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.
Peak, needs more dynamic and randomised motives, clues etc. After a certain amount of time you've seen every clue and realise there's only about 4 motives for a killer. I think the game is excellent but it definitely needs just a few more variables to make the world feel more real. Walking around the cities and interacting with people feels excellent and doesn't ever really break immersion. I just think there needs to be more possible avenues for a killer to take, for example, them returning to the scene of the crime, stalking you (the detective), kills outside of apartments, kills made to look like accidents. I also think it should be possible for the killer to be the spouse of the victim, neighbour, landlord or anything else. The gameplay loop is engaging and the gathering of clues and actually having to use your brain is very fun, i would just like more complex or at least more events that can happen in the game to help replayability. The addition of random events such as parties, break ins etc could help provide extra difficulties to investigations by giving red herrings to follow. I think the use of objects or environmental clues would also keep cases refreshing, as the game reaches a certain point where you speedrun rooms looking for personal details and prints and leave without having to actually think about the environment. I do understand that the procedural generation of the world and cases makes this more difficult, but this game is the best detective simulator on the market and i would be more than willing to pay for dlcs or donate to fund continued development. This is still one of my favourite games at the moment though. Peak
Shadows of Doubt provides a somewhat messy but fundamentally engaging experience. What sets this game apart from many other detective games is the variety of options created by its simulation. When a crime occurs, the game simulates all steps of it to make the evidence you can use to solve it. This gives the game a fantastic sense of logic, and the player is often rewarded for thinking laterally. Since the mysteries are newly generated each playthrough this game is much more replayable than other games of its type. The atmosphere is also well crafted, with many little things adding to the "detective" feel. I haven't played a game that fulfills the detective fantasy better than this one.This doesn't come without cost though. This game often bugs out, which can break immersion easily. The mysteries are very satisfying in a gameplay sense, but since they are randomly generated there isn't a real narrative to them. Motives are one-note, there are no red herrings, etc. The number of different crimes and viable evidence could be expanded, and some evidence works too consistently.Despite it's flaws, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game, and am excited to see what the developers are doing next.
Shadows of Doubt is an amazing atmospheric detective sandbox. That whole noir vibe. Good sleuthing.
Smoke a cigarette while you go over your clues and leads while the jukebox plays in the background. Breaking into someone's apartment based on a hunch. Waiting outside all morning so you can tail them and find out where they work. Stopping random people in the street to ask if they know the person in this photo. It's such a vibe.
Why am I able to pick up or inspect random items like soap or other objects that have zero relevance to the investigation? I really don’t like that. In a detective game, it makes sense to search trash cans, cabinets, washing machines, etc., even if you find nothing, because at least you searched a place where a clue could realistically be. But when the game lets you interact with completely irrelevant objects, it just feels pointless. It doesn’t add immersion, it only distracts from the actual investigation.
setting down a garbage can damage the voxels on the floor and count as vandalism, which apparently instantly aggros every citizen in the building. "sandbox" and you instantly get punished for the most mundane action being counted as a crime for no reason at all.genuinely insulting to ask for labor of love when shit like this happens every 5 minutes
Truly a one of a kind game, incredibly fun and engaging. Very easy to get wrapped up into a murder investigation. Highly recommend getting If you enjoyed L.A. Noire.
I haven't been this happy playing a game in a long time, once you get a dead end case and you feel all you're options are dead, but somehow something so small happens and you finally solve it. by a mere mistake from the killer...
Im not a fan of the stealth aspect of it, I dont find it hard as i figured most of the basics out but I think it would be better if that was a seperate mode like (rouge detective) or something and the main game you work for the police, it doesnt make sense that you can get cases and hand in cases but the police dont let you investigate them without being killed?? Idk maybe im dumb but I love the detective part but not a fan of the rouge stealth gameplay
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☐ It's free!
