Shadows of Doubt is A Sci-Fi Noir Murder Thriller With A Thief Vibe
With the recent launch and staggering success of Dillon Rogers’ Gloomwood demo, it’s clear that gamers are hungry for more games inspired by Thief. Obviously. Thief is one of the most highly praised and consistently yearned for games of all time. And since Eidos seems content with letting the franchise die, it’s up to the indies to save the day. So if you’ve been enjoying tooling around in Thief With Guns, you should also be keeping a keen eye on Shadows of Doubt. Developed by ColePowered Games, Shadows of Doubt looks like Thief with even fewer guns.
The Shadows of Doubt gameplay teaser linked above was released during the PC Gaming showcase last week. It’s pretty short, but what we see is cool. It’s got the same selection indicator as the classic Deus Ex. You’ll sneak through vents, hack emails, and avoid authorities as you explore a procedurally generated city. The trailer is kind of sparse in what it shows. Luckily, the game’s Steam store page has more description:
Shadows of Doubt is set in an alternate reality hyper-industrialized 1980s, where the government outsources police work to private corporations and contractors. You’re a private intelligence investigator, making money by finding and selling information. The capture of the rampant serial killer carries a hefty bounty, but who knows what secrets you’ll find along the way: Play through the main story thread, or take on side missions to earn extra cash.
What sets Shadows of Doubt apart from other stealth games is the procedurally generated world. I’m not usually a fan of procedural generation, but the developer promises it’s blended with hand-crafted zones for the best experience. The game will mainly revolve around you figuring out how to get cash to upgrade your apartment in your hunt for the serial killer. You can hack bank accounts and collect blackmail materials for extra dosh. You can also take on side-missions if you’re not feeling like a thief. You lawful good nerd.
The loftiest promise of Shadows of Doubt has to come from the “living world.” ColePowered Games promises that every NPC will have their own life, job, apartment, and daily routine. Every building will be open, and every room will be explorable. It’s a hell of a promise for any game, let alone one that’s procedurally generated (in part). I’m eager to see just how they pull it off.
The release date for Shadows of Doubt an infuriatingly vague “when it’s ready.” If you want to wishlist the game, you can head on over to Steam by clicking here.
