Shadows of Doubt by ColePowered Games is a revolutionary game that merges elements of simulation, mystery, and cyberpunk aesthetics. Set in a fully simulated, procedurally generated city, the game places players in the shoes of a private investigator tasked with solving crimes in a sprawling noir metropolis. Combining sandbox gameplay with intricate detective mechanics, Shadows of Doubt stands as one of the most ambitious games in recent years. This review explores every feature in detail to uncover what makes this game a standout experience in its genre.
Overview of Shadows of Doubt
At its core, Shadows of Doubt is a detective simulation game where the player investigates crimes ranging from petty theft to gruesome murders. What sets it apart is its procedurally generated environment, ensuring that every city, citizen, and case is unique. The game unfolds in a cyberpunk-inspired world, filled with neon lights, gritty back alleys, and morally ambiguous characters.
Developer: ColePowered Games
Genre: Detective Simulation, Sandbox
Platforms: PC (Windows)
Release Date: April 2023 (Early Access)
From the moment you step into this world, the immersive atmosphere is palpable. The city is alive, teeming with citizens who have their own routines, jobs, and secrets, creating an unparalleled sense of realism.
Key Features of Shadows of Doubt
1. Procedural Generation
The game’s standout feature is its procedurally generated cities. Each playthrough offers a completely new metropolis, complete with unique architecture, NPCs, and crime cases. This dynamic generation ensures that no two playthroughs are alike.
Unique City Layouts: Streets, buildings, and interiors are randomly generated, offering endless replayability.
NPC Details: Every citizen has a job, daily routine, relationships, and even personal secrets.
Adaptive Gameplay: The procedural system tailors cases to the city’s layout and its inhabitants, creating a cohesive experience.
2. Deep Detective Mechanics
Being a detective in Shadows of Doubt isn’t just about piecing clues together; it’s about how you gather those clues. The game offers a range of tools and methods to solve crimes:
Evidence Collection: Fingerprints, footprints, security camera footage, and personal items can all be collected to build a case.
Infiltration and Espionage: Break into homes, offices, and secure facilities to uncover hidden clues.
Interrogation: Question NPCs to gather information, though their cooperation depends on your approach.
Caseboard System: A visual representation of your investigation, where you connect clues, suspects, and evidence.
This meticulous attention to detail ensures players feel like real detectives.
3. Open-Ended Gameplay
There is no “right” way to solve a case in Shadows of Doubt. The sandbox nature of the game allows players to approach investigations however they see fit.
Freedom of Choice: Sneak into a suspect’s apartment or bribe someone for information—the choice is yours.
Multiple Solutions: Cases can be solved using different methods, whether through brute force, careful deduction, or technological hacks.
No Handholding: The game provides minimal guidance, encouraging players to think critically.
4. Immersive Cyberpunk World
The cyberpunk setting adds a layer of intrigue to the game. The world is a blend of retro-futurism and noir aesthetics, characterized by:
Neon-Drenched Streets: A stark contrast between vibrant neon lights and the grimy underbelly of the city.
Complex NPCs: From corrupt officials to desperate citizens, every character has a role in the city’s ecosystem.
Moral Ambiguity: As a private investigator, you’re often faced with tough choices that test your ethics.
5. Replayability
The procedural generation and sandbox gameplay provide endless replayability. Each playthrough feels fresh, whether due to the unique city layouts, different NPC interactions, or new cases.
Gameplay Experience
Investigation Process
Every case begins with a crime scene. Your goal is to analyze the scene, gather evidence, and identify suspects. The caseboard becomes your best friend, allowing you to visualize connections between evidence, locations, and individuals. The thrill of piecing everything together feels immensely rewarding.
Infiltration and Exploration
Breaking into buildings is a core part of the gameplay. You’ll need to disable security systems, pick locks, and evade guards to uncover crucial evidence. This aspect of the game is reminiscent of immersive sims like Deus Ex or Dishonored, adding an exciting layer of tension.
Dynamic NPC Behavior
The citizens of the city follow their routines, making the world feel alive. However, their behavior isn’t static; they react to your actions. For example, if you’re caught breaking into someone’s home, they may become suspicious and even report you to the authorities.
Combat and Survival
While combat isn’t the primary focus, it’s present when situations escalate. You can use weapons or improvised tools, but stealth is usually a safer option. Balancing aggression with caution is key to surviving the city’s dangers.
Graphics and Sound Design
The voxel art style might seem simplistic, but it perfectly complements the game’s noir atmosphere. Shadows, lighting, and environmental details create a sense of tension and immersion. The sound design is equally impressive, featuring:
Ambient Tracks: Subtle background music that sets the tone.
Realistic Sound Effects: From footsteps to breaking glass, every sound enhances the experience.
