The Testament of Sherlock Holmes is less about fast movement than about slow evidence discipline. Most stalls happen because one hotspot was missed, one inventory item was not activated before clicking, or a deduction board was opened before every linked clue had been examined. This walkthrough is written for players who want a clean route through the whole case without turning the game into a sentence-by-sentence transcript.
Use it as a case order, puzzle answer, and achievement cleanup guide. It covers the Marquis tutorial, Knightsbridge murder, the three midgame leads, Farley’s office, Judge Beckett, the search for Holmes, the sawmill, the sewer section, and the fun fair finale. It also lists the important deduction conclusions, chemical analysis answers, puzzle codes, and missable-style achievements worth handling before you move too far ahead.
Spoiler warning: this guide names late-game locations, puzzle solutions, several culprits and false trails, and the final fun fair sequence.
Before You Start
The game lets you move between first person, third person, and point-and-click styles. Pick whichever feels comfortable, but keep using Holmes’ sixth sense when a room seems finished and nothing advances. The highlight is not a cheat so much as a mercy system for tiny footprints, stains, paper scraps, and floor-level marks.
- Activate inventory items before using them. If the magnifying glass, knife, map, permit, or another tool is needed, select it in inventory first so it appears as the active item.
- Green and blue inspection icons matter. Already checked magnifying-glass icons turn green; blue icons still need attention.
- Search low. Footprints, blood, dust, ash, soil, dragged objects, and marks on floors are some of the easiest clues to miss.
- Do not skip riddles if you want The Brain. The achievement is tied to solving the game’s riddles rather than bypassing them.
- Keep manual saves if your version allows it. Save before major deduction boards, the Judge safe, and the fun fair bomb puzzle so you can recover from skipped or misread steps.
Recommended Case Order
After Knightsbridge, the game opens three leads that can be handled in any order. The route below keeps the evidence logic readable and reduces backtracking between Watson, Holmes, Toby, and the map.
| Stage | Main Location | What Must Be Finished | Watch For |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marquis’ residence | Tutorial controls, stolen necklace recovery, fake necklace check. | Magnifying glass use, soot on music sheets, aquarium/fish clue, candle and floor clues. |
| 2 | Knightsbridge diocese | Bishop crime scene, first deduction board, veranda and chest evidence, poison work. | Body inspection, shoes, rope, soil, granite, chest, book lookup for pharmacy 4661. |
| 3 | Westgate, Whitechapel, Kensington | Hans Schielman, the dispensary/cemetery/Kurtz line, and the Bishop’s nephew lead. | Optional Whitechapel achievements, Toby scent route, dissection analysis. |
| 4 | Farley’s office | Clear the journalist and secretary, reconstruct the office, identify the visitor. | Burned note, moved chair, cigar, locked door trick, hidden passage. |
| 5 | Judge Beckett’s house | Enter the office, solve the fraternity door, open the colored-ball safe. | Rowlocks, Greek alphabet clue, school/fraternity documents, Watson’s escape. |
| 6 | Baker Street and Whitechapel | Search the ransacked flat, identify Holmes’ disguise, open Holmes’ case. | Four Holmes souvenirs, Beethoven code 359, key hidden in the plant soil. |
| 7 | Sawmill | Contact the anarchists, search the attic, break through the false wall. | Chest code 236, wounded man treatment, missing cog, machinery repair. |
| 8 | Sewers | Cross the sludge canal and follow the trail deeper. | Anchor, rope, long bar, bloody scarf, broken pipe clues. |
| 9 | Fun fair | Warehouse, guards, animal target box, Prince Woodville, bombs, final reservoir. | Animal order, random rope puzzle, bomb assembly, bomb deactivation, final cable car stop. |
Marquis’ Residence Tutorial
Follow the control prompts first, then start treating the music room like a real crime scene. Examine the broken showcase, the window marks, the footprints, and the fireplace area. Pick up the magnifying glass near the fireplace and activate it before using it on the music sheets. In the zoomed view, search the sheet music until Holmes identifies the sooty handprint.
