Shadows of Doubt mixes immersive sims with murder mystery

polygon.com:

It’s a late night, and I chug back some scavenged coffee as I head out across the rain-slicked streets of this cursed city. The bodies keep piling up, and if it weren’t for me, no one would be solving these murders. Worse yet, I’ve been evicted, and if I want a nice apartment, I’m going to have to start putting the clues together. I’m playing Shadows of Doubt, a new mystery immersive sim in early access on Steam, and I’m in full noir mode.

Shadows of Doubt is based on a compelling concept: Not only is it a detective game, but it’s a procedurally generated one. If I want, I can generate a whole new city from scratch. It’s my job to track down the guilty among the innocent, piecing together clues and solving crimes like a proper gumshoe. I have access to a mind map, the classic postboard with clues connected by red string, where I can pin together autopsy notes and stray documents. This mechanic becomes crucial as I dive deeper into the mess around a mystery, discovering leads and following up with suspects.

And in Shadows of Doubt, everyone is a suspect. The entire city is generated with people who have their own apartments, jobs, and daily routines. It’s also an unusual alt-history take on the ’80s; no one has cell phones, but I have a fingerprint scanner and an archive machine I carry in my pockets. But while I can walk up to people and politely ask their names or for their fingerprints, no one wants to help me.

Therefore, I’m forced into the questionable measure of sneaking into their apartments via vents and scanning their fingerprints while they sleep. And when a child mugs me in an alleyway, or a business owner explodes in rage because he caught me stealing pocket change, and I have to knock them out with my fists —