In the immersive world of Shadows of Doubt, you embody a private investigator navigating procedurally generated cities to solve intricate cases, often centered around murder. The game’s depth lies in its fully simulated environment, allowing exploration of every nook and cranny. However, this complexity can make the initial hours challenging. To ease your entry into this unique detective experience, we’ve compiled a starting guide packed with essential tips and tricks.
Basic Tips and Tricks
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Complete the Tutorial: Shadows of Doubt includes a tutorial mission, “The Dead of Night,” specifically designed to introduce you to the game’s core mechanics through your first case. Don’t skip this crucial introduction. It provides a hands-on learning experience that is invaluable for understanding the game’s intricate systems. Attempting to navigate Shadows of Doubt without completing the tutorial can significantly increase the initial difficulty and learning curve.
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Citizens Live Dynamic Lives: The inhabitants of Shadows of Doubt’s cities operate on schedules, meaning they aren’t static figures confined to one location. This dynamic behavior can be both advantageous and inconvenient during your investigations. If your target individual isn’t at their residence, consider checking their workplace or waiting for their return. Conversely, you can leverage these schedules to your advantage by observing when a resident leaves their home, creating opportunities for discreet entry and investigation.
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The Element of Surprise: When faced with occupants obstructing your search of a residence, a less subtle approach can be effective, especially for gathering initial information. By saving your game beforehand, you can opt for a direct, albeit forceful, entry. This involves barging into the dwelling and physically subduing the inhabitants. While not the most refined method, it allows for a rapid scan of the premises, pinpointing key areas and potential clues. After this quick reconnaissance, you can reload your save and employ a more stealthy and methodical approach, focusing your investigation on the areas identified during your initial, less graceful, entry.
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Enhance Your Detective with Discs: Shadows of Doubt features a character upgrade system utilizing “discs.” These upgrades can be installed at clinics – simply resting in a clinic bed triggers the installation process. Prioritize the inventory capacity upgrade early on. Expanded inventory is exceptionally beneficial, allowing you to gather and carry more evidence and items, streamlining your investigations and reducing trips back to your apartment.
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Your Apartment: Home Base: Your apartment serves as your central hub in Shadows of Doubt. It’s more than just a safe house; it’s a multi-functional space where you can clean up after potentially messy investigations, rest to advance time and recover, and securely store collected items and evidence. Understanding and utilizing your apartment effectively is key to managing your resources and progressing smoothly through cases.
Cases
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Finding Your First Case (Sandbox Mode): In the sandbox mode of Shadows of Doubt, case assignments aren’t automatically given. To initiate your detective career, head to a public location like a bar or restaurant and locate the public phone. Adjacent to the phone, you’ll typically find a notice board displaying available jobs. Start with these general tasks to familiarize yourself with the gameplay loop and earn some initial income while waiting for a murder case to emerge.
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Handcuffs: Essential for Interrogation: Handcuffs are not just a tool for apprehending suspects; they are a crucial instrument for effective interrogation. Restraining a suspect with handcuffs significantly increases their willingness to cooperate and provide information. Furthermore, handcuffs facilitate fingerprint acquisition without relying on the scanner. Simply focus your gaze on the suspect’s cuffed hands, and the prompt to collect fingerprints will appear, offering a valuable method for identification and evidence gathering.
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City Directories: Your Real-World Search Engine: Throughout your cases, you’ll encounter numerous names, some of which will be vital to your investigation. City directories are your primary resource for locating individuals connected to these names. Treat them as an in-game search engine for people. By searching a name within a directory, you can uncover their address, effectively activating a form of in-game “GPS” to guide you to their location for further investigation.
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Not Every Lead Pans Out: Detective work in Shadows of Doubt mirrors real investigations in its unpredictable nature. You will encounter leads that ultimately lead to dead ends. This is an inherent part of the investigative process. If you find yourself stuck or hitting a wall in your current line of inquiry, don’t hesitate to reassess the case from a different perspective. Re-examine your collected evidence, revisit previous locations, or consider alternative interpretations of the clues you have gathered.
