Shadows of Doubt: An Immersive Detective Sim 

i started this game and said "oh cool! im gonna be batman!" an hour and a half later, i had a 2700 bounty, i'd been shot, and i accidentally shivved the only witness i was looking for, in the stairway to his own apartment. i was not batman

A cat that plays games is amazing but a cat that makes game reviews is on a whole other level.

Regarding the example of only having a phone number to go off of to find a target, you don't have to go to the phone router of every apartment complex, you can simply hack the router of the establishment that you called from to check which apartment complex the call went to, though you'll still need to slice into the router of the complex to find what the specific room is.

Honestly, I think a good way to describe an immersive sim is that you have a world and goals that are built around what you can do, instead of having your abilities built around the world.

I'm stuck on my third investigation, but my second one was laughably easy, I just forgot to check the nurderer's calling card for fingerprints lmao

Spoilers for what can happen during gameplay: I had just identified the killer and went to their house to bust them when they came home, but they hadn't come home for hours after their shift ended which I found odd. That was until I got a new popup; Murder reported. I was too late, and the second victim was none other than the person who gave me a free basement in the tutorial. I was heartbroken

Oh, wow, you completely got me. I started reaching for the video timeline the moment you started talking about not having time to cook a meal.

I second the life advice in the video; cooking basically takes the same time no matter if you make one serving or ten so if you just buy as many food storage containers as you can fit in your fridge, you can save a LOT of time and effort by just making large batches and saving them for later. I'm also a big fan of stuff you can just shove into the oven and forget and then it's magically done 40 minutes later, even some stuff you wouldn't think is oven-bakeable like bacon can be cooked this way. Just don't, y'know, ACTUALLY forget it unless you like eating piles of ash.

Wow, that calling the phone number, remembering what time you called, break into the basement and look at the phone records and see what address it routed to is insanely smart! Im going to definitely have to try that.

An arrest warrant was actually one of the hardest cases I've had, the game told me the perp has long brown hair, their blood type is A-, and building they live in, not the room the building which had 15 floors all residential. I had enough time to solve 2.5 murder cases by the time I was done sifting through every single resident until I found the bitch.

Having a huge blast with this game, it's going to be an amazing game once the edges are smoothed and new features are added

in a regular Cyberpunk game you'd be playing as the murderer. Although in this one murderers seem to be Small business owners working without the advantage of having a monopoly on violence.

I think it’d be cool if there was a mode where a serial killer is played by another player. It’d give more of a sense of urgency and it’d even make the detective feel like they’re always in danger due to the fact the person they see in a room alone might actually be the killer.

It's like playing as Rorschach with severe goober syndrome. I love it.

I grabbed Blood West based on your recommendation. This is really good, did not think I'd like it that much. And Shadows of Doubt is on my radar for a while now, your video convinced me to give it a go. (but seeing the speed they're fixing it at, I might just wait a little longer). Thanks for your content man... Nah, I'm kidding, thanks for your art ;)

I was not expecting a video on this game so soon but it's a welcomed surprise.

Charl inspires and supports me more than anyone irl ever did. Well, me and everyone beautiful enough to read this comment on his video. Thank you, Charl - for being the legend that you are.

Absolutely loved the demo, even if I got confused more than a few times. Absolutely awesome.

I awoke hungover so I'm immersed already

It's so funny. You can hear the ad sliding in, it's almost scary. I already started hearing someone talking about a relevant sponsor and then he just goes:"Nah, you don't need that."

I haven't seen a noir cat detective since "the Nine Lives of Garfield".

Thanks for covering the game, i was already interested in it but you made me more interested with just the features you mentioned. I'll get around to picking it up eventually, other games are sadly on the mind including other imm sims haha. Appreciate what you do!

Nice to see an interesting and so deeply explaint review for the game, didnt even knew that i can have a flat and put shelfs on it and other stuff. Oh and thanks for the tip at the beginning with using heroforge for bringing OC's to life for fanart and stuff.

One of my favorite games of the year for sure. I've not been this immersed in a game in a long time. It's got jank, sure. It's got unfinished systems, sure. But god damn, do I get surprised how whatever I think it's possible, it most likely is.

Never heard of this game but it looks amazing, all the little mechanics in this game really make it a lot better

Dropped on my birthday, nice gift considering :P.Never knew Frisk was a detective aswell, the faces you can edit with the raw materials are priceless :)). Maybe im a bit drunk cause its my bday but @CharlatanWonder Frisk is literally the breadwinner in ur house now....yea yea ofc u help aswell but this cat is on a K spree.