Before the scene will close, check more than the obvious broken case. Inspect the fireplace, bell cord, collapsed objects, safe, candle on the carpet, aquarium and dead fish, the floor behind the screen, the central table area, and the exit doors. If the ending cutscene does not trigger, use sixth sense and sweep the room again at floor height.
Back at Baker Street, read the newspaper when prompted and examine the necklace Baynes brings. The fake details to identify are the small poor-quality pearls near the clasp, the off-color silver pearl on the lower right, and the small pearl on the lower left. Then use the London map to move toward Knightsbridge.
Knightsbridge Murder Investigation
At the Bishop’s residence, examine the corpse carefully before trusting the deduction board. You need the Bishop’s body, the condition of the hands and face, the shoes issue, signs of torture, the chest, and the trail toward the veranda. Keep using the magnifying glass around the floor and exits; this is the game’s first real test of whether you are collecting evidence or just clicking the largest objects.
The first deduction board is about the attackers and what they wanted. Use these conclusions once the linked observations are available:
| Evidence Group | Conclusion |
|---|---|
| Lack + shoes | One murderer left while wearing the Bishop’s shoes. |
| Wealth + veranda | The attackers were poor, searched for something specific, and were hired by someone else. |
| Chest + torture + penitence | The Bishop resisted torture, and the attackers did not get what they wanted. |
Once the priest leaves, use the opportunity to reach the veranda and gather the rope, soil, granite fragment, and chest-related evidence. The next board points the investigation toward a grave and a clinic. The important chain is: the rope was used from one side, the soil came from a pit, the rope lowered something into a pit, the granite came from a black-painted monument, and the combined clues point to a grave near the Whitechapel Clinic. When the book lookup asks for the pharmacy, choose 4661.
First Poison Analysis
The broken vial analysis uses color-and-stain counts. Pour the vial residue, test each liquid, then enter the counts below.
| Liquid | Observed Result |
|---|---|
| Orange | 1 brown, 2 yellow, 1 blue |
| Blue | 3 brown, 2 grey |
| Green | 2 brown, 3 grey |
| Yellow | 2 green, 1 blue |
| Raspberry | 3 brown, 3 green |
Finish the Knightsbridge board by linking the Bishop’s madness, the flask, and the poison: the Bishop was forced to drink a poison that causes madness. This unlocks the main three-lead structure: Westgate prison, Whitechapel, and Kensington.
The Three Leads
You can complete these leads in a different order, but do all three before expecting the case to move forward.
Westgate Prison and Hans Schielman
At Westgate, work through the reception area, the warden’s office, and the staff conversations until you can reach Hans Schielman. The critical prison thread is not only speaking with Schielman; it is learning about the feather and using the prison routines to access the right rooms. Check desks, door plaques, letters, and the relationship between the secretary and warden before trying to brute-force the next step.
In the dressing-room sequence, remember that some achievements are tied to optional examination. If you are aiming for a complete run, inspect containers and personal effects before rushing the main item. Finish the alarm/basement sequence to complete the prison lead.
Whitechapel, the Cemetery, and Kurtz
In Whitechapel, speak with Dr. Grant about the scalpel, then move to the cemetery evidence. This is also one of the best places to do optional achievement cleanup: talk to three irrelevant passers-by for A Very Fine Loafer, and handle the dice game for The Gambler before you leave the district behind.
The cemetery route leads to Kurtz, a shed, a grave-related discovery, and another deduction board. The first part establishes that the man fought his dogs, the dogs were poisoned, his pipe already contained opium, and the man was one of the Bishop’s murderers. The board will not finish until the dissection evidence is gathered.
During the dissection, clean and cut the body, use the rib spreader, collect the lung sample with the pipette, and remove the paper from the stomach. The second chemical analysis uses a different result set:
| Liquid | Observed Result |
|---|---|
| Orange | 1 grey, 4 blue |
| Blue | 2 brown, 5 green, 2 grey |
| Green | 4 green, 1 grey, 2 blue |
| Yellow | 2 brown, 2 grey |
| Raspberry | 1 grey |
Finish the board by concluding that the man was poisoned by an opium-and-poison mixture, the same poison used on the Bishop, and that his accomplices brought the pipe and poisoned him.