Voice Acting: While minimal, it adds personality to key characters.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Unparalleled Freedom: Approach cases however you want, with no strict guidelines.
Highly Replayable: Procedurally generated cities and cases ensure every playthrough is unique.
Deep Detective Mechanics: The attention to detail in evidence gathering and clue analysis is unmatched.
Immersive Atmosphere: The cyberpunk world is rich and engaging.
Dynamic NPCs: A living, breathing city that reacts to your actions.
Cons
Steep Learning Curve: The lack of guidance can be overwhelming for newcomers.
Repetitive Tasks: Some mechanics, like breaking into buildings, can feel repetitive over time.
Performance Issues: Large, procedurally generated cities can strain lower-end systems.
Limited Combat: While functional, combat lacks depth compared to other aspects of the game.
Final Verdict
Shadows of Doubt is a groundbreaking game that pushes the boundaries of what detective simulations can achieve. Its procedurally generated cities, intricate detective mechanics, and immersive cyberpunk world make it a must-play for fans of mystery and sandbox games. While it’s not without its flaws, the sheer ambition of the project outweighs its shortcomings.
Whether you’re a seasoned detective or a newcomer to the genre, Shadows of Doubt offers an experience unlike any other. Its blend of freedom, challenge, and immersion ensures that you’ll be hooked from the very first case.
Good game, but it is far from finished, and it seems like the dev team has given up on adding anything substantial. If they add steam workshop support I may change my review
Cool concept, but it's incredibly unfinished.For one, the polish just isn't there at all. The general movement and world and stuff (dunno the word) just don't feel immersive and smooth, even for an indie game. The lighting is also atrocious, I understand it's a part of the vibe, but it's just bad design. If there's something in the corner, that corner should never be pitch black, end of story. And small objects like the paperclips in the tutorial are really hard to spot too, 2/3 of the tutorial ones I had to rely on the hint that showed up to point me to them. It's absolutely possible to make an effectively lit environment without taking away from the ambiance.And I get that it's an indie game and all, but the depth is sorely lacking, an immersive sim seriously shouldn't be like this at all. You can't even kill people. I mean, I get that it's a game about solving murders not committing them, but stabbing someone out of necessity and them suddenly getting back up like nothing happened a few minutes later- that isn't very immersive. Lock picking is incredibly disappointing too, you use it for way too many things (including sabotaging security cameras, which makes zero sense), and the mechanic is literally just watching a progress bar as it depletes your lock pick count.
this game lets me be my true self; a homeless schizophrenic who beats people to (NEAR) death, rob them of there money and house key, go into there house, drink there beer and when they come back in i run out the window after shooting them a min of 5 times
To say this game is addictive is an understatement, but let me tell you about a case.It was early morning, about 1 am when I hear the call from my police signal scanner. Kidnapping case at a apartment complex next door to my picturesque basement room in the hotel I'm living at. I slither into an air vent and make my way to the victim's apartment. I gracefully fall from the ceiling air duct of the apartment and introduce my face to the kitchen counter top. There's a ransom note next to my embedded front teeth. "You have 6 hours to leave 5000 crows in a briefcase at the basement of the bisque building."On the victim's desk, I find a note, "meet me at Harry's Ramen at 11:30pm" dated to yesterday night. I could break into the camera room of the ramen shop and find the face of the perp and work from there to find their current whereabouts. Alternatively, I can get creative. I waddle to the police hardware vending machine in town hall and order 2 pairs of handcuffs, 2 stun grenades, and an empty briefcase.I plant the grenade, followed by another grenade, with the briefcase on top of my improvised enforcement device. One grenade for the kidnapper, and one for whoever runs to their aide, as clearly they would be an accomplice. I call the number at the bottom of the ransom note and take my place hiding in the closet of the basement room. I hear the door creak open followed by the detonation of the stun grenade, "AH-HA!" I yell as I put them in handcuffs. I then hear the beep of the second stun grenade from behind me. Suddenly, I am laying on the floor next to the perp, my vision in monotone. Truly, my intelligence is astounding.After an intense interrogation where I pay the perp 50 crows, I find the victim, with 2 hours left on the timer. The victim refuses to talk to me after freeing her, and she runs away into the early morning. I receive my pay from the city police and crawl home where I fall asleep in my pile of stolen hearing aids and wedding rings. I am the hero this city needs, but doesn't deserve.Play this game.
Dog carcass in alley this morning, tire tread on burst stomach. This city is afraid of me. I have seen it's true face. The streets are extended gutters and the gutters are full of blood and when the drains finally scab over, all the vermin will drown. The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout "Save us!"......and I'll look down, and whisper "no."
This is a really good game, I played a good many hours with my partner having fun solving crimes and mysteries in a sandbox world. Don't listen to the negative reviews, these are just people who will never be satisfied unless the game matches their own unrealistic ideas of what the game should have. It's always easier to dole out criticism instead of spending years of your own life developing highly complicated systems for a game.
