When Shadows of Doubt hit early access last April, we quickly became believers in the potential of its procedurally generated cities and crime solving simulation sandbox. After 17 months of improvements, additions, and tune-ups, we’ll see how well that potential’s been realized when the cyberpunk detective sim gets its 1.0 release on September 26, 2024.
Since its early access launch, I’ve spent a couple dozen hours navigating the intricate web of simulated lives that Shadows of Doubt weaves for the citizens walking the rain-slick streets of its sprawling voxel cities. Every NPC has their own home, occupation, relationships, and routine that intersects with those of their roommates, coworkers, and acquaintances. When one of those NPCs inevitably commits a murder—it’s a…