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.
Absolutely without a doubt Shadows of Doubt is [b] going to be [/b] a five-star game. Right now, for me, it sits at a sold four stars. There is a lot of hate about the level of bugs that exist but I honestly think of it differently. This is a [b] procedurally generated detective game [/b] which means that there are BOUND to be some issues. It's only game breaking if you let it be. The atmosphere is incredible and the vibes are immaculate. The difficulty is just right and the world-building is electric. The dev team is fixing and adding things like no tomorrow this IS NOT an abandoned game. Shadows of Doubt is an incredible experience and if you like noir/detective stuff you are missing out if you haven't played it.
I ended up beaten a woman in her own apartment and handcuffing her in the bathroom because she would not let me in to investigate her husbands murder despite the fact his corpse was gathering flies in the "living room"
Shadows of Doubt – One of a Kind
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (4/5)Wow. This game is something else.Yes, it needs optimization—no doubt—but the core experience is incredible. Shadows of Doubt gave me something I haven’t found anywhere else: a fully simulated, living city where every NPC has their own routine, relationships, and backstory. It adds real emotional weight to investigations. You're not just chasing faceless targets—they feel real.You play as a private investigator in a noir, cyberpunk-style city. Rent a small apartment, decorate it, grab a coffee and cigarette, and dig through evidence trying to connect names, faces, and addresses. The cases range from petty thefts to kidnappings and sniper murders. The amount of detail and variety is impressive—even if the structure is similar, no two cases feel the same.One case had me stuck until a roommate pointed me toward a suspect—only for the witness to be sniped right in front of me as I left the building. I followed the killer to his apartment, hid, and watched him set up for another hit. I witnessed the murder in real time. It felt like something out of a movie—and it was all unscripted.Pros:
✔️ Incredibly immersive world
✔️ Every NPC has a real, simulated life
✔️ Cases are dynamic and feel personal
✔️ Great detective tools and mechanics
✔️ Memorable, unscripted momentsCons:
❌ Optimization issues (performance can be rough)
❌ Some cases can feel repetitive over time
❌ UI can be a bit clunky at firstIf you enjoy detective sims and emergent gameplay, this is absolutely worth your time—even in its current state. Lots of potential here.
Without a doubt, this is the best sandbox detective game out there. For $25, you get at least 50 hours of gameplay, and solving murders is incredibly satisfying. Sometimes the cases are easy; other times you’re sitting in a café, scouring your notes, knowing another life is at risk if you miss something.You’ll analyze numbers, question suspects, recheck evidence, break into offices or homes, revisit crime scenes, and piece together clues: Why are all the victims female? Why the same workplace? The same method? Why always at 8 p.m.? Four people on the security cam left minutes after the murder — now you’re tracking them down.Honestly, it’s a fantastic game that really makes you think. For $25, it’s a a good deal.
Far and wide one of the most in depth and ambitious games I've played, which makes it all harder to not reccomend it. Truly, there is really nothing quite like this, and I don't think there will be anything like it for some time. What ColePowered Games has set out to achieve is extraordinary and AI wish them the best in achieving their vision and scope.This is not a 1.0 released game, frankly the UX is rough, even abysmal at times, and for what this game has to offer I can't say I reccomend the trudge through to experience the gold that is under the bug infested muck.This will certainly be a review I alter over time, and hopefully with time the devs and community can come together to build upon what I consider close to one of the best games in it's genre.
It's a game with so much potential but they clearly aren't working on it seriously anymore. The "roadmap" they posted for 2025 is barely anything. Their one goal for the entire year is for them to build in modding support when so much of the game still feels unfinished.The random generation is also poorly done since half the time the crime you are supposed to investigate is either so ridiculously simple that you don't have to use any sort of brain power to figure it out or quite literally impossible. This is upsetting because there are cool things like footprints, phone records, and other stuff to help you, but are never used at all. Which is even more disappointing since the murders (which are supposed to be the most intricate part of the game) rarely happen. You could wait literal hours just passing the in-game time and nothing will happen.This could have been a great game, but clearly the developers or the studio have decided to remove any effort to develop its current state that feels like a buggy beta.
this is the only game in my steam library that i know of which lets me break into factories, learn about the employees, break into the employee's houses, and learn more things about them. i hope in the future they let us become evil detectives (i know that ruins the point of the game but limiting the game to strictly being a private detective (sort of, you can do other things) when you can literally learn every little bit of information about someone isn't really fun) so we can frame them for something they didn't do and watch them get beaten by enforcers
Absolute cinema. game can start off a little slow but breaking into peoples houses, stealing all valuables and throwing anything not nailed down out the window never gets old.
