Analysis of shadows of doubt

2024-10-07 09:00:00

Shadows of Doubt is an investigative and stealth sandbox where you can investigate all citizens. Anyone is a suspect or can be a victim.

The study Colepowered Games wants our heads to explode from the tutorial that serves as an introduction to a never-ending story of partly procedurally generated murders and mysteries framed in a city that never stops. But as the butcher said (who looked curiously like a portrait of a robot I saw at an airport), we will go in parts.

Something very big.

Shadows of Doubt’s random generation isn’t just a change of scenery. From the beginning they ask that the size and population of the city be defined and when all of it will be generated Each of its inhabitants has a name, a fingerprint, an appearancea place of residence and a job, all at any time you can look up any name and address in the telephone book, go to his house and talk to the person, if he is there. It is an entire city with its buildings with infinite floors and multiple apartments.

Overwhelming? He’s still charging the stage. When we wake up in a bed in a dark room we discover the level of interaction we have with the environment. Being able to turn on any light and have it stay that way even if no one turns it off, be able to open everything (everything) whatever a shooter has, power collect everything (everything) what you find. You can keep things in a very, very limited inventory or jot down information on one of those bulletin boards with thumbtacks and strings that the most conspiratorial can do.

This creates a Diogenean complex in terms of information received whereby until you concentrate and start organizing your life (virtual, with the other there is nothing to do) you have spent hours putting every last piece on a blackboard of crumpled paper that you find on the street. That cap is your best ally with which you can make and break links, generate a file on the suspects or victim or simply write down your information. It is very detailed and extensible, it is able to create different folders, name them, change the colors of the wires and connections… Overwhelming, yes, but when you find the order you discover a very real world, where being able to take everything does not mean that you have to do it. You need to know how to measure and interpret the character according to your needs.

Detective, neither private nor public.

Shadows of Doubt presents itself as a detective and stealth game. This is because our character has a license, called a license, which he doesn’t have. The system that rules is the bounty hunter. Once the investigation is conducted and the criminal is arrested, money is charged and notoriety is gained. But to investigate a crime scene you have to do something like sneaking, because the law is not on your side. Whenever something morally suspect is done, most often a break-in, the neighbors and the police will be alert to your misdeeds and if they catch you they will fine you or shoot you. There are always tricks that can be used such as lock picks, ventilation tunnels or hacking cameras. It all depends on how we want to face the challenge of entering sites to collect clues. Of course, nothing is very sophisticated and If they catch you, it’s easy enough to escape and they are quickly forgotten.

To help us in our task there is a whole system of gadgets that we can purchase but also some cards that alter DNA to do so acquire greater abilities such as cold resistancebecause it’s cold in the ventilation tunnels and that makes us shiver and attract attention. There are also other aspects such as hygiene, hunger and thirst that concern us. That’s how dense all this is.

Very lively city.

The world of Shadows of Doubt is an alternate universe from the late 1970s. A futuristic Art Deco past featuring genetic enhancements, connected computers, and a network of vacuum tubes surrounding the entire city. All controlled by megacorporations. Its 3D pixelated design helps create a retro-futuristic atmosphereand city models are curated from architecture to wallpaper. But what helps most is movement.

There is a city alive with people with routines. They are not NPCs that act when we see them. If we don’t leave our apartment, the waiters continue serving and go home at the end of their shift. People meeting other people and going for walks, hidden areas full of homeless people living in shacks and companies with their cubicles with every employee’s belongings. And this is a value in Shadows of Doubt. Like I said, every person who lives in the city has a record, Each of the people you meet (or not) can be a victim, a suspect or a simple citizen. As a negative point, interacting with them always happens with the same 5 sentences of dialogue. Even if they react to your actions. There was a waiter who insulted me because I had emptied my supply of newspapers on the floor of his restaurant. But then I offered him a coffee and as if nothing had happened.

Keyboard and mouse required.

Despite being in first person, Shadows of Doubt puts a lot of work into the game’s menus: objects, information and their treatment are based on menus which, for lack of another idea, were solved by moving a cursor with the Joystick, which will never be as fluid as a mouse. Many times it creates confusion and even the function of some buttons for the main actions is not defined.

I’m sorry about the mess.

For example, the use of computers within the game. The cursor is moved with the right stick and clicked with

Conclusions.

Until you learn to live in the game, Shadows of doubt abruma. We must learn to sift through information and always retain what we need. That density that is difficult to navigate in the early stages of the game, once the systems are in place, is understood as part of the setting and subsequently embraced. But even overcoming this barrier, working with a controller, not a keyboard and mouse, weighs down the experience.

Shadows of doubt

€24.99

Pro

• Its Noir setting.
• Configurable scenarios.
• It gives a real feeling of freedom…

Against

• …that comes to overwhelm
• Very limited interaction with NPCs.
• Playing it with a controller is inconvenient.