Kensington and the Bishop’s Nephew
The Kensington thread shifts into tracking. Use Toby carefully: follow the scent path, interact with objects at ground level, and do not treat the dog section as a simple cutscene. Once Holmes regains control, use the route across channels, buildings, gates, and factory paths to reach Henry. If you lose the trail, return to the last scent-confirmed object rather than wandering forward.
Farley’s Office
Farley’s office is a social puzzle before it becomes a deduction puzzle. First get Farley out, then get the secretary away so Holmes can search properly. Do not leave until you have checked the press card, cigarette case, ashtray/cigar, fireplace paper, bookcase area, chair, locked exit, files, and window line.
For the office reconstruction, choose these conclusions:
| Object | Conclusion |
|---|---|
| Cabinet file / window | The journalist looked out and saw Holmes. |
| Armchair | The journalist pushed the chair while running. |
| Exit door | The journalist closed the door and left the key in the lock. |
| Cigar | The visitor smoked and sat opposite the journalist. |
| Book | The journalist accidentally dropped it from the bookcase. |
| Fireplace | The journalist tried to burn a paper but did not fully destroy it. |
After the board, locate the hidden passage and use the remaining clues to identify the mysterious visitor. This sequence awards Freedom of the Press for entering Farley’s office and The Master of Deduction when the deduction set is complete.
Judge Beckett’s House
At Beckett’s house, treat the school materials as part of the lock. You need the Greek alphabet note, fraternity book, fraternity symbols, invitation, and symbol photo before the metal door makes sense. The secret door uses three rowlocks and the fraternity sign. The extracted source text renders the final character inconsistently, so use the in-game Greek sheet rather than relying on a plain typed symbol; the intended sign begins with N, then Z, then the pi-like character shown by the clue.
The colored-ball safe behind the door is less a code than an arrangement puzzle. The goal is to group green and red balls to the sides and blue balls in the middle, moving neighboring groups of four. Work by making stable four-of-a-kind groups instead of chasing a perfect board from the first move. Solving it unlocks Breaking the Law.
After the safe opens, Watson gets a short cleanup section. Look at the plan and leave the room, then reset the coat of arms and escape when Beckett returns.
Searching for Holmes
Back at Baker Street, the flat has been ransacked. Search it like a new crime scene: documents, personal effects, signs of disguise, the bowl, soil, and Holmes’ room all matter. For The Holmesian, find the four souvenirs from previous Holmes adventures while Watson has access to Holmes’ bedroom.
The locked case on the sofa needs both a key and a musical cipher. Use the pipe/glasses idea to connect the clue to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, then clean the stained score with reagent, water, and blotting paper. The case code is 359. The key is hidden in the plant soil. Opening the case gives the train ticket that moves the search toward the sawmill.
Sawmill and Attic
At the sawmill, begin by learning enough about the anarchists to enter the attic line. The attic false wall is a multi-step machinery puzzle, not just a place to click. Search for tools, check the broken floorboard, damage the false wall, and repair the mechanism.
The chest near the chimney uses the flour clue. Brush flour over the numbered buttons; the sequence is 236. Inside are bomb-making materials. Treat the wounded man with hydrogen peroxide, bandage, and vodka, then use the information you gain to find the missing cog under the logs near the chimney. Pass it through the hatch so Holmes can finish the mechanism and expose the hidden route.
Sewer Investigation
Watson’s sewer section is a navigation and item-use sequence. At Baker Street, collect the needed clues, then in the sewer use the anchor, rope, and long iron bar to cross the sludge canal and secure the way forward. Follow the bloody scarf and metal fragments deeper instead of trying every tunnel blindly. The section ends once Watson pushes far enough into the trap line and the story regroups.
Fun Fair Finale
The fun fair is the longest endgame chain, and it is easy to lose track of the current objective. Think of it as five linked problems: enter the compound, understand the warehouse, remove guards, expose the bomb plan, and stop the poisoned soup plot.