Set in an industrialised, cyberpunk-ish 1980s city, you are a Private Investigator investigating murders. When you first generate your city, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by how alive everything is. There are tall and cramped apartment complex and offices, restaurants, cafes, a city hall and other establishments you would expect to find in a city. Most apartments have occupants who all have jobs in buildings that you can visit, along with motivations and personalities that matter for the murders being committed.You receive alerts or request to investigate murders using tools, pinboards, logic, interrogations or sneaking into areas you’re not meant to be in. This includes lock-picking, exploring computers and CCTV footage, all of which can be a crime in itself which will have you being arrested or attacked if you’re caught.The world also reacts to your investigations, the timing of where you go when can affect how the culprit might behave (or at least that’s how it felt when I played through a few investigations).The only downside is that after a few investigations, you start to recognise the patterns of how crimes are being committed and the ways to investigate them. One potential solution for this would be to introduce other forms of crimes to change it up a bit, but this could be a lot of work, so maybe something for Fireshine’s next game or a DLC.
While it is a very cool concept I can't recommend it because it is too janky and honestly bare in its current state. Shouldn't of been fully released when it was.What kills it for me is the social aspect. None of the NPCs feel real at all, they all say the same basic lines and its like talking to a brick wall, you can't reason/bargain/pick their brains or anything. No one's gonna try and give you any resistance, no one's gonna try to help you on your journey. It very quickly reminds you that you are just a player in sandbox despite all the people.As well, there is a limited number of types of murders which makes finishing the game boring and repetitive. Once you've completed a specific murder type you already know what to expect, as nothing really changes between those murders expect the names of the people involved (of which there's never more than the murderer and murdered). And accessing information is easy as the info is almost handed to you in most cases, and when you get the information it is always a mad-libbed email or letter or whatnot. The complete lack of nuance feels very restricting, like you are on rails the whole time and can't explore motives or anything else.There isn't really a story worth talking about in any of this, but that's the nature of having a procedurally generated world. You can't mold your own story as a detective, your notoriety means nothing apart from being a number that goes up. I would hope that one day it will be possible to experience a story where you can interact with different characters and change how everyone sees you based on your actions but this game must already be such a complex game to program that I doubt there's room for that.And just as an aside because I mentioned it at the start, this game is kinda janky. Never is it really anything game breaking but it is enough to cause frustrations (like bad collisions, clumsy AI, etc.)All that being said, it did capture me for most of my first playthrough. It is not something I will be returning to, not for a while at least. The technology is a great look at what could be possible but right now it isn't sufficient enough to be captivating for most people.
Fun game, content is very repeatable.
There is a bit of a learning curve which i enjoy, also you can work contracts which is a nice for learning the game.
I've had my eye on this game for awhile, and now that's out of early access I thought I would finally give it a try. I'm huge immersive sim fan and the premise sounds very cool, but ultimately I came away disappointed. The minute to minute gameplay is actually pretty boring. And while there are immersive sim elements... I don't think I would call this a full immersive sim. Procedural generation has the potential to be great, but unfortunately it just feels repetitive in this game.It's still an incredibly cool concept, and I think the developer has accomplished a lot. However, it feels more like a proof of concept or a really polished demo instead of a fully fledged released title.
I'm disappointed in this game, because it could have been much more if they focused on the emergent gameplay rather than the map generation and all the bugs that introduces. It's a fun enough game, but gets repetitive because sections of it feel very scripted, like you're being handed a bone and can always expect to solve a murder case rather than it going cold simply because they keep killing and giving more hints, or calling a phone booth near you (somehow they know your exact location?) to hire you to hide the recent body, thus leaving a phone call trail.I still recommend it, just with caveats that you're going to notice issues like this constantly, like it's still in early access.
