I love being able to come to you with something completely and utterly gorgeous, uplifting, and entertaining. The Beekeeperās Picnic, a Sherlock Holmes point-and-click adventure, gives us a few hours in the post-retirement life of the great detective, and the opportunity to shape his relationship with an elderly Watson. Itās an uplifting, gentle tale, packed with superbly informed references to Arthur Conan Doyleās fiction, delivered with a bucolic charm.
Beginning during the conclusion of The Adventure of the Three Garridebs, in which Watson is superficially wounded by a gunshot, we are soon in the famous rooms at 22B Baker Street, with Holmes trying to find the right words to tell Watson something important. In a densely packed room filled with objects to look at, use, pick up, and even talk to, the opening moments are all about procrastination, Holmes resorting to habit, deducing banalities as he delays informing Watson of his intention to retire.
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As Holmes fans will know, the detective intends to move to the Sussex countryside and keep bees. Thatās something Doyle wrote about in The Adventure of the Lionās Mane, one of only two stories narrated by Holmes himself, and not featuring Watson at all. This isnāt the last Holmes story however, with His Last Bow telling of Holmes and Watsonās spy-based adventures at the beginning of the First World War, but it suggests how Holmes intends to spend the remainder of his life. Enter The Beekeeperās Picnic
Itās now 1918 and Watson has just returned from the war, where he was serving as a medic on the front lines. Holmes is implied to have continued his work for the British government throughout the Great War, but is now back in his retirement village of Fulworth. He lives with his new housekeeper, the rather fearsome Martha, in the tiny town filled with recognizable references to The Lionās Mane, like local school The Gables and its headmaster, the affable Harold Stackhurst. Watson has come to stay, and Holmes is greatly relieved to see him. In the years that have passed, as Holmes has aged, heās begun to regret more and more how he treated Watson throughout their lives, and he seems determined to make efforts to put this right. Primary among them on this day is to organize Watson a picnic, so the two can enjoy some quiet, comfortable time together.
To achieve this, Holmes needs to do all sorts of point-and-click adventure things, like win the best honey contest at the village fete, and find a missing cat in pursuit of some elderflower cordial. Holmes also has his ābrain-attic,ā where he can pair deductions together on an imagined blackboard, and muse on all the characters in his lives. And as he does, he inevitably stumbles upon a little case: the disappearance of some valuable taxidermized animals from a London museum seems to have some ties to events in the village. Whatās so joyful here is that all these puzzles, no matter how contrived they may sound, are all entirely focused on relationships with people. This is a Holmes for whom the feelings of others have finally become relevant, and while heās unquestionably the same incorrigible master detective, he would rather focus his efforts toward supporting the impetuous actions of children than catching nefarious criminals.
In fact, should you choose, you can invite Watson to the picnic at the very beginning of the main game, and ignore everything else. It wonāt go wellāthe beach below will be unpleasantly noisy, with the crowds gathered to see the purported āmermaidā a shyster claims to have discovered, and there wonāt be any food or drink, but the credits will still roll. You can also focus entirely on the picnic, ignoring the various other little stories there are to discover, and it will go to planā¦itās just that Watson wonāt praise you for all the differences you made to people you encountered, some of which can be quite moving.
What Iām skirting around here, as does Holmes, is the nature of the relationship between the pair. While people have shipped Holmes and Watson forever, Iāve so often found this crude, and to miss so much of the point. More than anything else, it fails to recognize Holmes as a man entirely incapable of sustaining a meaningful relationship with anyone at all, such is the nature of his pathology and self-interest. The Beekeeperās Picnic, however, earns the right to probe this territory and suggest that things may have changed, given the many years that have now passed, the effects of the war on both men, and the results of Holmesā years spent in quiet reflection.
Choosing to start with the denouement of The Three Garridebs is incredibly smart, because itās really the first time Doyle allowed Holmes to soften enough that Watson would be able to perceive some depth of feeling, before Holmes resets to form in the next story. Facing off against Killer Evans, Watson is shot, and Holmes immediately thumps Evans on the head with his pistol. Holmes checks Evansā body for more weapons, then guides Watson to a chair while exclaiming,
āYouāre not hurt, Watson? For Godās sake, say that you are not hurt!ā
Watsonās narration then continues,
It was worth a woundāit was worth many woundsāto know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain. All my years of humble but single-minded service culminated in that moment of revelation.
Itās within this framing that the game is set, with Holmesā love for Watson an unanswered question. Even at the start, when Holmes is trying to find the way to tell Watson he intends to retire, the scene burns with a deeper burden he wishes he could share. Itās made very clear once weāre in 1918 that Holmes deeply regrets not saying more, and sees the picnic as a chance to make that right. But, crucially, what that love and relationship looks like is not determined by this narrativeāit is up to you, and how you see their connection, and in the gameās final moments thereās no forced imposition of romance. Iāll leave you to discover all the possibilities.
What results is a deeply humble love story, and the nature of that love, whether agape, eros or phllia, is your choice, and really not more important than the existence of that love in any form.
It certainly helps that the performances here are extraordinary. British actors James Quinn and Andrew James Spooner play Holmes and Watson respectively, both with an incredible calm and gentleness. Both characters have been rendered by popular culture as such caricatures that theyāre often portrayed as gurning eccentrics, but not here at all. Both are restrained, their performances tinged with a melancholy, and helped greatly because for once a game has cast older actors to play older characters.
Theyāre not alone. I am astonished by the cast here, given this is an obscure indie adventure drawn in (beautiful, superbly animated) crude pixel graphics, that has not received a single review from the gaming press. Mycroft, who appears as the greatest in-game hint system in gaming history (you can telephone him at the Diogenes for a conversation, and ask for his thoughts on unfinished matters) is played by Game of Thronesā Maester Wolkan, Richard Rycroft. One minor character, Mrs. Whitlock, is voiced by Alison Skillbeck, an actor with credits going back to 1976, most recently appearing in The Crown. Enormous credit must go to Wooden Overcoatsā Felix Trench, who plays the gameās most poignant character in a side-story that can be completely missed, but which is heartbreaking and can end beautifully.
This game is such a total delight. Itās warm, meaningful, and packed with whimsy. (Toby III, Holmesā new pet dog, can talk, although of course no humans can understand him. A stuffed bear in the background of one small scene can be talked to, too, for a lovely little extra.) Exploring the love between Holmes and Watson could have been so clumsy, but not a foot is put wrong, and the result is so heartwarming and truthful.
I donāt know how this game came to exist, nor how it has gone so completely under the radar. This is, improbably, primarily the work of one personāHelen Greetham. She has written, programmed, and drawn the entire game, and I think legitimately added to the Holmesian canon in a way so much of the post-copyright contributions fail to achieve. This is my perfect ending to the tales of Holmes and Watson, and Iām so delighted to have played it.
You can buy The Beekeeperās Picnic from Itch or Steam for $14.
