The Shapeshifting Detective Small Image

Making Choices Matter in The Shapeshifting Detective, Coming Soon to Xbox One

Hello Xbox fans! We’re D’Avekki Studios, a game studio run by myself, Lynda Cowles, and my husband Tim Cowles. We made our Xbox One debut earlier this year with The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker and now we’re excited to be back with The Shapeshifting Detective, a new supernatural FMV murder mystery releasing on Xbox One November 9, 2018. Pre-order is also available now with 20% discount.

In The Shapeshifting Detective, you play as Sam – a detective with the ability to (surprise, surprise) shapeshift! You’re sent to the town of August to investigate a murder, and by shapeshifting into the people you’re investigating, you’ll be able to find out things they wouldn’t otherwise tell you. You can change into who you want, whenever you want. The only rule is: Don’t get caught.

The Shapeshifting Detective

To shift or not to shift

Of course, you don’t have to shapeshift if you don’t want to. It is possible to solve the murder and catch the killer without pretending to be someone else. But shifting definitely helps you dig up all the juiciest dirt. Just be warned… you can’t go around impersonating people without creating a few ripples, so don’t be surprised if some of your decisions come back to bite you (or punch you), which leads us nicely to your second choice…

To speak or not to speak

The Shapeshifting Detective is a game where you ask a lot of questions. But just because you can ask something, doesn’t mean you should. Which is why we added a delete option. Telling a murder suspect why you think they’re suspicious isn’t likely to get you any new information, whereas saying nothing and letting them do the talking might. But deleting questions is a gamble. It won’t always get results. Sometimes all it will get you is awkward silence.

The Shapeshifting Detective

You don’t have to delete any questions if you don’t want to, although there may be consequences to blurting out every thought that enters your head. Rub Violet the wrong way and she could throw a tantrum. Annoy the Chief enough and he might throw someone in jail – or he might not. These consequences are randomized so two players making exactly the same choices may see different outcomes. And not all consequences are bad. Say the right things to one character and there could be love in the air by the end of the game, if you survive that long…

To win or… ?

The Shapeshifting Detective isn’t just about what you say – or who you say it as. At some point, you have to stop talking and start taking action. You have to make important decisions, such as how you will protect the next potential victim. Should she leave town or stand firm? Should she stay with you or is she safer with someone else? There’s no right or wrong decision but every choice you make will affect her fate.

The Shapeshifting Detective

And what about the murderer? The Chief’s got to arrest someone at some point. Give him the right name, and the guilty person will be safely tucked up in a prison cell. Get it wrong and well… let’s just say you’re in for a dramatic finale. Even then, how you handle it can make a huge difference to the body count. There’s no cheating either – like Doctor DekkerThe Shapeshifting Detective features a random murderer so the killer could be any one of three suspects.

To play… or replay…?

We’ve packed so many choices into this game! Our hope is that The Shapeshifting Detective will be a game you’ll want to play more than once – and every time you do, you’ll uncover something new.