It’s easy to argue that immersive sims are the perfect ideal of what a videogame can be. The genre is all about living, breathing worlds that are reactive to every move you make. Your decisions have far-reaching consequences, and every problem has multiple solutions. You can be as expressive as you want, and Shadows of Doubt takes the genre to the nth degree. A blend of classic Deus Ex and Disco Elysium, and set to a backdrop eerily similar to Blade Runner, the noir detective sim is finally coming to Steam 1.0 soon.
Set in a fully simulated and hyper-industrialized version of the 1980s, you take on the role of a detective trying to catch a serial killer, doing odd jobs to make ends meet. Shadows of Doubt is a detective game through and through, as you explore a voxel city and use your gadgets, wits, and knowledge to crack the case.
Unlike landmark immersive sims Dishonored and Deus Ex, though, Shadows of Doubt takes place in a fully open world that persists despite your actions. You can go anywhere, rifle through trash to find clues, break into buildings, and scour CCTV footage to find what you need. At the same time, every single NPC has their own apartment, job, and daily routine that exists despite your input.
Recent games like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Disco Elysium offer plenty of reactive choices as you play, but Shadows of Doubt takes this idea to the next level. Developer ColePowered Games has built an entire voxel city for you to explore, and turned it into a noir playground where you pick the toys you engage with. You need to enter every building, catalog every detail, and talk to every NPC if you want to succeed.
You can also be as legal or illegal as you want to be in your search. Just like how Dishonored gives you multiple choices for any given scenario, Shadows of Doubt asks you what type of PI you want to be. Will you kick in doors and ransack apartments, or knock first and ask for a cup of tea?
Think of Shadows of Doubt as one giant level from the original Deus Ex. You’ve got streets to explore, NPCs to interact with, objectives to solve, and plenty of ways to get it done. Everything is reactive, but instead of exploring the same level each time, every new cityscape is procedurally generated. So while the game is the same, how you play is different every time.
Players are loving Shadows of Doubt, too. Since its launch in April of 2023 there are almost 10,000 Steam user reviews that are 91% positive. It was even put up for a 2023 Steam Award, but lost in the Most Innovate Game category to Starfield.
Shadows of Doubt leaves Steam Early Access and launches on consoles on Thursday September 26. Details on the 1.0 launch and changes to the game will be announced ahead of the launch.
If you’re looking for more in the vein of Shadows of Doubt, we’ve brought together all the best sandbox games and open-world games you can try right now.
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