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Shadows of Doubt

Shadows of Doubt is an incredibly smart and intricate detective thriller, giving you tons of freedom that can be both a blessing and a curse.
82%Game Brain Score
gameplay, story
optimization, stability
83% User Score Based on 21,908 reviews
Critic Score 80%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

Xbox Series X|SPCXboxSteam DeckWindows

About

"Shadows of Doubt" is a detective stealth game set in a fully simulated neo-noir city where players must catch a serial killer. The game features a living, breathing metropolis with crime, gossip, and various characters to interact with. Players must use stealth, investigation, and interrogation techniques to gather evidence and solve the case.

Shadows of Doubt screenshot
Shadows of Doubt screenshot
Shadows of Doubt screenshot
Shadows of Doubt screenshot
Shadows of Doubt screenshot
Shadows of Doubt screenshot
Shadows of Doubt screenshot
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83%
Audience ScoreBased on 21,908 reviews
gameplay1k positive mentions
optimization550 negative mentions

  • The game excels in emergent storytelling, allowing players to create their own narratives through unique cases and a richly detailed world with vibrant NPCs.
  • The atmosphere is immersive and captivating, effectively capturing a gritty, dystopian noir vibe that enhances the overall experience.
  • The humor in the game adds a lighthearted touch, turning mundane detective work into unpredictable and entertaining adventures.
  • The game suffers from significant bugs, glitches, and performance issues, leading to a frustrating experience that many players feel is not ready for full release.
  • Gameplay can become repetitive and grind-heavy, with many cases following similar patterns that limit long-term replayability.
  • The lack of a cohesive overarching narrative and character development leaves much of the storytelling to the player's imagination, resulting in a shallow experience.
  • gameplay
    3,306 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of "Shadows of Doubt" is characterized by its unique blend of procedural generation and immersive detective mechanics, allowing players to approach cases in various ways. While many players appreciate the depth and creativity involved in solving crimes, they also note significant issues with bugs, repetitive gameplay, and a lack of meaningful consequences for actions, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite these shortcomings, the game is praised for its engaging core loop and potential for future development, making it a compelling choice for fans of the detective genre.

    • “The freedom to gather evidence in many different ways, and actually learn in parallel with gameplay what works well and what works better, is something I'm especially fond of.”
    • “Shadows of Doubt is a sandbox, randomly generated masterpiece of detective-style gameplay where you sneak through vents, break into houses, search through camera feeds, and dive from one case to another all the while surviving the harsh climate of a post-corporate world where doing the wrong thing seems to be the only thing people do.”
    • “The gameplay really hooks you up; there is more than one possibility regarding how you can solve the cases, so you have to make good use of your creativity when deciding how to approach a suspect or in order to collect the evidence effectively.”
    • “There's no heel to the gameplay of Shadows of Doubt because there's nothing interesting to do beyond the occasional side jobs and the murders.”
    • “The systems for something great are all there; individual NPCs in the city have spouses, and friends, and a schedule, but none of those things are ever really consequential to the gameplay.”
    • “The gameplay quickly becomes repetitive past the first 25-ish hours, as the cases follow the same (roughly) six scenarios, greatly limiting replayability.”
  • story
    2,400 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story aspect is largely procedural, with players creating their own narratives through the unique cases they encounter, rather than following a linear plot. While the tutorial mission offers a compelling introduction, subsequent missions often lack depth and can feel repetitive, with many players noting bugs that hinder progress and disrupt immersion. Overall, the game excels in emergent storytelling, but it currently lacks a cohesive overarching narrative or character development, leaving much of the storytelling to the player's imagination.

    • “The worldbuilding and backstory feels very fleshed out, and the simple fact that every single citizen has a job, apartment (aside from the homeless), social life, etc. is awesome.”
    • “The depth of the NPCs—each with their own backstory, occupation, and routines—makes the city feel alive and personal.”
    • “Each investigation is a story worth telling in its own way.”
    • “Most, if not all, murders have no solid evidence and in other missions, critical items simply do not spawn.”
    • “The story the game seeks contradicts a game where the gameplay of a detective game is fun.”
    • “There isn't really a story worth talking about in any of this, but that's the nature of having a procedurally generated world.”
  • optimization
    2,002 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The optimization of the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players reporting severe performance issues, including stuttering, low frame rates, and frequent crashes, even on high-end hardware. Despite the game's unique concept and engaging gameplay, the lack of effective optimization and persistent bugs have led to frustration among users, with many recommending waiting for significant updates before purchasing. Overall, the game's current state is viewed as unready for a full release, with optimization being a critical area needing improvement.