Oh wow, tour the guy that did the cooking video in the streets if rogue review, I see a distinct lack of cooking but you still earned a sub for managing to get recommended to me and I remembered you :D

Bro, this could be one of the best games in existence, imagine that the game integrates the possibility of criminals actively trying to not get caught, like, leaving their appartament al living in the streets. Or... Imagine you investigate an assasination of a jury, and you end up tracking down to a hitman payed by a corrupt politician (or CEO?), and as he is free and covered, corrupt law enforcement agents chase you down around the city for your silence, or even a onother private investigator, whose only mission is to ssbbotage your investigation. And with the future "social classes" update, you could go to the darkest of the low income hoods to search for a gangster who killed a rival, or dressing nice to infiltrate into a high class party to get information of the son of a rich man who is secretely a serial killer. The possibilities are infinite

I was looking for more information in this game and found ur video ! I really like ur channel! Will watch another video soon XX

epic intro, instantly subscribed!

Your videos only get better and better.

I'm happy I have notifs on for this channel, ngl 😅

You can go into the basement call log of where you made the call to see where it routed to. Much faster to see where to go than building to building! Great video, only faults are small little gameplay things you may or may not learn in game time. So no fault xD. You keep playing and you'll figure it out! Hope more people pick it up as a result!

I first found this game in the Silksong EDGE magazine, and it's been sitting around in my mind ever since. And this review has convinced me to get it.

Was gifted this game for my birthday and have spent three hours in just the tutorial scenario. The amount of detail this game allows you to go into during investigations can feel a bit overwhelming but at the same time, there's something really satisying of hoarding factoids like a weirdly obsessive crime gremlin and making connections on your detective board

I found this game thanks to you, and it's really great ! Thank you for you review !

Can't wait for "can you beat shadows of doubt while homeless"

i love this channel. it feels like my older brother is showing me cool ass games

First Person Covert Action. (For those that know.) I've wanted this for decades and now it exists. Wonderful.

Thanks for this review. I bought it and it's now my runaway favorite game of the year.

the thumbnail for this video is fantastic

I honestly forgot about this game, damn I needed this video to remind me to spend money, lol. Great video!

Enjoyed this one quite a lot. I'm not too into playing imsims myself usually but this does sound pretty interesting.

Definitely getting this, thank you!

so great. i startet this game yesterday and today you fucking legend make a video about it. no wonder i am following you for that long. great work. consider to get someday patreon for ya. you deserved this

Charlatan that was the best opening of a video I have seen in a very long time, fucking brilliant brother just brilliant. Also I just had a joint so I think that made it even better haha. 😊👍

Goofy PI voice aside, the enrichment minute was actually quite nice. Just a solid minute of super niche but useful information

Kitty cat stealing gloves

You know? I saw this in my stean queue for recommended games, saw the tags, and said to myself "if this is any good, I'm sure Charles will make a video, and lo and behold.

keep up the good work yr vids are great ^^

I’m about to go into college for art and that ending hit me, thank you

Man you deserve more views

procedural deus ex-like imsim with Majora's Mask NPC schedules

The tutorial murder is very similar for everybody. I played it 3 times during the demo and once in the full game.

Love the video!

i loved the intro

My favorite murder case so far. Guy has a threatening note in his home. An email from a friend warning him that person was coming to kill him, and the person's full name and address in his address book.

Charl, your reviews, as always, are in-depth and entertaining. But the fact that you manage to do then all while not only sponsorless, but criticizing/putting on blast fraudulent/predatory/otherwise scummy sponsorship offers, is frankly admirable, and I cannot overstate the level of respect I have for your principles (as well as your take on content vs art, big ups for that). As soon as my pockets aren't a lint volcano and my digital wallet isn't an "anxiety activate" button, I'm most definitely pledging as much as I can. Stay golden man. ✨️ Also, Fritz is in his lazy-boy phase I see. If I place anything on my cat, one of two things happens: A) he feels merciful and just shakes it off or moves. B) he immediately goes into V.A.T.S. and targets my legs. And he will not de-aggro.

Adding this to the Wishlist

Frisk immersive simming his way into the toolbox to get the gloves is peak charlatan wonder household.

Sick! I'm sold.

