No character creation so it's going to be real awkward when I only give tickets to minorities.

Starts game Plays as a Black Cop few Secs later Gets tazed by a White cop while chasing down criminal 10/10 Would get Tazed again.

I think some people will like this game, but it was not for me. I had a few issues with it during my hour of play time. - The biggest issue for me was the driving, and NPC behavior while driving. Nothing felt fluid, and it really took you out of the immersion of it all. When pulling cars over, you just stop in the middle of the road, cars don't always respect lights, cars constantly lurching to stops for no reason causing you to rear end them. - Voice acting is passable but not great. Not that I expected much but wanted to point that out. - Gun fights don't feel good to be a part of. Sprinting to cover feels janky as if you don't let go of SHIFT at the exact right time your character hurdles over the cover. Changing from cover to cover also does not feel fluid at all. This would all be a huge problem if the gun fights weren't brain dead easy. Shooting also does not feel satisfying, as I might as well just be moving my mouse and clicking on the enemies. I really think this could be a great game. But right now I cannot recommend it. Like I said, there are some people that will enjoy this but I just couldn't get into it with the issues listed above.

This game has enough cursing to make a sailor blush, so playing it near my son is basically an automatic trip to the parenting hall of shame. It also stutters like it's delivering a dramatic monologue. And the city? Let’s just say it’s cozy enough that my character might bump into their ex every five minutes.

A game with great potential but lacking in variety. Let’s start with the positives: this game is refreshingly unique since you get to play as a police officer instead of the usual villain. It brings back memories of the classic Police Quest series, which was a blast! I had high hopes for this indie title, especially with its impressive visuals, decent humor, and the classic satire woven into the characters. However, the content is where it stumbles. It’s so repetitive that after just an hour, you might find yourself yawning. Some of the shifts feel quite short, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I do enjoy patrolling from the helicopter, playing the "eyes in the sky" without having to deal with a clueless partner. Speaking of partners, yours is a cop close to retirement and generally fine, but his logic is questionable. He’ll dash off to chase a fleeing suspect, leaving you to handle the one in front of you. But if you decide to check on his progress, he’ll abandon the perp as soon as you get in your car. More than once, I’ve seen the bad guy standing there with his hands up, completely unattended. Another amusing quirk is when you’re on foot and spot a high-speed chase; your partner will take off after them! It’s hilarious for about 1.23 seconds. You hop in your car, and suddenly he’s running back towards you, forcing you to wait. The citizens of this city are a wild bunch, always breaking the law! On my first patrol, I didn’t even need to move; enough crimes happened right where I was standing before my shift ended. There are four crimes that pop up way too frequently: 1) Drunk driving 2) Fighting 3) Drugs 4) Burglary It feels like you can’t take five steps without hearing about a crime or seeing your partner witness one. And let’s not forget the police in the game! When you call for backup, you can watch as the cop car arrives, crashes into another vehicle, backs up, moves forward, and crashes again—all while there’s plenty of space to get closer. Clearly, driving lessons were not part of their training at the Police Academy. I’ll keep playing, but in small doses. This game definitely needed a bit more polish and refinement before hitting the shelves. I can’t recommend it because of how quickly it becomes repetitive, the clueless bots, the overwhelming crime rate, and a partner who’s like a dog chasing every squirrel it sees (on foot).