    • “Optimization and quality of life features should be a top priority while I can't have a stable 60-100 fps on a 4090.”
    • “This is a very good game, the procedurally generated murder cases are very fun and rewarding to solve; however, the optimization in this game is absolutely horrible.”
    • “Despite some performance issues, this game is addictive!”
    • “I loved the early access version, but the 1.0 release (and updates after it) have not fixed performance whatsoever; in fact, I think it might have actually made it worse.”
    • “When your specs are higher than the recommended, and yet the performance is still stuttery and bad, then that tells me that the game isn't ready to be out of 'early access' or have a '1.0 release'.”
    • “The game shouldn't have launched with this severe problem of lack of optimization and the developers seem to not address this issue.”
  • stability
    1,608 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The stability of the game has been widely criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, glitches, and performance issues that significantly hinder gameplay. Many players describe it as a "buggy mess," with frequent crashes, unresponsive missions, and graphical glitches that disrupt immersion. While some acknowledge the game's potential and express hope for future updates, the consensus is that it is not ready for a full release and should be approached with caution until significant improvements are made.

    • “I feel like it's good to update the game regularly, but making sure it's not buggy before it's released is also important.”
    • “Not bug free, but a hell of a lot less bugs than most AAA games that get released and sold for $60 or $70.”
    • “I'm pretty sure that there are still lots of bugs, but my recent 8 hours or so were very basically bug free.”
    • “God awfully buggy, amazing idea that I was really excited for but honestly just falls flat on its face.”
    • “Do not buy this game until the devs fix this buggy mess of a game.”
    • “This game is just as buggy and lacking in depth as the original play-test was.”
  • graphics
    1,334 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of "Shadows of Doubt" have received mixed feedback, with many praising its unique voxel art style that effectively captures a noir aesthetic, creating an immersive atmosphere. However, players have also reported significant performance issues, including low frame rates and graphical glitches, particularly during rain, which detracts from the overall experience. While some appreciate the charm of the pixelated visuals, others find them limiting and difficult to navigate, suggesting a need for better optimization and more graphical settings.

    • “The voxel graphics and lighting are beautiful, and there are just enough life-sim aspects to make you feel part of the world without it becoming cumbersome.”
    • “The muted color palette combined with vibrant highlights of neon creates a perfect cyberpunk-noir aesthetic.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful as well, and the whole weather and world is such a vibe.”
    • “How do I describe this game... my back aches because I could barely tell what is what because of the visuals, causing me to come closer to my monitor in order to tell head from tails.”
    • “But after playing for almost 10 hours, struggling to tell what is what, I've come to really dislike these graphics.”
    • “The graphics may turn you off from first glance, but please don't judge a book by its cover.”
  • atmosphere
    754 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere in "Shadows of Doubt" is widely praised for its immersive and captivating qualities, effectively capturing a gritty, dystopian noir vibe reminiscent of classic detective films. Players appreciate the detailed world-building, atmospheric sound design, and the unique blend of procedural generation that enhances the sense of exploration and engagement within the game. Despite some technical issues and repetitive gameplay elements, the overall ambiance and aesthetic contribute significantly to the game's appeal, making it a standout experience for fans of the genre.

    • “The atmosphere of the game is phenomenal, so easy to delve in and play for hours on end, beautiful soundtrack that you gotta bop to while solving some wild murder cases and more.”
    • “The atmosphere and the immersion are spot on, and there's no other game I've ever found that makes you feel like a detective the way Shadows of Doubt does.”
    • “The atmosphere is dark and dreary, creating a solemn feeling of being lost in a dark, wet world.”
    • “The atmosphere of the game is very moody, and gives the entire city a depressing or melancholy feel which is fitting.”
    • “The atmosphere in Shadows of Doubt is something else.”
    • “The atmosphere is dark and dreary.”
  • replayability
    386 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with many praising its procedural generation that offers near-infinite scenarios and unique experiences, making it highly replayable for some players. However, others note that the repetitive nature of cases and predictable elements can diminish long-term replay value, suggesting that while it has potential, it may require additional content and updates to fully realize its replayability. Overall, opinions vary widely, with some players finding it endlessly engaging and others feeling it lacks depth after initial playthroughs.

    • “Infinite replayability, full of life and character, and just ridiculous fun.”
    • “Moreover, its exceptional replayability ensures that each session can offer a fresh and captivating experience.”
    • “The randomness of everything adds so much replayability, and you actually have to be a detective - looking for fingerprints, interviewing people, reviewing surveillance footage, searching locations and gathering tons of evidence, some of it useful, some of it worthless.”
    • “The game is unique, which adds more value to the game, all closest relatives like LA Noire, Disco Elysium or Nobody Wants to Die are linear games in a manually created world, with extremely limited replayability.”
    • “For a game that advertises its procedural generation so much, it has surprisingly low replayability.”
    • “Once you have solved each of these cases, you can pretty quickly recognize when a template is being used again and just copy the steps you took last time, which really hampers replayability.”
  • humor
    304 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is a standout feature, with players frequently highlighting its quirky, unpredictable moments and dark comedic elements. Many reviews mention the amusing interactions with NPCs, the absurdity of glitches, and the chaotic scenarios that arise from the game's procedural generation, all contributing to a lighthearted and entertaining experience. While some bugs can be frustrating, most are seen as charmingly funny, enhancing the overall enjoyment of the game.