This is the best f*cking intro I've ever seen 😂

Once the bugs are ironed out, some more optimization is done, and maybe a few extra crime types are added and dialogue options too this game feels like it’s on track to be the new gold standard for detective games. The character motives and dialogue are a little lackluster but the robust system of evidence is so wide and varied I’m still occasionally finding new things at 50+ hours playing this $19 game I bought on a whim. The environmental hazard and status affect depth surprised me too. I just learned, again after like 50+ hours, the hand dryers in the bathrooms can remove the wetness debuff you get from rain lol. I’ve seen people complain about the ‘smaller’ map size online but it feels like they’re comparing it to AAA games that are mile wide and inch deep with cardboard boxes for skyscrapers. The fact that every building is literally fully playable, and their occupants are simulated makes even the smallest map sizes feel engaging to me.

My "favorite" lead for an arrest so far: the suspect's name starts with an "x", and their job. (Receptionist) Sat down with a phonebook, and ran all the names through the citizen database one by one until I got them.

14:25 you can actually call them and then go to the call log of the building and see outgoing calls, it wont give you the exact apartment but it will give you the building the apartment is located in. then all you have to do is go to the building and check the incoming calls of that specific building to get the exact apartment

Well, you've convinced me to bite the bullet and buy the game. Thanks Charl

Yooo this looks cool

I was trying to make a game very much like this... but i suck so I'm glad someone smarter did it. At the same time i kind of envy them because I wanted to pull it off. I already had conspiracy board working in unity and was working on stealth. Well, back to drawing board and to redesign my immersive sim.

dude you make amazing videos i don't have the money to help you via donation but when i got myself in a good shape i will certain try to help more than just watch the videos.

Your "ad read" has me in fuckin stitches.

This game is so fun, I love it.

Such a fascinating game

Smart cat

Charlatan I have never used Patreon before so I signed up and subbed to your Patreon but I'm on a pension so I don't know how long I will stay a Patreon but while I can send a little $ your way I'm happy to because I really enjoy your videos. I look forward to watching them as soon as I see you have a new one up I watch it instantly. Thanks for sharing your art with the world. 😊😊

Description says 'it's not more open-ended gameplay in the tutorial case than most games these days.', i assume not should be got. Game looks cool!

Great thumbnail

Saucy boi likes variety

I bought the game a couple days ago and I want to play it but I might wait a bit so some of the bugs can be fixed 🤔

Nice opening

Cool Columbo simulator

It's such a good game. If you're even partially curious, just get it. Still a lot of bugs, but I'm (hesitantly) hopeful. Thanks always Charlatan for your fight against "content". Much love

There's just too many awesome games coming out this week, and here's another one for the file

I played this game and funnily enough witnessed two seperate murders back to back

I’m waiting for more of the game to be added in and bugs to be patched but will pick it up at some point

Cool looking game

Yes!

the reason it seems to slow down to the point of crashing when saving/loading, is because it basically does. Instead of loading in one window, it closes out the game and opens a new one. Noita used to have this issue where each new game would close the current window to open a fresh, new one, and thats essentially whats happening here. Its a killer on performance.

poger vid!

My inside man says that the Chonker is hungry... And he needs some snacks...

This game looks fantastic, something truly original and genuinely appealing, I'm far more enthusiastic for this than I am something like Starfield.

I saw RT play this a while ago, looks pretty interesting, I’m sure my mom would love it, she ADORES true crime

I can't see what game will beat this for my GOTY!

17:40 huh, my system barely meets the min requirements (depending who you ask, my GPU does not meet the requirements, or does... its a coin toss) and I had almost none of those issues. Loading times are relatively fast, the only clipping bugs I had were fixed on the highlighted patch earlier (clipping through wall when getting up from sitting) and the game runs just fine with my GPU not even heating up while I play it, even on larger cities.

INB4 Redfall has you generate Adobe Premier videos for evidence.

The Sugar Daddy mod also makes you addicted to the Kola lol

Gotta be honest, I was going to click off the video without "liking," but your sign-off about the misusage of the word "content" got me. Liked and subbed.

I played the demo back in the steam next fest in december or early 2023 i think, i really like it, but the performance was horrendous (like 20 fps and below). People said the early access was leaps above the demo.

This is a small joke but its still worth pointing out. Gave me a good laugh. 18:21

"If you're left handed like me" Bitch I'm left handed! I draw just fine

Was waiting for you to do a video on this one after watching Northernlion botch his gameplay.