- Publisher: ColePowered Games , Fireshine Games
- Release Date: Sep 26, 2024
- Also On: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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Sep 23, 2024One part detective sim and one part chaos generator, Shadows of Doubt lives up to its influences as an immersive sim that actually makes good on its ambitions.
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Nov 19, 2024Shadows of Doubt is a unique detective sim in its use of procedural generation to guarantee that no two playthroughs are alike. It is not perfect, but overall it is one of the most well-crafted experiences that anyone, even detective game veterans, should play.
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Oct 22, 2024Shadows of Doubt is not an investigative experience I would recommend to everyone. Still, if you love gritty, procedural, and remarkably free games in their approach, you can't miss it.
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Sep 25, 2024When you engage with it on a deeper level Shadows of Doubt really sings, and that wouldn’t be possible if they sacrificed that complexity just to widen the appeal. It knows exactly the kind of experience it wants to be and doesn’t compromise its ideas to make sure that’s what players get. The result is one of the best mystery games ever made, and I hope they continue to develop these systems even after this 1.0 launch.
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Sep 23, 2024Shadows of Doubt may have a few problems that hold it back, but it's easily one of the most ambitious and exciting games of the year so far.
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Oct 12, 2024How much potential is there in Shadows of Doubt’s ideas, its noir setting, and the special way it lets us experience firsthand every aspect of an investigator’s daily life? Too bad for the bugs, for sandbox cases that are less convincing than scripted ones, and for a sensational concept that isn’t fully exploited.
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Oct 3, 2024Shadows of Doubt is an amazing game, but with too much untapped potential, too many issues and unpredictable outcomes. Let’s hope it keeps getting developed, enriched, and perfected. It deserves it.
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Sep 24, 2024Shadows of Doubt is an intricate simulation of a grim corporate world that handles player freedom on a level you rarely see. The fascination wears thin as you delve deeper into the seedy underworld, but the initial intrigue alone is worth the price of entry.
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Edge MagazineOct 3, 2024Without a greater degree of authorship - a few lightly scripted cases in predesigned cities to complement the sandbox mode - Shadows of Doubt is too prone to be bewildering or illogical red herrings, shrouding the experience in uncertainty. [Issue#403, p.113]
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Oct 2, 2024Ingenious, unstable, and uncompromising in pursuit of its goals, Shadows of Doubt truly is the ultimate hard-boiled detective sim.
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Sep 23, 2024Shadows of Doubt should be great. A lack of variety leads to repetition so quickly that I can’t recommend this 1.0 and console release. If the devs continue supporting the game with new content, especially something more directed like the tutorial mission, then it could potentially become an indie classic. For now, though the game is a mere shadow of its potential.
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Oct 3, 2024Shadows of Doubt has the potential to become a highly engaging detective immersive sim, but in order to achieve that, a lot needs to be done about technical flaws and clarity of gameplay mechanics. Right now the game can be summed up as a great concept with awful execution.
| This publication does not provide a score for their reviews. | |
| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
| These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation. | |
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Apr 24, 2023A few rough edges don’t prevent Shadows of Doubt from being incredibly unique, interesting, and utterly enthralling. It’s a game that manages to pull off a level of depth and complexity of simulation in the service of generative gameplay and storytelling that few other games have even attempted, and without any smoke and mirrors, too – it simply does the thing at an incredible scale. When the inevitable conversations about the most innovative games of 2023 begin to happen, Shadows of Doubt will be the first words out of my mouth. [Early Access Score = 80]
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Apr 26, 2023The amazing open world of Shadow of Doubt deserves a better game. [Early Access Review]
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Apr 25, 2023Shadows of Doubt is an incredible and must-play detective simulation game. Thanks to its procedurally generated world, you never know what to expect. Moreover, a vibrant but grim atmosphere hangs in the air like a bad smell. Can you solve every crime you encounter? Search for the clues, piece together the evidence, and point the finger! This is one indie title that you cannot afford to miss. [Early Access Score = 85]
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Sep 24, 2024Yet in all its clockwork detail, I admire it all the same. Buying into its world, bugs and all, has yielded the satisfaction of cases closed and the comedy of killings that completely stumped me. It took me 9 hours just to find the killer of the tutorial mission. For in-game days all I had to go on was an initial - A. Then for more hours, only a first name. After endless dud leads, dopey mishaps, and one bullet in the back by a security guard who found me snooping in her office, I finally found a surname and address for my suspect. I gasped a zealous "gotcha!" at my screen, and understood that something about Shadows Of Doubt felt special. It might not match the prints of the grail-esque single city block. But I think the immersive detective sim has found its first true killer. [RPS Bestest Bests]