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Multiple Paths to Resolution: Shadows of Doubt is designed to offer multiple avenues for solving cases. Different clues and lines of investigation may lead you down divergent paths. However, these seemingly separate routes are designed to converge, ultimately guiding you toward identifying the culprit. Some investigative approaches might lead to a quicker resolution, while others may be more circuitous, but the conclusion – catching the perpetrator – remains the same, regardless of the path you choose.
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The Enigmatic Briefcase: The briefcase is a specific item that plays a role in certain investigations. When your case involves a briefcase, you will need to locate it and interact with it to advance the storyline. Opening the briefcase is often the trigger that updates your case objectives, providing new leads or information essential for progressing further in your investigation.
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Navigating Crime Scenes Under Guard: Murder scenes in Shadows of Doubt are typically secured by enforcers tasked with guarding the body and the immediate area. Entering these crime scenes is essential to gather crucial clues and evidence. While access is necessary, it must be done cautiously. Avoid direct confrontation with the enforcers. Utilize environmental elements like vents to infiltrate the scene undetected, or create distractions to divert the enforcer’s attention, allowing you to slip past and conduct your investigation unnoticed.
Security
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Bypassing Security Systems: As you explore the cities in Shadows of Doubt, you’ll frequently encounter security measures such as cameras, alarms, and automated turrets. There are several methods to disable these systems. Direct interaction with the devices themselves is possible, though often they are positioned in elevated or inaccessible locations. Fuse boxes offer another point of intervention. Tampering with a fuse box can cut power to security systems in a localized area. Computers linked to security networks can also be hacked to disable or manipulate security measures. Additionally, sabotaging alarm switches can prevent citizens from manually triggering alarms, providing a broader, preventative approach to managing security threats.
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Fines for Illegal Actions: Engaging in illegal activities within Shadows of Doubt will incur fines. However, these fines are only enforced if you are caught in the act by law enforcement. A risk-reward dynamic is thus introduced: you can choose to steal items or gather evidence illegally, but you must successfully evade capture. Focus on swift execution and rapid escape to minimize the chances of being apprehended and having to pay the resulting fine.
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Lockpicks: Your Gateway to Secrets: Lockpicks are an indispensable tool for any aspiring detective in Shadows of Doubt. They provide the means to bypass locked doors and containers, granting access to restricted areas and potentially hidden evidence. Lockpicks, in the form of hairpins and paper clips, can be found throughout the game world as lootable items. Alternatively, they can be purchased from vendors, such as those found in City Hall, ensuring a consistent supply of this essential gadget.
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Guns as Improvised Weapons: While firearms in Shadows of Doubt cannot be used for shooting, they are not entirely useless. Guns can be employed as blunt melee weapons. In situations where you need to subdue an opponent without lethal force, a gun can serve as a makeshift club or bludgeon, offering a non-lethal option for self-defense or incapacitation.
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Death is Not Game Over: In Shadows of Doubt, sustaining critical injuries doesn’t necessarily result in permanent death. Instead of a game over screen, severely wounded characters are transported to the hospital for medical treatment. This mechanic provides a safety net, allowing for recovery from dangerous situations without the harsh penalty of complete game restart.
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Hospital Bills and Evasion: Upon waking up in the hospital after sustaining injuries, you will be presented with medical bills. You have the choice to pay these bills if you possess sufficient funds. Paying is generally advisable, as it not only covers your medical expenses but also often grants temporary buffs or stat boosts as a reward for responsible behavior. However, if you are short on cash or prefer a more rebellious approach, you can choose to evade payment and escape the hospital. Escape routes vary depending on your hospital floor. If on higher floors, look for ventilation shafts as a discreet exit. If on the ground floor, a direct sprint to the main exit might suffice, relying on speed and a bit of luck to avoid immediate recapture.
Dive into the intriguing cases and shadowy world of Shadows of Doubt with these essential starting tips. Good luck, detective!