As a kid, I loved Dick Tracy. Never one for monster trucks, and having just come out of my dinosaur phase, I landed on the hard-boiled detective archetype, steeped in camp and atmosphere. It never really left me, with things like L.A. Confidential, Max Payne, True Detective, L.A. Noire, and the works of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler scratching the itch for time, place, or feel, but never fully recapturing the feeling of pretending that [i]I[/i] was the detective in that story, as I did when I was a kid. Scratching that same itch is why I gave this game a try, following high praise from friends and reviewers alike.Neo-noir and tech-noir are effective vessels for social commentary and storytelling in the modern era, and so few games have done anything like this that I jumped at the chance to put on the coat and hat and bring justice to the city. I am glad I waited on a sale for it, but more on that later.The good up front: I honestly had a wonderful time in my 18-ish hour playthrough to completion. It was an experience, within the genre, that only a video game could provide. I truly [i]was[/i] the Continental Op, in a way that a book told from the first person simply cannot do, and how a game like Max Payne, which pays homage to these tales but is nonetheless about someone else, can't quite match. There's a kind of magic sauce in that.The other wonderful, noteworthy, fascinating part of the game is how you are a nobody; a cog in the machine. No one cares about you, the justice you do, or the means by which you mete out that justice. Everyone has their head down, ignoring the waist-deep rot and decay in which they walk as they go to their dead-end jobs with little hope of honest advancement and no hope of retirement. You must, therefore, do this job solely because it’s the right thing to do—and because it’s your only way to avoid a life like theirs, earning a retirement to The Fields (which may or may not be a euphemism for 'putting you out to pasture' when you’ve outlived your usefulness). Ultimately, everyone in the city has their own lives, complete with identity, bioinformation, relationships, jobs, apartments, partners, finances, and grudges. Far from feeling like any kind of central character, you are merely an interloper; not even the proper police force (such as they are) likes you all that much. It makes the game feel vast, lived-in, and broad in potential.But scope is ultimately where the bad comes in. As with most procedural games, everything starts to seem 'samey' after a while, and this is not helped by the lack of diversity in main missions. By your third case, you’re already starting to see recurrent clues—the same people, the same businesses, the same apartments. It’s a vast, open world of possibilities, but the six-square-block maximum in extra-large maps (small maps have only a couple of square blocks and a couple dozen residents) takes that boundlessness and clamps down hard, making everything seem small and fenced in.The lack of crime variety is another seriously weak point in the game design, with only murders being represented and no way or place for clients to come to you with their problems. Think of every famous work in noir—a missing sibling, a stolen heirloom, a shake-up with organized crime—and realize none of that is represented here. You wait for a call on the police scanner—sometimes waiting days for a new case—and it’s another stiff in another flat, another gunshot wound from another knife or .38. The job boards offer some relief from this monotony, but almost every side job I took on was broken in some way and either couldn’t be completed or was so bugged it had resolved itself before I arrived.In current year, creators of procedurally generated games have to put emphasis into making things feel 'not-samey,' and that was not the case here. The 20 hours I put into one game nears the limit, after which you would have about 40% of the entire population’s vital records on file, and there isn’t a whole lot of sleuthing to do. I solved my last crime upon arriving at the scene of it, when I picked up the perp’s fingerprint on the vic—one I already had on file attached to a name. And that’s about when I decided to retire to The Fields for that seed.Still, this is a case of the positive greatly outweighing the negative. This is a story that can only be told in this way, and any fan of noir and its various sub-genres has to try this game. Twenty hours is still a good chunk of time for not a lot of money, but as you approach retirement, you’ll likely feel the same about the title: that there’s just so much more that could have been here—so much variety that could be added in the setting, the people, the crimes they do, and the way they speak to you—that disappointment is the flavor that lingers longest, and that is a shame for such a novel concept.
Very immersive, very promissing, very fun! The game has the vibes and mood to sink you into it's vast sea of crimes, suspects and locations. Spent already a couple of hours in it and i never played anything like it. That said, the game has it's limitations and the dev, it seems, won't add "bigger things" to the game, altho it still receives attention and has upcoming (small) features.
Really love it, i hope this game expands, as you play it, you can see some cracks, i really hope it goes beyond what it is now, because i love it.
It has is bugs but its a new game, and its fun. Very immersive detective game. You can solve cases, take side jobs, buy apartments, and interact with almost every object in the game. Very fun.
I don't like that you have to commit crimes to solve the crimes... things like trespassing, etc. I think it would have been better if you were a cop or working for the cops, and had the right to question suspects, take fingerprints, and process the crime scene legitimately. The game has a lot of potential, but that just ruined it for me.
Tried the latest update - character spawns into a wall when trying to start a new game, couldn't progress because of that.This clearly has a lot bugs left to be fixed.
Shadow of Doubt's premise - procedurally generated murders - sounds too good to be true, and it is. Like any game that relies heavily on procedural generation, SoD is in a race against human pattern recognition. The first few mysteries are incredibly cool, as you scan for fingerprints, break into phone routers for call logs, scrub through security cam footage, and record all your findings on a sprawling murder board. The level of detail in the sim is impressive.Quickly, though, you work out the patterns for solving each type of case, and the game becomes stale.The best moments in Shadows of Doubt are those where you earnestly use your own reasoning to draw conclusions about a case. The worst moments in the game are when you hit a wall, and aren't sure whether you're missing a critical clue, blocked by a bug, or are just attributing too much trust in the sim's fidelity.Overall, Shadows of Doubt is a game that is often either irritating or deeply compelling, (rarely anything in between). The game is most fun if you do a bit of roleplaying, leaning into the noir setting by grabbing a drink at a bar while you read the newspaper for clues to your latest case.
