Review for Shadows of Doubt

For the most part, mystery games have been a very linear experience. Especially in single-player adventures, the premise usually revolves around piecing together a singular murder or theft while finding evidence or solving puzzles. There can be mix-ups, such as multiple mysteries, or the mystery could be supernatural, but the concept and experiences are the same. Shadows of Doubt is different because its procedurally generated nature ensures that no two playthroughs are alike, no matter how many times you play the game. 

Developed by ColePowered Games and published by Fireshine Games, Shadows of Doubt is set within an alternate, dystopian version of Earth. A corporate entity called Starch Kola runs the United States, and the planet has flooded to the point where cities are now industrialized islands. You play as a detective, solving mysteries picked up from requests or received via police chatter. 

There is no real story. You can get tidbits of lore from emails, announcements, or television since the overall world is the same no matter where you start. You have just one goal: to earn enough social credit to retire to the FIELDS, a luxury paradise city free of conflict and miserable weather conditions. How long this task takes depends on your diligence and the length of time you choose for the game. For this review, my initial playthrough took about 35 hours on extreme difficulty, but you can customize the difficulty and length to your liking and even play beyond the required social credit score. 

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These factors are apparent in the initial presentation. You can select which city to start in or have a whole city island generated for you. No matter which you pick, though, the layouts are similar: pixel-art cities surrounded by large bodies of water, hierarchies consisting of the poor and homeless, the middle class having to work for a living, or the upper echelon that either runs the businesses, shady gun shops, or gambling dens. The skybox is dark and cloudy, no matter what time of day, and the streets are filled with tall buildings containing apartments and offices. There are also various restaurants, small businesses, and SyncDisk clinics. The weather effects, such as snow or rain, affect the player in specific ways. It all evokes the feeling of a world run to the ground, and everyone is just trying to get by.

Graphically, Shadows of Doubt is a mixed bag. All the characters are also pixelated and almost square-shaped, similar to those in Minecraft, except that their faces and skin look like geographic locations. Every character does have distinguishing features, which play into mysteries that require you to identify specific individuals. However, the best way to do so is by inspecting them and looking at said features through a menu. Otherwise, characters are difficult to classify at first glance except by surface-level traits. Also, the graphics suffer technically, such as slow frame rates when outside or some environments that pop in five seconds after turning a street corner. These issues weren’t prominent and seemingly relegated to only certain pre-made cities, but they were noticeable. 

Still, the highlight of the presentation is the sound and music. Most of the sound is ambient, whether it be the pouring rain or wind, the snow or paved roads under your feet, or the sporadic announcements and television programs. They immerse you in the world and even cue you when you are about to be spotted in stealth. The music is intermittent, with low electronic musical drones that can catch you by surprise. It fits the refined cyberpunk aesthetic. 

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There is much to cover in terms of the gameplay, starting with the main character. Shadows of Doubt is a first-person game where you have much freedom in approaching any situation. You can sneak around and pick locks while avoiding cameras and other people, or you can break the door down, rush into places, and knock out people to eliminate any interference. Eating, drinking, and sleeping give benefits such as increased running speed and health regeneration. Negative traits also appear when you are severely injured, such as limping or bleeding out, requiring a specific health item to repair the damage. You may enhance your abilities with SyncDisks, acquired after jobs or stolen from others. Finally, interacting with people may get you either guest passes to bypass many security measures or the opportunity to ask questions. Both may require bribes, depending on each individual’s stubbornness. You can arrest them if they are a suspect, though you will first need to buy handcuffs and other items, such as a camera, to satisfy different requirements in each case. 

Speaking of cases, there are two ways to acquire them. Either you obtain a job from the city hall or at restaurants and hotels, or you wait for a procedural crime to be committed (this option can be turned off). Procedural crimes are the highlight, though they may look intimidating at first. Depending on the evidence you unearth, there are many approaches to finding the murderer’s identity. However, you quickly realize that there is a system for solving these crimes, ranging from ridiculously easy to a real challenge. Side jobs, however, vary from somewhat straightforward to ludicrously complex. You are given some information at the start of each case, but what kind of information is randomly generated, so you may get easy leads or very vague ones. If you find a case particularly hard, you can close any of them at any time and select the type of side job you prefer. 

Then there are the NPCs. In addition to each individual world, citizens are also procedurally generated. They have different work hours, job positions, times for going out to lunch, and sleep schedules. However, they are not the most intelligent AI in the universe. One moment, they could be chasing you for breaking into their homes or throwing a piece of food at you, but then they will forget you completely after hiding for a while. You can knock them out, hide somewhere, and wait for them to return to their routine. There are ways of exploiting AI and even security devices. On top of that, anything you do, such as lockpicking, trespassing into closed-off crime scenes, or even being caught and chased in a building, is usually forgotten once you step outside. You can fight NPCs in combat, but the fisticuffs feel underdeveloped and can be circumnavigated by running or avoiding detection. Shadows of Doubt favors any style that abuses AI quirkiness or uses stealth. 

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Finally, there are glitches within the game. These can make or break cases — for instance, when you need to obtain a briefcase from somebody, but they refuse to put it down somewhere or suddenly bug out into thinking they are being chased. Some glitches are actually funny, like NPCs accidentally shoving you through a building wall and onto a street or hallway, which can be a good thing when making a daring escape. The bugs don’t hinder the fun of the game since there are ways to work around them when they occur. 

While Shadows of Doubt does have issues, this is one of the most addictive detective sims I have ever played. I could sit down and be completely lost for a couple of hours because of my intense desire to see a case to its completion. I have already played the game with three different characters to try out other locations and mechanics, and I can confidently say that it is one of the best and most innovative mystery games on the market. ColePowered Games hit the nail on the mark, and I hope they continue to develop their groundbreaking gameplay concepts.