You can play this game. It is okay. I am forced to give a negative review out of pure sadness for what it could be as what is here now is a shell for its potential. It feels early access to me, or that the developers ran out of financing and time. I think it is priced, _okay_ with the discount, you will probably get what you put in if you like games like this. But if you're on the edge, I would wait for updates. This game has spent ~6 years in development. With that they've nailed the aesthetics and 80s vibe of the city, and it's clear a good amount of work has gone into the sandbox itself. On performance i had no issues or crashes, but I am on a very top of the line rig. Others express different sentiments and the game is capped to 30fps on console. To that end, almost everything else feels bolted on. The story is as cliche and as "cop drama" as you'd expect. You've almost certainly heard it before. Rookie cop convinces senior cop to care, chase down some cop family drama with a twist at the end, etc. It was so mundane I skipped the ending cut scenes. The story isn't a reason to play and you finish it about six hours in. Some items are so bolted on you could miss them, there is an entire subway network with no crimes or patrols (to my knowledge so far) associated with it. The progression system is barebones, outside of a few new unlocks for "support actions" most of it is "increase x by %" type perks. Unlocks for health are kind of needed because the combat system isn't skill based. There is strong auto aim, but only a small percentage of shots will hit on the target due to random MOA spread applied to each weapon. You unlock vehicles as you play, but none of them are better than the starting vehicle because they literally cannot keep up with criminal vehicles on chases so "can ram more" doesn't really come into play. There are additional weapons to unlock, but no additional non lethal weapons. Each weapon suffers from the artifical random spread so really none of them are better than the others, except for the "sniper" rifle and only because of its ammo to kill ability. The sandbox feels good in the beginning, but quickly gets tedious due to the limited number of interactions available. It will be no time at all until you start "Delegating" paperwork to your partner for almost all arrests not because you don't enjoy noting down the crimes, but because the interface and selection wheel for doing so is so crude. In the story you were called to interview residents for example, once, but that's it. In the free roam game-play there is no support type missions like setting up roadblocks, speed traps, or serving warrants. There is no EMS services like Fire or Ambulance despite them being modelled in the game. There is no "after the fact" type crimes where you're expected to interview potentially unreliable informants for a Be-on-the-lookout type system. There is no emergent story. There are no tow trucks, no calls for trespass etc. Criminals respond as not-in-their-self-interest as possible, with almost every criminal running. I get that's there for game feel but with how shallow everything is it feels pretty rough. Each event is separate from every other event, there is no sandbox permanence, it's "reset" every time you enter the precinct. Everything feels so well established as a _foundation_ for what this game could support but does not. I understand that this is a small developer studio, but wish more attention was put into systems than aesthetics, because the aesthetics show what this small and mighty team can do. The whole time through all I was saying to myself was "if only" and unfortunately that's a rough feeling to have for a game like this. My hope is that this world realises its full potential, and doesn't fall into a similar trap like shadows of doubt, or other games that have shown such a strong foundation, but have been unable to leverage it for anything that truly feels special. EDIT: Today, May 15th, the publisher announced there will be post release content on the discord. They did not elaborate as to what that content will be. This is different than their previous stance at launch when they said they had no post release roadmap, and haven't yet decided if they will do post release content. So some of you on the edge may wish to follow the game to see what that entails, or does not entail.

This game is missing a female cop option. Really hoping for a DLC to fix that😀

The last time I ate a hotdog, I was called to stop a bank robbery — so I’m honestly terrified to find out what happens when I bite into a donut.

I really, REALLY wanted to like this game. I had it wishlisted forever. It is astonishingly boring. The gameplay isn't just repetitive, it is almost insulting to the player as it removes any sort of detective work in a police game. Ask for ID - Frisk - tells you what the charges are - pick the charges it just told you. I chase a perp, he hits someone with his car and runs, and I can't charge him with a hit and run? Christ. Lose me with this crap. This game sucks.

Something to stop my thirst till gta 6. But dont sleep on it for just being that, this game has its own backbone.

After 100%ing this game I would say that it's worth the price. I'm glad that it doesn't overstay its welcome with the story as it would eventually get repetitive if they did drag it out another 5 - 10hrs. My only issue that I had was one of two things. First is that Kelly is slow af but that can be solved by just driving off as he will teleport back into your car anyway. The other thing is that if you pull cars over for a traffic stop, they won't pull over slowly to the side but instead stop on a dime and you'll ram straight into the back of them lol I would definitely look forward to some DLC or to a sequel.

I love this game!! It feels like a GTA game but you’re on the good side this time. I love patrolling and running plates for any reason. If a car is driving too slow…. I’ll light their ass up!! I don’t like the color of the car.….I’ll light their ass up! I didn’t like the way you made that turn….light your ass up! Oh, what’s that littering?! Light your ass up and send you to jail. I Thank God I was never a cop in real life.

I enjoyed the game, it's not bad at all. I think it has a huge potential to be even more bigger than it is, more crime types, incidents, AI improvements and so on. The police chases are entertaining and there's a loooooooooot of crimes to respond and solve. You aren't completely alone as you can call for officer backup and you are partnered with an officer. Review video: https://youtu.be/hWCbbPWQvxg

I wish I could leave a mixed review for this one. I really like the mechanics (driving is weird but imo not horrible), graphics, and characters. However, this game desperately needs to break away from the "shift" concept. Just make it open world. The game sets up a great open world concept, then needlessly wraps in a limited game mode? Why? It feels awkward and forced.

