This Detective Sim Is Making Its Case As One Of The Year’s Coolest Surprises

A detective simulation is one of the best-suited setups for an immersive sim game, and after a few hours with

As I explored the deceased’s home, I noted the entry wounds on his body, his phone call records, and even got into a locked safe to find out more about him. Inventory space is very limited, at least at first, so I wasn’t sure if I ought to take the unmarked VHS tape with me from his desk, but while I was deciding, a couple of goons tried to bust down his door. Criminals always return to the scene of the crime, and in that moment I could face them, escape through a vent or some other means, or hide. I elected to hide under a desk, then watched from the dark as two–suffice it to say suspects–roamed around the house. The moment seemed set up for confrontation, but after failing to find me after a few minutes, they left, and I was free to keep rummaging through the apartment. It felt like it should’ve been game-breaking, like I circumvented a combat tutorial. Instead, the world adapted to my choice.

You can solve a case whenever you want to simply by heading to the police station and filling out a form that accuses someone of a crime. You’ll write in their name and fill out details such as choosing a murder weapon. There are gamified consequences for getting it wrong, however, like a loss in reputation and money, which you’ll want for purchasing items like healing supplies and bribing people to talk. Therefore, it’s best to run down leads. A crime scene will give you several, and in this case, that included investigating the victim’s last phone calls, his place of work, and his social circle.

I won’t spoil the outcome here, as you should see it for yourself, but I loved that some leads are dead ends. It felt realistic in that way. Kasa Springs is not a superhero, so she has no detective vision that identifies key aspects of the case. I was simply given a city full of good and bad people, and it was up to me to make sense of them all. Whether I uncovered key info by sneaking into a house through an air vent, picking the lock of a business office, or bribing the neighbors to dish out what they know, it was my call, and in the process of my working the case, my once-blank-slate investigation began to come to life. Would I play good cop, bad cop, or swim in shades of gray? It feels like every step you take is your call, and every action has consequences, for better or worse. Keep getting in trouble and your reputation won’t rise and you won’t improve your character. On the other hand, a keen eye for details can save you time from chasing down dead-end leads.

Shadows of Doubt just launched in early access this week, so there are still blemishes to fix, such as a confusing character upgrade system and some messy menus, but the foundational im-lsim elements are on par with the genre greats already. For me, that is incredibly exciting. I can’t wait to turn over more proverbial stones, solve more crimes, and define justice as I see fit in a city that will both shape my character’s career while also reacting to her every move.