Shadows Of Doubt review: a buggy yet brilliant detective sim of grand ambition

For years, a dangerous and charismatic game has evaded the grasp of many designers. Some say it doesn't exist, that no publisher would ever back it. I'm talking about the one city block RPG that Warren Spector has often mentioned. Sure, we've seen a few usual suspects already - Deus Ex Mankind Divided, Disco Elysium, even Else: Heart.Break - they all grimace in the line-up but nothing ever sticks. Now, out of the gloom of indie development, comes another perp ready to have his mugshot taken. Shadows Of Doubt is an open world detective sim that comes perilously close to being our guy. Its clothes, stature, gait, and fingerprints match the description of what Spector often describes. And yet, if you tilt your head, something is just a little off. The game isn't confined to one block. It's not an RPG precisely. And its simulation has plenty of bugs, jank, and unintentional comedy. But after all this time, in the absence of a smoking gun, shouldn't we just put this guy in the slammer and call the case closed? I say yes, let's. Officers! Arrest this game, it's brilliant. Read more

Developer: ColePowered Games Publisher: Fireshine Games Release: Sept 26th On: Windows From: Steam Price: £20/$25/€25 Reviewed on: Intel Core-i7-11700F, 16GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060, Windows 10 For years, a dangerous and charismatic game has evaded the grasp of many designers. Some say it doesn't exist, that no publisher would ever back it. I'm talking about the one city block RPG that Warren Spector has often mentioned.

Sure, we've seen a few usual suspects already - Deus Ex Mankind Divided , Disco Elysium , even Else: Heart.Break - they all grimace in the line-up but nothing ever sticks. Now, out of the gloom of indie development, comes another perp ready to have his mugshot taken.

Shadows Of Doubt is an open world detective sim that comes perilously close to being our guy. Its clothes, stature, gait, and fingerprints match the description of what Spector often describes. And yet, if you tilt your head, something is just a little off.

The game isn't confined to one block. It's not an RPG precisely . And its simulation has plenty of bugs, jank, and unintentional comedy.

But after all this time, in the absence of a smoking gun, shouldn't we just put this guy in the slammer and call the case closed? I say yes, let's. Officers! Arrest this game, it's brilliant. Shadows Of Doubt is not only a simulation of a fully working, sleeping, and murdering city, but also a simulation of the paperwork and footwork required to solve those murders.

It generates a whole city and sends.