The Shapeshifting Detective
The Shapeshifting Detective is a single-player adventure game by D'Avekki Studios and Wales Interactive. You play as Sam, a shapeshifter who can impersonate anyone after meeting them. From a first-person view, Sam investigates the murder of a local cellist by interviewing suspects shown in full-motion video, including a trio of fortune tellers. In each playthrough, the killer is randomly chosen from the suspects.
When suspects won’t talk, Sam can impersonate a friend or authority figure to get information. Sam’s dialogue isn’t voiced, but the characters you impersonate are. During interviews you pick dialogue options from a list; some options are marked as risky and can be removed if you want to avoid branching. Once you choose, you can’t backtrack.
The game released on Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One on November 6, 2018, and on iOS on February 20, 2019. A prequel, Dark Nights with Poe and Munro, came out in 2020.
Reception was mixed. Some reviewers praised its unique mystery, creative interviewing, good acting, and dialogue, while others criticized the pacing and the level of interactivity, calling the gameplay a bit basic or requiring trial and error.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 11:51 (CET).