Shadows of Doubt review: "The true potential of this detective sim is limitless - but it just hasn't reached that point yet"

GamesRadar+ Verdict GamesRadar+ Verdict Pros+Superb investigation mechanics that reward intelligence+Enjoyable procedurally generated cases+A palpable, grimy noir tone+Complex simulated cities are a fantastic playground Superb investigation mechanics that reward intelligence Enjoyable procedurally generated cases A palpable, grimy noir tone Complex simulated cities are a fantastic playground Cons-Bugs are endless and exhausting-Certain mechanics feel shallow or unnecessary-Procedural generation means that character motives are never complex Bugs are endless and exhausting Certain mechanics feel shallow or unnecessary Procedural generation means that character motives are never complex Why you can trust GamesRadar+Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about our reviews policy. Why you can trust GamesRadar+Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about our reviews policy. The first murder victim in Shadows of Doubt turns out to be a gutshot corpse sprawled in their living room. Not much to go on at first glance, but a dropped wallet in the kitchen tells me the dead man’s identity, and a note about work rotas left in their bedroom tells me they’re a diner chef, a lead I can follow up on later. A shell casing has rolled under the sofa, and I manage to pull a fingerprint off it.That’sa good clue – I don’t have a match for it yet, but I can compare it to the various suspects I uncover along the way. I pin all of these factoids to the wonderful little corkboard in the UI, loving how I’ve uncovered all these leads myself without any prompting, while probably missing out on countless others. From that point on, my choices are practically endless. I could bribe the building’s security to let me look at the surveillance camera footage from the hall (or just break into the CCTV room if they’re not amenable), interrogate the neighbours about what they heard at the time of the murder, ask questions at the victim’s workplace, use an address book to find the home of their closest friend, or hack their computer to look at their email correspondence - and that’s just getting started. A million stories in the sim city (Image credit: Fireshine Games) Fast FactsRelease date:26 September 2024Platform(s):PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PCDeveloper:ColePowered GamesPublisher:Fireshine Games Fast Facts Release date:26 September 2024Platform(s):PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PCDeveloper:ColePowered GamesPublisher:Fireshine Games Release date:26 September 2024Platform(s):PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PCDeveloper:ColePowered GamesPublisher:Fireshine Games Bugs aside for the moment, Shadows of Doubt is undoubtedly not for everybody. This is a game where riffling through a phone book is a major mechanic, where systems are built around flipping doormats, where lockpicking paperclips are the highest currency, and where getting out of the shower and forgetting to use a towel can result in you slipping on the tiles. But I can’t call any of these things flaws – in fact, they’re part of what makes Shadows of Doubt so enjoyable, at least when working as intended. Shadows of Doubt was in Early Access on Steam for a while now, with the alluring pitch of an immersive sim for aspiring detectives; a fully-realised rain-soaked noir dystopian city with hundreds of NPCs living complete, interconnected existences, committing crimes aplenty for your persistent P.I. to pull apart. But now the 1.0 full release is here (alongside a slew of console releases), and Shadows of Doubt is emerging in something apparently like its true form. What emerges is a genuinely impressive engine for generating narratives somewhere between Raymond Chandler and Philip K. Dick, but riddled with errors and overlooked features that often leave me feeling more murderous than any of the suspects. (Image credit: Fireshine Games) What emerges is a genuinely impressive engine for generating narratives somewhere between Raymond Chandler and Philip K. Dick, but riddled with errors and overlooked features. What emerges is a genuinely impressive engine for generating narratives somewhere between Raymond Chandler and Philip K. Dick, but riddled with errors and overlooked features. My review code was for the PS5, and while I can’t speak to the integrity of Shadows of Doubt on other platforms, I can’t imagine they could run it much worse. A full list of the issues I experienced would be near-endless, but I’ll name a few for demonstrative purposes: The UI kept glitching, placing essential evidence off-screen or making it impossible to select basic menu options. Loading times were exhaustingly long, with minutes spent staring at a slowly moving bar. Certain weather effects caused the frame rate to drop to the level of a powerpoint presentation. At one point a physics error pushed me through the exterior wall of a tenth floor penthouse, and I woke up with two shattered legs and an extortionate hospital bill. Errors like this weren’t just common, they wereconstant, and quickly tempered my enthusiasm as I found myself fighting the game almost as much as I was playing it. On top of that, while the investigation mechanics are superb, a lot of the gameplay beyond them feels undercooked or ill-explained. Status effects like hunger or nausea are fine – thisisan immersive sim – but apartment customisation is a dull and pointless exercise, the sandbox builder where you can create cities to play in was downright non-functional, It wasn’t adequately explained how to arrest a perp (an integral mechanic), and the extensive list of storylines to pick from ended up just being one story and a narrative-free sandbox mode, the empty space in the menu speaking volumes. The result is a stop-start experience that I can’t imagine is the developer’s intended vision, and certainly not suggestive of a game that’s ready to leave early access. I’d hit a good sleuthing groove, snuffling out evidence and rummaging around filing cabinets with a flashlight held in my teeth, only for a glitch to push some vital document into a wall where I can’t get it. Or maybe a status effect would curse me in perpetuity, even when I was specifically chugging the medication designed to cure it. I’m told that a Day One patch will solve many of the technical issues – I hope it does – but holy Columbo, it’ll have to be a substantial one. Laying out the case (Image credit: Fireshine Games) New block on the kid(Image credit: Fireshine Games)Shadows of Doubt’s blocky aesthetic somewhere between Minecraft and Quadrilateral Cowboy might be a little hard on the eye, but it’s a smart choice. The clear shapes and definition mean that spotting clues is easier without the game having to make them insultingly obvious, and there’s no risk of the player over-examining fine details for hours - because there aren’t any fine details to get stuck on. New block on the kid (Image credit: Fireshine Games)Shadows of Doubt’s blocky aesthetic somewhere between Minecraft and Quadrilateral Cowboy might be a little hard on the eye, but it’s a smart choice. The clear shapes and definition mean that spotting clues is easier without the game having to make them insultingly obvious, and there’s no risk of the player over-examining fine details for hours - because there aren’t any fine details to get stuck on. (Image credit: Fireshine Games) Shadows of Doubt’s blocky aesthetic somewhere between Minecraft and Quadrilateral Cowboy might be a little hard on the eye, but it’s a smart choice. The clear shapes and definition mean that spotting clues is easier without the game having to make them insultingly obvious, and there’s no risk of the player over-examining fine details for hours - because there aren’t any fine details to get stuck on. And yet I do still have a lot of love and respect for Shadows of Doubt, despite my frequent frustration. The way it creates complete and cohesive mysteries can be truly awe-inspiring even now, to say nothing of the way that hundreds of citizens lead their nuanced, intertwined existences. The true potential of this detective sim is limitless – but it just hasn’t reached that point yet. Still, if you have more patience for fighting bugs than the cast of Starship Troopers, there’s one of the most electrifying mystery games in years buried beneath all the jank. 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hands"5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS 1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 1 Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 2 Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 3 Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 4 Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 5 Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 1 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2 Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3 Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4 The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5 Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 1 Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 2 Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 3 Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 4 Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” 5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” 5 Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”