D’avekki Studios and Wales interactive are back with another FMV release on PS4! Come learn more about this great game in our The Shapeshifting Detective review!
I had a chance to review The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker, a very solid full motion video (FMV) murder-mystery release from D’avekki Studios and Wales interactive, so I was definitely up for reviewing The Shapeshifting Detective on PlayStation 4. EdEN did an interview with Aislinn De’Ath who played Marianna in The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker and plays violet in The Shapeshifting Detective, so be sure to check it out to learn more about the process of bringing a video game to life.
The ShapeShifting Detective is a supernatural murder mystery set in the sleepy town of August. Your ultimate goal is simple: solve the murder mystery and don’t get caught! You play as a detective who is capable of becoming anyone he wants to be which is an important gameplay mechanic. The suspects in the game are not just going to spill the beans to you, so you’ll need to change into someone else to see if they trust you enough to tell you their deepest and darkest secrets.
Since this is an FMV release, the game looks and feels a lot like a movie, as was the case for The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker – you will even spot some actors who are back to portray a different type of character this time around! The game features quite large multi-location environments to explore, and you also have a room dedicated to yourself so that you can shapeshift in private into the nine characters, including Chief Dupont, Violet, Bronwyn, Reyne and more. As you discover new evidence and unlock new conversations without anyone realizing you’re not who they think they are, you’ll be drawn into a very addictive gaming loop. I instantly fell in love with this one!
The murder is different for each run, and the choices you make will affect the outcome of the game, so you could catch the killer and ruin a relationship/friendship during your journey or save a life or two. The replayability lies in the branching dialogue options and on the choices you make. Push enough buttons, and a suspect might react in a different way during a second run, opening up new possible conversations. The clues to solving a crime are often found in what people say, and it’s up to you to shapeshift correctly to unlock the paths that will lead you to uncover the killer.
I really can’t talk more about The Shapeshifting Detective without spoiling the experience for you, but I will say that this is a brilliant FMV experience that you have to play on PlayStation 4. The story is good, the performance from each actor is solid, and the shapeshifting mechanic is very addictive. As long as you take things slowly and make sure you’re not caught, you’re going to have a lot of fun with this one on PS4!
Disclaimer
This The Shapeshifting Detective review is based on a PlayStation 4 copy provided by Wales Interactive.
