Early Doors: Shadows Of Doubt

Powah Dunk | May 11, 2023 | Feature | No Comments

Shadows of Doubt is a unique title in that it combines the niche genre of the Immersive Sim with the niche genre of Private Detective/Film Noir, throws in procedural generation and still manages to maintain that atmosphere and level of immersion you usually associate with titles like Thief and Deus Ex.

Created by a single developer, Colepowered Games, this ambitious title is already a firm favourite for the most unique and engaging title I have played all year even if it has just launched in Early Access.

Shadows of Doubt sees a private eye decide he’s tired of living in the corporation controlled city and wants to retire to “The Fields”, something that every citizen desires but the cost is often far out of reach. To achieve this ambitious goal you decide to do what a private eye does best and solve various crime cases that the uninterested and oppressive policing body have decided to look over.

Currently there are two modes of play, Dead of Night provides you with a handcrafted narrative to play which acts as a tutorial and Sandbox which randomly generates the city and the many crimes/side quests that you’ll be using to stoke that money pot of yours.

You’ll be sneaking, speaking, obtaining evidence and fingerprints while trying to decide what is actually useful information to help you fill out an unsolved crime form. There is a penalty system for breaking the law which means you have to stay on your toes and your character also has an aversion to using guns so it’s melee in extreme circumstances.

There is alot to take in with Shadows of Doubt, computers are fully useable and allow you to cycle through CCTV and files, multiple ways of achieving your objectives and the atmosphere just helps the game comfortably fit the “immersive sim” genre, even in its early access state you have so much content to keep you coming back and being absorbed in the role of private detective.

While the graphics may not be for everyone using a 3D Pixel style the game still looks amazing and the scale of it is mind-blowing, if you’re a fan of games like Thief, Deus Ex or Prey (Reboot) and fancy trying your hand at your very best Colombo impression then I couldn’t recommend this game more if I tried.