Shadows of Doubt [PC] | REVIEW

Ever seen a murder in a film or TV show and thought, ‘I could have solved that easily’? Well, Shadows of Doubt gives you the chance to prove it, with its procedurally-generated sleuthing gameplay loop offering a creatively brilliant glimpse into the world of private eyes.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Shadows of Doubt is set in the 1980s in a hyper-industrialized city that has its share of crime. You’re a private detective, and by using every trick up your sleeve (that mostly involves sneaking into places where you’re not supposed to be), you’ve got to get to the bottom of each case that comes your way. With the cases you take on procedurally-generated and adding random elements to the city, it makes for a tantalising experience where you never quite know where you have to go or what you have to do to find the person that you’re looking for.

Whilst I’ve played plenty of games that have involved solving murders, there’s simply no denying that Shadows of Doubt is incredibly unique. For one, there’s minimal hand holding, with the impetus on the player to unravel every little detail as they look to solve each case. There’ll be plenty of clues to point you in the right direction, whether that’s a place to scour for evidence, a suspicious person to interrogate, or an item to analyse, but it’s up to you to piece everything together to find the culprit. Oh, and there’s also a selection of vast cities to explore where everyone could be a suspect, and no place is off limits… seriously, you can explore EVERYWHERE.

Of course, given your job as a private investigator, there are tasks to complete to gather each point of interest in the first place. For one, you’ll need to collect as much information on the victim as possible, whether that’s by checking their call logs, checking their wallet, interviewing those who knew them, or gathering any information linked to them in the crime scene. It feels obvious, but this is where you’ll pick out important details, whether it’s who was the last person that saw them alive, their whereabouts earlier on that day, their friends and family, and so forth. You’ll also need to find out who else might have been on the crime scene, which means gathering evidence such as fingerprints, security footage, and so forth. And if there’s an obvious cause of death that’s easy to follow (such as a clear sniper shot from a window)? You can take the time to investigate that too.

These sorts of details only start to put the pieces in place though, with players then having to connect everything together on a pin board to work out what to do next. It’s something I was particularly fond of, especially after doing something similar in Alan Wake II. Here though? It feels more personal, with players having to really think things through carefully and tie things together efficiently if they hope to solve the case.

“Shadows of Doubt is simply brilliant, with its sleuthing gameplay loop proving clever, creative, and unpredictable in design to ensure that each case you solve will keep you fully immersed in its fascinating world.”

Whilst it’s easy enough to start to figure out where you need to investigate, actually doing so is a bit trickier. You’re not actually on the Police Force, so making your way to areas of interest might often require a more… illicit approach. Yeah, you’ll spend your time sneaking through areas, picking locks, breaking into rooms, and tampering with security equipment to find your way around. And if you get caught? You’ll get hit with a fine or even find yourself scrapping with a person of interest. You’ve got to be methodical in your approach when sneaking around, with the best detectives the ones who get in and out without leaving a trace. It’s incredibly tense, with these moments keeping me on the edge of my seat with excitement with each success I had. And come on… it’s all in the name of solving a murder.

Where the brilliance of Shadows of Doubt really shines through is in the details that unfold as you investigate each crime. Finding a body is just the start, but as soon as you investigate leads and unravel details or evidence related to the crime, you have to investigate further to work out how it’s all connected. It doesn’t take long to find yourself wrapped in a case with the complexity and intrigue to rival that seen in any detective movie or novel, with additional dead bodies, uncooperative witnesses, and a suspect that you can’t quite pin down all adding to the thrill of each case. Every fresh revelation I discovered would leave me enthralled and perplexed in equal measure, but more than anything, they would drive me to push forward to catch the murderer… I loved it.

Nothing is more satisfying than finally solving a case, and whilst it can take a LOT of effort (and a lot of time spent wondering what the hell to do next), you’ll really feel like a bona fide detective. Shadows of Doubt absolutely nails the private investigator theming perfectly, whilst the procedural generation of cases adds unpredictability to each one. And sure, there will cases which share some similarities, but there’s always a unique touch to each that makes them a real treat to solve.

And, surprisingly, it can be just as entertaining when things go wrong. There’s a real learning curve to Shadows of Doubt that’ll see you spending hours playing before you start to figure out the best way to approach each case, but those moments in between when you mess up and get yourself into a troubling situation can be really comical. The freedom of the gameplay loop ensures this doesn’t have to mean that a case is unsolvable either, with a clumsy approach often seeing SOME success – even if it can come at a bit of a cost. It just shows how clever and intuitive the game really is.

Check out some screenshots down below:

You’ve also got to look after yourself during each case, whether that’s with your well-being (you’ve got to keep yourself fed and injury-free), with your cash (you can take on side jobs to earn a bit of money), or by building up your social status. Money is especially important, especially if you want to buy the more advanced gear to help you solve a case or bribe folk for information, whilst those fines you have to pay when caught trespassing are rarely cheap. You can also obtain SyncDisks which grant players permanent upgrades, with things like being able to easily learn important details about characters from their photo data alone, reducing medical fees when injured, increasing your combat damage, or speeding up lockpicking going a long way in making your investigation easier. You’ll certainly appreciate these bonuses later on in the game, with each streamlining the experience to ensure players don’t tire of the gameplay loop.

I really do think Shadows of Doubt is brilliant, but there were some little things that could break the immersion a little. As mentioned, you’ll find that some cases see you completing similar tasks as you progress, whilst NPCs don’t always react to your questioning or the events at hand in a rational manner – they can almost feel robotic, offering information and phrases that just feels a little too formulaic. There were a few instances of frame rate stutters when playing too, despite having a rig that was fully capable of handling the game’s specs. This isn’t too big of a problem, especially when you consider the scale of what the game offers, but it’s still noticeable.

Developer: ColePowered Games
Publisher: Fireshine Games
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/986130/Shadows_of_Doubt/