Target Gallery Animal Box
In the wild animal target range, collect the missing targets, read both clue pages, and arrange the figures in this order:
| Position | Animal | Facing / Height |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chimpanzee | Faces right; lower it as a dead animal. |
| 2 | Vulture | Faces right. |
| 3 | Giraffe | Faces right. |
| 4 | Hare | Faces left; lower it as a dead animal. |
| 5 | Hyena | Faces right; lower it as a dead animal. |
| 6 | Elephant | Faces right, between the predators. |
| 7 | Lion | Faces left. |
| 8 | Gazelle | Faces left; lower it as a dead animal. |
This opens the secret box and unlocks Laws of Nature. Keep the banknotes and continue toward the guard and anarchist chain.
Prince Woodville and the Anarchists
Prince Woodville’s conversation ends the same way regardless of how you frame Moriarty. Use the backstage curtain mechanism to drop the curtain. The rope puzzle can vary, so the reliable rule is to move tangled red ropes until every rope is grey. Pull the lever afterward to remove Woodville and unlock Stage Manager. Before leaving, collect the ring and inspect the mannequin/bag for magician’s powder. If you want Attention to Detail, be thorough with the magician costume inspection.
To provoke the anarchists, use their interest in the newspaper and keep the conversation moving until Watson can identify the plan. This is where Anarchy in the UK belongs if you are clearing achievements.
Bomb Workshop and Bomb Deactivation
In the workshop, fold the bomb scheme along the marked lines until it becomes readable. Gather the missing components, then assemble the practice bomb in the numbered order shown by the diagram: dynamite in the middle, part 2, part 3, radio set, watch, wire, bottle, and crank. Turn the crank and take the completed bomb.
The planted-bomb panel is a color logic puzzle. The central balls cycle through colors, and each color lights different outside balls. The goal is to end with four green, four yellow, four red, and four blue balls inside while keeping the required outside lights on. Work slowly from the outside lights you already have; do not make a move that turns off a solved exterior light unless you know exactly why. Completing it unlocks Minesweeper, and if you have solved every riddle without skipping, The Brain should also unlock here.
Final Cable Car and Reservoir
After the bombs, the route pushes Holmes and Watson toward the cable car and the final factory/reservoir stop. When the cable car fails, use the bucket, bomb, and leather belt on the line, then open the emergency panel with the knife and use the manual lever. This awards Bomb Defuser. Continue through the shooting gallery and haunted house route, then finish the poisoned soup plot and enter the final room to complete the story and unlock The Legacy.
Important Puzzle Answers
| Puzzle | Answer / Goal | Where It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Whitechapel pharmacy | 4661 | After the Knightsbridge rope/soil/grave deduction. |
| Holmes’ locked case | 359 | Searching for Holmes; clean the Beethoven score and find the plant key. |
| Sawmill flour chest | 236 | Brush flour over the numbered buttons near the chimney. |
| Judge secret door | N, Z, pi-like final sign | Use the Greek alphabet and fraternity documents to set the rowlocks. |
| Fun fair animal box | Chimpanzee, vulture, giraffe, hare, hyena, elephant, lion, gazelle | Adjust facing and lower the dead animals as listed above. |
| Bomb assembly | Dynamite, part 2, part 3, radio, watch, wire, bottle, crank | Bomb-makers’ workshop in the fun fair finale. |
Additional Puzzle Stalls
The added puzzle references are most useful for the smaller locks and “why will this not trigger” moments. If the main route above is clear but a room refuses to advance, check the table below before assuming the game has bugged out.
