The Shapeshifting Detective

 PC
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 21 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 21
  3. Negative: 3 out of 21

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  1. BLADELING
    Nov 23, 2018
    10
    I liked the story a lot and I would like more!
    The actors are good, professionals, and the dialogues are curated. There are few conversation options, it's true, but 1600 videos and 3 random killers make the game replayable. Best 10 euros spent in the last months!
  2. CameronGoode
    Nov 22, 2018
    4
    So, I can't help but feel D'Avekki Studios owes quite a lot to Contradiction: Spot the Liar. Why? Well Contradiction was a fantastic FMV game and is at least partly responsible for a renewed interest in FMV games. Part of that is the great acting but far more importantly in my opinion are the dialogue mechanics. The interviewing process had a set of standard dialogue options and questionsSo, I can't help but feel D'Avekki Studios owes quite a lot to Contradiction: Spot the Liar. Why? Well Contradiction was a fantastic FMV game and is at least partly responsible for a renewed interest in FMV games. Part of that is the great acting but far more importantly in my opinion are the dialogue mechanics. The interviewing process had a set of standard dialogue options and questions the player character could ask but also an inventory of items that the player character could question the person they're interviewing about. This game is no Contradiction. This suffers from many of the same problems as the Studios earlier title "The Infectious Madness of Dr. Dekker". A little too pretentious an opening with little context given for the player character. The mechanic of shape shifting to get the secrets out of a tightly knit group of suspects is interesting and is the highlight of the game. It's a shame then that it's rather shallow. Often I found interactions between characters that I thought would be interesting and handy to be disappointingly unavailable for no given reason. Contradiction was a great game because in addition to a sense of humor it allowed you to cut through a mystery. It's satisfying figuring out an item to question a suspect about to force them to admit to lies or open up their secrets. The difference is here that mainly you just have to press through the combinations of forms you can take and talk to the relevant characters while not being a complete rube and behaving out of character. It feels a little on rails. The scenes are awful to look at the camera showing a bunch of distorted restless images while choosing dialogue options. Like most dialogue based games the dialogue options felt very limited there were times obvious paths to getting the needed info that are cut off because the player character doesn't think to ask it. The weird disjointed structure of needing to hail a cab and move through hotel rooms often leads to an irritatingly sluggish pace. Thankfully some spooky stories told in the background during the inactive times really are the best part of this game and are ultimately the only major reason to purchase it in my opinion. Another really gets on my nerves are the vague ways the characters speak. Most of the actors play their parts well, but the writing just seems off. I have a theory as to why this is. You see the culprit is randomly chosen in a failed attempt to add replayability. A thing that peeved me playing through Doctor Dekker. A good mystery starts with all the suspects seemingly having a possible motive and then over time you can start piecing together who was where doing what and you get not only a picture of the murder but also of the suspects. Trying to keep all the suspects possible culprits makes the characters stale because they need to be able to not be the culprit and at the same time be able to be the culprit throughout the almost the entire game. The motives behind the murder are barely established outside of a few late game pieces of dialogue and it felt very unsatisfying to me. A far better decision would be to write a murder story and I know this may come as a shock have the player solve some dialogue based puzzles to solve the murder. It's clear the writers didn't phone this in, but the attempt to add replayability feels like it cut the story up and threw the substantial bits out so the remaining bits could be rearranged to squeeze replayability where there was none. If you enjoy some nice atmosphere and games with little in the way of stimulating interactivity things that play a bit more like a movie you may enjoy this. However, I am left wanting a lot more satisfying interactive experiences.… Expand
  3. aditya1101
    Sep 15, 2020
    4
    Overall the mystery was okay, i thought it was cool that the culprit could be randomized but because of that the mystery wasn't very well constructed and it wasn't very satisfying at the end. The acting was pretty awkward and there was a lot of wasted time with the empty chair scenes.
  4. Crimert
    Jan 25, 2020
    9
    Amazing FMV game based on a detective story. Too many different playthroughs you can try. It's really great game. I can't wait for playing it a second time. 4hrs on record.
  5. Siyavuspasa
    Sep 16, 2020
    9
    Game was amazing. Not spoiler don't worry. History was interesting. Game is long ı think(5-6 hours but it depends on you. If you want to play fast 2 hours.) There is lot's of posibilities in game. When you start a new game killer change, or not sometimes. But there is no only one killer. Every game killer can be another one. But don't worry, history changes,too. Bad thing about game,Game was amazing. Not spoiler don't worry. History was interesting. Game is long ı think(5-6 hours but it depends on you. If you want to play fast 2 hours.) There is lot's of posibilities in game. When you start a new game killer change, or not sometimes. But there is no only one killer. Every game killer can be another one. But don't worry, history changes,too. Bad thing about game, sometimes players act strange but it's not a big problem. So, game is amazing.… Expand
  6. GVB
    Feb 11, 2023
    10
    It's a very interesting FMV game, in which the atmosphere of mystery, romance and horror is the great protagonist. Good performances, replayable, and the main mechanic is very satisfactory.

    On many occasions, and for more reasons than I can say without going into spoilers, it will makes you think you are watching a movie directed by David Lynch. So yeah, 10/10.
  7. MiaBlaiscote
    Apr 6, 2021
    7
    From the publisher of "The Bunker", here is another FMV game.
    This time the "gameplay" is more present, but it comes down to questioning everyone, by being Sam or someone else - because they are a shapeshifter -.
    Since three of the characters can be the killer, and he / she is chosen at random at each new game, I made three playthrough. I had a different killer each time and I obtained    From the publisher of "The Bunker", here is another FMV game.
    This time the "gameplay" is more present, but it comes down to questioning everyone, by being Sam or someone else - because they are a shapeshifter -.
    Since three of the characters can be the killer, and he / she is chosen at random at each new game, I made three playthrough. I had a different killer each time and I obtained different endings.
    Despite this, I liked it less compared to "The Bunker", but I can't pinpoint why. Is it because of the actors’ performance? Is it due to the fact that the gameplay quickly becomes repetitive? Because of the fact, that in the first playthrough, we can't skip the cutscenes? So, we often see the radio scene and the movement in the guesthouse’ corridor + the scene in the room with Sam’s transformation into another character. Still, the concept is cool, and the story is interesting.
    So, my experience with this game is very mixed.
    If you like FMVs of investigation / story with supernatural elements / visual novel, "The Shapeshifting Detective" may be for you. If not, skip it.    … Expand
  8. Bug00g
    Jul 23, 2021
    9
    This game made me fall in love with fmv games. I bought it after seeing playtrough on youtube. Intriguing characters and sexy but dark atmosphere kept me.invested. the jokes have landed . id love to congratulate the actors. They made the experience memorable.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
66

Mixed or average reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. TheSixthAxis
    Dec 21, 2018
    60
    A functional but disappointing experience.
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  2. Hooked Gamers
    Nov 26, 2018
    65
    Overall, I did have fun with The Shapeshifting Detective. It’s a very competently made FMV, and one with a unique enough twist to earn a spot among its peers. I do think that there was a lot more potential in the concept than what the final product ended up delivering, but such is the case with many first shots at a new idea. Here’s to hoping we’re in line for a sequel that gives the concept some more room to grow.
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  3. Adventure Gamers
    Nov 8, 2018
    80
    The Shapeshifting Detective is a unique game that provides a solid mystery with a creative twist on the usual means of information gathering.
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