☐ Worth the price
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☑ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
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☐ Never heard of
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☑ https://vojtastruhar.github.io/steam-review-template
Great game. My only wish is bug fixing. It's really annoying to save and reload every time the game glorps itself(unable to talk with npc, envelope thrown into a sea not counting etc.)
It's a bit hard at first but when you figure out where and how to find stuff it's really cozy.
Solid 8, could be more.
so this is a proof of concept that's not worth full price. It's unstable, poorly optimised, very buggy, and more. This is enough for a negative review. But wait, there's more!The game has received little to no actual stability fixes and bug fixes. New content has actually added more bugs, some of which are world-gen related, which can effectively softlock a case.The optimisation is unacceptable. There's nothing else to say here.The core game has received no actual improvements except the addition of a few new types of building, and modifiers. The game is still solving random cases with no unique challenges or progression, until you get enough money or get bored of it.The new modifiers update is painfully half-baked, so much so I don't even believe this game is being worked on by more than one person anymore (it allegedly was). These modifiers are skin deep, all except for rat detective, the charm of which wears off quick - these feel like developer made mods more than anything I should be expecting in a post 1.0 update. One of these "modifiers" is literally just a black and white filter.The modding community. Y'know, you shouldn't really hold points against a game or a dev for this, but it's important to know what the community is like before you buy a game - especially when they advertise 'modding support'. The support is through Mod.io. There are less than 20 mods, last I checked, and the community is deader than a doornail. This is not a game where you make it your own with mods - these mods are only skin-deep.And over the past couple of years, I've seen this game go from one of the most promising experimental titles I'd played... to releasing at 1.0? To being 'finished?' I can still barely play this game. It's barely changed in 2 years. I remember big updates that added new types of cases that felt fresh, and thinking "this is just the surface of what they'll add!" and it's straight-up the most interesting content they've added. period.What you are buying is a proof of concept. A Tech Demo, with a pretty nice coat of paint. You probably won't get that much out of this, unless you're willing to be the single modder who resurrects the game. For the rest of this review, I want to lament about things I would've liked to see:-Telephone infrastructure playing a greater role in the detective gameplay (Wire Tapping, etc)
-More of a "Breaking and Entering Fantasy", including breaking windows to climb through, scaling buildings, more than just kicking the door down.
-A more dynamic city that changes over the course of the game
-More NPC interactions: let me interrogate people, instead of politely asking them for questions with no useful answer.And I want to add one last thing. One of the core problems with this gameplay is straight up the citizen's registry. A computer registry in the Town Hall, that shows details about every NPC in the city. This trivialises the game, and is *why* I don't feel like a detective. I feel like a desk jockey.
Shadows of Doubt is the closest any game has ever come to making me feel like a real detective. After nearly 200 hours, I’m still completely absorbed. The procedural city, moody noir aesthetic, and grainy retro-futurist art style create an atmosphere that’s both stylish and deeply immersive. Every case feels organic and unpredictable — you’re not just following clues, you’re finding them, piecing together evidence like a real investigator.From tailing suspects through rain-soaked alleyways to cracking open apartment vents for hidden documents, the game rewards curiosity and clever thinking in a way few others do. It’s beautifully crafted, endlessly replayable, and absolutely one of the most unique detective experiences out there.
While it is riddled with a lot of glitches and extremely delayed loading objects, the game itself is A LOT of fun. But I can also see this being a "your type" kind of game, where it's not fun for everyone. But if you like solving murders and stealth games, then I think you'll like it.
i playd 60 hours of this game and it was fantastic i love this game one of the best game that was ever made i love is so much i am gonna nominate it i love it the grahpics the song also i love how all of the 387 citiziens in my world have a job talk play and all of that with other citizens i love this game :)
Tried finding the killer, broke into the security the room. Alarm activated, half the building came down, knocked everyone out.
Now, I know about 50% of the population of the city after rummaging through their pockets.Fun!
One of the best detective games around! It is a really interesting and fun concept built into a noir world that is full of character. The only downsides to this game are there are plenty of bugs and it feels incomplete.
