Like so many, I’ve been longing for a sequel to the excellent L.A. Noire. Sadly, Rockstar Games is unlikely to revisit it as it puts the finishing touches on GTA 6. There’s hope on the horizon, though, as Shadows of Doubt is the detective game you’ve been waiting for. Following its growing fanfare on other platforms, Shadows of Doubt PS5 and Shadows of Doubt Xbox versions are finally in the works.
In a recent social media announcement, ColePowered Games confirms that “Shadows Of Doubt will also be launching on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S this year.” I reckon there’s potential for Shadows of Doubt to join the ranks of the best games of the year for console players. I’ve already spent plenty of hours putting clues together in a dingy diner, all while the cold midnight rain beats on the window. Now, I’m more than ready to do it all again when it becomes an essential new PS5 game and new Xbox game to add to your library.
Aesthetically, it’ll likely remind you of Minecraft or Cloudpunk, as ColePowered Games fuses Voxel-style graphics with moody Blade Runner-influenced backdrops. Stringing together some FPS game and RPG game elements, players take on procedurally generated cases in an alternative history set in 1979.
When I say alternative history, I mean it, as Shadows of Doubt’s lore goes back to 1610, changing key historical events. You can feel that in the game’s fictitious United Atlantic States, which can be fully explored to your heart’s content. Each building is accessible, but you may need to put on your thinking cap when you’re attempting to access restricted areas of interest.
If you’re heading into this with some previous LA Noire experience, just know that resolving a case is more layered than Rockstar’s acclaimed open world game. There’s less hand-holding while discovering your clues, which is amplified when you’re trying to delineate what’s true or false. Like any good detective, you’ll need to trust your guts and be confident in your findings when you head to City Hall to present your case. Unlike Detective Cole Phelps, the player can bend the rules of the law to get the job done, and that can lead to some pretty hairy situations.
In my own experience playing on PC, I found myself trapped in an office block protected by mini-guns. How did I get there? Well, I just wanted to find someone’s address on an employee’s computer. That’s the kind of wild scenario you can expect to end up in.
The exact Shadows of Doubt release date for PS5 and Xbox is yet to be confirmed, but I anticipate it will arrive over the summer. It could be a surprise title shown at Xbox’s Summer Showcase. While I would love nothing more than for Rockstar to make LA Noire 2 (more so than GTA 6, if I’m being honest), Shadows of Doubt is a more than worthy alternative, and I can’t wait to dive in again on console this time round.
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