    • “A funny example: an NPC will slip and fall because of the snow, then approach you and ask, 'Why did you do that?' If you stay nearby, they might pull out a weapon and attack you for no reason.”
    • “The game's humor is its secret weapon, turning mundane detective work into an unpredictable and hilarious adventure.”
    • “It's funny to watch people complain that an indie game doesn't contain 'all the features'.”
  • music
    292 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its atmospheric qualities that enhance the immersive experience of the dystopian setting. While some praise the soundtrack for its ability to complement the game's dark and mysterious vibe, others note a lack of variety and presence, suggesting that additional music could further enrich the gameplay. Overall, the music is generally seen as fitting and evocative, though some players prefer to supplement it with their own playlists to enhance the noir experience.

    • “The city feels alive, and the soundtrack perfectly complements the dark, mysterious vibe.”
    • “The atmosphere of the game is phenomenal, so easy to delve in and play for hours on end, beautiful soundtrack that you gotta bop to while solving some wild murder cases and more.”
    • “The music is moody and reminds me loosely of the soundtrack to the Blade Runner movies in mood and a little in theme.”
    • “The game struggles sometimes in the way of bugs, the limits of procedural generation, very lackluster music, and pretty muted consequences for getting caught, but overall it's a fantastic experience and well worth your money.”
    • “There is not really a soundtrack to this game.”
    • “The music is almost absent, it should be playing more often.”
  • grinding
    178 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of the game has been widely criticized for being tedious and repetitive, often requiring players to engage in laborious tasks that detract from immersion. Many reviewers noted that the procedural generation of cases can lead to frustrating trial-and-error scenarios, making the gameplay feel like a chore rather than an engaging detective experience. While some players find satisfaction in the detective work, the overwhelming sentiment is that the game suffers from a lack of polish and quality of life improvements, resulting in a grind-heavy experience that can quickly become tiresome.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “A bit grindy sometimes.”
    • “The game play is shallow at best and tedious at worst.”
    • “Procedurally generated cases sound cool until you realize 70% of your cases are borderline impossible without extremely tedious trial and error 'investigating' that boils down to grabbing a list of 20 names and painstakingly finding each person to find their fingerprint.”
    • “Now that the positives are set aside, I will say this game is incredibly tedious, repetitive in nature, and dialogue options are slim.”
  • emotional
    50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game has garnered mixed reactions, with many players expressing a deep connection to the narrative and character experiences, feeling genuinely invested in their roles as detectives. While some reviews highlight the game's ability to evoke real emotions and create immersive moments, others lament its rushed release and lack of polish, which detracts from the overall emotional journey. Overall, players appreciate the game's unique ability to make them feel like part of a complex, emotional world, despite some technical shortcomings.

    • “It took me a long time and it was actually an emotional journey.”
    • “These are real emotional moments that most games never get close to making you feel.”
    • “Seriously, they go to work, eat, drink, chill at bars, hang out with friends, love, hate, break up, all the emotional life that you can think of in real life, it will happen the same in this game.”
  • monetization
    48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization aspect of the game has been heavily criticized, with many reviewers labeling it a "cash grab" due to its rushed release and numerous unresolved bugs. Players express disappointment over the reliance on microtransactions and the perception that the game was launched prematurely to maximize profits rather than deliver a polished experience. Despite some unique elements, the overall sentiment suggests that the game's monetization strategy undermines its potential and leaves players feeling misled.

    • “This game was supposed to be so much more than a half-hearted cash grab.”
    • “Releasing 1.0 during an extremely bug-riddled state is just a cash grab.”
    • “A good game left bleeding out in the twilight of rushed broken cash grabs; do not buy from this developer, they give up on all they make.”
  • character development
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviews on character development are mixed; while some praise the superb character development and well-written dialogue that bring characters to life, others express a desire for deeper, more meaningful stories and improvements in character design. Overall, enhancing character development is seen as a key area for potential improvement in the game.

    • “The character development is superb, and the well-written dialogue brings each individual to life, making it a joy to interact with them.”
    • “But I really feel if the devs somehow manage to add in character development to this game or real meaningful stories to the lives of its citizens, it would exponentially make the game better.”
    • “However, I'd suggest reiterating on character design and technical approach.”
    • “- Lack of character development is my second biggest complaint.”
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16h Median play time
32h Average play time
6-40h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 258 analyzed playthroughs
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