3/5Rough throughout not just on the edges, but perfect game to roleplay The Question from DC; as you eat fast-food garbage, break into crime scenes, and illegally assault criminals (or the occasional innocent) to make the streets safer(?). There was one mission where I pieced together who the killer was right as they were heading towards their next victim, and the rush to catch and stop them is what I remember most fondly about the game.The victim died btw.
Very promising game but definitely not done yet. Lots of bugs and needs optimization. The procedural generation creates endless unique mini cities to play in, but does create some truly bizarre building layouts (especially the vents - I get lost in there all the time). The evidence is often a bit flimsy and you need to make a guess at who the culprit is, but that may also be unavoidable with procedural generation. Despite the issues it is quite entertaining.
Fun and immersive 10 percent of the time, boring and incredibly frustrating 90 percent of the time. If you were looking for a detective simulator this is about the only one out there, which is unfortunate because almost every case you come across will have near-zero solid evidence to go off of. You will have many cases were you literally get to the point of going to every laboratory in town ID'ing the employees because the case name has something to do with an X-ray and the single 3 PROVEN clues you were given after 2 hours of sleuthing is that they are average height, have brown hair, and they have T fingerprints (of which you have never seen in the game before.) This is the average case, not a single outlier.
It's fun.....with the caveat that you need a high tolerance for bugs. there is a reason only 4% of people who own this have the retirement achievement. Your save will break, you will have unsolvable cases, evidence will outright disappear, NPCs will path into you and knock you into the back rooms. But if you can deal with all that it can be a goofy good time. I don't recommend it simply because 6 months after the 1.0 release and major bugs are still completely ignored and the system requirements keep climbing while performance is continually getting worse. Probably a great candidate for a sale grab.
The amount of jank is the only reason I cannot recommend this game. I have never once gotten into the illegal markets of this game due to the passcode system failing to work. They took away "hair hair" so now I can find details like "average, short, short" when describing an individual where you apparently now have to fill in blanks. Every kidnap case is solved in the same way (getting 2 descriptors and arresting the first person who goes to the basement matching) for me because things like the ransom note instead have the victim's fingerprint on it. Or a printed out email saying "let's lay low so my husband doesn't notice" not counting as proof of cheating.It really sucks because every time I come back to this game, I feel good about wanting to play it again, only to feel within hours of a new save why I've stopped. Maybe by the time mod support comes along, this game will be worth the 25 dollar price tag and 1.0 release, but as it stands, I can't recommend at full price.
Look at any window of any building.
You can go there, and someone lives there.
The person that lives there works somewhere.
You can follow them there.That's pretty cool.
It's a really cool concept but right now there just isn't enough content to justify the price. Gameplay loop is very repetitive and you'd think, for a detective game, that there would be more deduction based on witness/NPC interactions. Right now you basically just collect evidence at the crime scene, go to a secondary location to match up physical evidence with an NPC, and place cuffs on said NPC.So much potential. Great atmosphere. Hope they add more content, but I'm posting this shortly after the release of a major update which "delivered" on content promises which players were led to believe would be more substantive.
There's a common theme down in the reviews. People will have 1 - 3 hours played and complain about the lack of content, polish, bug fixes, etc. Which is ironic, because how much of the game could you have experienced in such a short amount of time? How many bugs can you into in 2 hours?I got around 25 hours out of it while it was still in EA. There was more to be had but it did start to become a little repetitive after 20ish hours. I had fun with it and don't regret my purchase. I didn't encounter any game breaking bugs. I did run into the occasional goofy bug that kind of lends to the absurdity of jumping out of a 20 story high window and not taking any damage.It does need more work, more love, more variance. But they're still working on it. I still see updates fairly regularly. People act like the 1.0 next to the title is a declaration of intent to abandon said title.Very unique game. I've never played anything like it. 7/10, would recommend.
