplay DNA with Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One, ordered from highest to lowest similarity score. Use the filters above to narrow down by genre, setting or game mode and find the alternative that best fits your playstyle.

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days
Shooter · Third-person shooter

Gears 5
Adventure · Shooter

We Happy Few
Adventure · Survival

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Shooter · FPS

Metro Exodus
Shooter · FPS

Amnesia: The Bunker
Survival · Horror

Resident Evil Village
Survival · Horror

The Darkness II
Shooter · FPS

Hatred
Shooter · FPS

Void Bastards
Shooter · FPS

Agents of Mayhem
Shooter · Third-person shooter

Destroy All Humans!
Adventure · Shooter

Grand Theft Auto 2
Shooter · FPS

Clutch
Racing · Simulation

Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now
Racing
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