| Puzzle / Scene | What to Do | Common Blocker |
|---|---|---|
| Bishop’s chest | Collect all seven sticks/pegs, including the ones on the veranda, then place them so none attacks another like a chess piece before turning the handle. | Missing the veranda peg or trying to solve the board with fewer than seven pieces. |
| Hans Schielman’s lockbox | Use the blotting paper over the poem, enlarge the pinholes with the knife, then read the revealed element symbols: H, Ca, Br, S. | Looking at the period table first and missing the paper overlay step. |
| Lady Beckett’s travel box | Use the photo clues: London is 10, Bombay is 18. | Entering one city correctly but forgetting the box needs both marked locations. |
| Greek chalkboard | After inspecting the stuck screws, fetch olive oil from the kitchen, oil both screws, then rotate the board to reveal the Greek alphabet clue. | Trying to collect the oil before the chalkboard has made it relevant. |
| Classroom desk puzzle | Use the plan, age-color zones, row-leader flags, jobs, and name-tag hints to identify James’ desk, then recover the cupboard handle. | Placing names by guesswork instead of treating the flags and classroom jobs as fixed anchors. |
| Three disguises | Build the priest, clerk, and captain outfits, then assign the envelopes. The priest takes the brown-stamp envelope, the captain takes the red-stamp envelope, and the ink-stained trousers identify the clerk set. | Leaving the hats alone but not swapping the wrong jacket/trousers pieces first. |
| Sewer grate clock | Use the bloody scarf to clean the panel, then solve the three ball routes. Route 1: right, down, right, up, left, up, left, down, right, down. Route 2: up, right, down, left, up, left, down, left, up, right, up, left, down, left, up. Route 3: right, down, right, up, right, down, left, up, left, down, right, down, left, up, right, up, left, down, right. | Skipping the scarf/iron setup and never opening the playable lock panel. |
| Anarchist bomb-place note | Use the Russian-English dictionary to identify the targets as House of Commons, Scotland Yard, Buckingham Palace, and Bank of England. | Reading the note but not using the alphabet tabs in the dictionary. |
| Fun fair guard trap | Use the Freak Show key from the Martha poster, make noise with the bottles, lock the guard inside, then use the crank, hook, rope, and outside bar to clear the route. | Finding the guard but not searching the poster arm for Martha’s key. |
Achievement Cleanup
Steam metadata lists 32 achievements. Many are story-driven, but several can be missed or delayed if you rush optional interactions. Use this table before leaving each major region.
| Achievement | When to Do It | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Pea-Souper | Any early investigation | Use Holmes’ sixth sense 15 times. Do it naturally while searching rooms. |
| A Very Fine Loafer | Whitechapel | Talk to three irrelevant passers-by while Holmes or Watson can explore the district. |
| The Gambler | Whitechapel | Win the dice game before moving too far past the district sequence. |
| The Blackmailer | Knightsbridge, cemetery, Whitechapel hideout | Use all three blackmail opportunities: the priest, the cemetery children, and Danny. |
| The Holmesian | Searching for Holmes | Find four souvenirs from earlier Holmes adventures in Holmes’ bedroom. |
| Melomania | Holmes’ case | Decode the Beethoven score and reveal the 359 case code. |
| Attention to Detail | Fun fair | Inspect the magician costume thoroughly and identify all required details. |
| Anarchy in the UK | Fun fair anarchists | Provoke the anarchists into talking by exploiting their interest in the newspaper. |
| The Brain | Late fun fair bomb puzzle | Solve every riddle in the game without skipping. If you skipped one earlier, this is the achievement most likely to fail. |
Video Reference
The video below was verified through YouTube oEmbed as The Testament of Sherlock Holmes | Full Game Walkthrough | HD 60FPS | No Commentary by The Game Enchanter. Use it for visual confirmation if a navigation step is hard to recognize from text alone.
Final Cleanup Checklist
- Make sure all 32 Steam achievements are accounted for, especially The Brain, The Blackmailer, The Holmesian, Attention to Detail, and the Whitechapel optional achievements.
- If a deduction board will not accept a conclusion, leave the board and inspect the current scene again. A missing document or floor mark is more likely than a wrong theory.
- If an inventory item does nothing, select it first, close inventory, then click the target object again.
- If the fun fair bomb puzzle becomes messy, reload your pre-puzzle save and solve from the outside lights inward.
- If you are replaying for achievements, do not skip puzzles and do not rush past optional social interactions in Whitechapel, the cemetery, Holmes’ bedroom, or the fun fair.
Sources and Credits
Official metadata and screenshots are from the Steam store page and Steam appdetails for The Testament of Sherlock Holmes. Developer/publisher credit: Frogwares. The embedded video is the verified YouTube walkthrough by The Game Enchanter. Community walkthrough and hint references were used to cross-check puzzle order, route structure, and achievement cleanup.