Was so excited for this and it turned out to be a huge disappointment. Boring and very short story, repetitive gameplay, terrible AI, janky physics. PC performance is also atrocious for the type of graphics this game has. Simply no excuse for this game to demand so much power from the GPU and for the FPS to drop to the 50s when driving. Hard to fathom how triple A releases with RT and far better graphics run better than this game. AT $37 NZD ($45 full price) I honestly can't recommend until the devs add more content and fix the performance.

--{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☑ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☐ Potato ☑ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{ Game Size }--- ☐ Floppy Disk ☐ Old Fashioned ☑ Workable ☐ Big ☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive ☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it ☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data ---{ Difficulty }--- ☐ Just press 'W' ☑ Easy ☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master ☐ Significant brain usage ☐ Difficult ☐ Dark Souls ---{ Grind }-- ☐ Nothing to grind ☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks ☐ Isn't necessary to progress ☑Average grind level ☐ Too much grind ☐ You'll need a second life for grinding ---{ Story }--- ☐ No Story ☑ Some lore ☐ Average ☐ Good ☐ Lovely ☐ It'll replace your life ---{ Game Time }--- ☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee ☐ Short ☐ Average ☐ Long ☑ To infinity and beyond ---{ Price }--- ☐ It's free! ☑ Worth the price ☐ If it's on sale ☐ If u have some spare money left ☐ Not recommended ☐ You could also just burn your money ---{ Bugs }--- ☐ Never heard of ☑ Minor bugs ☐ Can get annoying ☐ ARK: Survival Evolved ☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs ---{ ? / 10 }--- ☐ 1 ☐ 2 ☐ 3 ☐ 4 ☐ 5 ☐ 6 ☐ 7 ☐ 8 ☐ 9 ☑ 10

For a game i found by mispelling something in the steam search bar. Its not bad Some bugs but the game is 24h old not unexpected. I would recommend as long as your okay with a more arcade-like game, the shooting and chases are very arcade style.

Kelly and I chased a suspect into a petting zoo. Long story short — I now fear goats.

Storyline

The Precinct is a top down, action adventure game set in 1983's Averno City. You’re not just a cop, you’re the son of a murdered police chief. Nick Cordell Jr. is on a mission to uncover who killed his father while trying to keep the peace in a city crawling with criminals, corrupt officials, and gangs. The story is heavily inspired by 1980s noir films, filled with twists, betrayals, and gritty city streets. It’s personal, intense, and the kind of story that keeps you hooked as you peel back layers of corruption and crime. The game doesn’t just follow a set script, it throws random events at you, like a robbery or a parking ticket, that pop up naturally as you play. You can choose to investigate them or just ignore them, letting you create your own story as you go. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3481285349 As you progress through the game, you’ll earn experience and move up the ranks, unlocking new skills and equipment along the way. This progression is closely tied to the story, as advancing to higher ranks opens up more complex cases and gives you a deeper role in uncovering the city's criminal secrets.

Gameplay

The game begins with a tutorial that gradually introduces you to the story, unfolding in a way that's both engaging and well paced. The gameplay is open world, top down, and gives you the freedom to approach your job as a cop however you want although within your working hours. You’ll respond to all kinds of crimes, from petty thefts to high speed chases, all while trying to stick to police procedures like reading suspects their rights or booking them at the station. You can patrol the streets on foot, in your squad car (you can unlock different cars by moving up ranks), or even take to the skies in a helicopter. There’s a lot of freedom, and each day brings new cases, side missions, and opportunities to explore the city. The dynamic day/night cycle and weather system keep things interesting. Rain makes the roads slippery, and night operations require you to be extra careful. Whether it's a gang shootout or a routine traffic stop, things rarely go as planned. One of the most fun parts of The Precinct is how alive the city feels around you. As you patrol Averno, the world doesn’t just sit still, it moves with you. You can talk with almost anyone you come across. If someone looks a bit off or seems suspicious, you can ask for their ID, or even frisk them to make sure they’re not hiding anything. The sense of immersion is incredible, and it’s easy to get lost in the little details of the city as it goes on around you. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3481285679 The AI is smart with criminals using clever tactics that make each encounter feel challenging. Whether it’s a gang shootout or a simple traffic stop, things rarely go as planned, keeping you alert. There’s a lot of replay value, thanks to random events and side missions. Each time you play, the city feels full of new things to do. Though there are occasional glitches now and then. For example, suspects may drive erratically and illogical, making sudden, unpredictable moves that mess up your chases. One fun feature is the partnership with your assigned partner, Kelly. While Kelly doesn't drive the car, he accompanies you during patrols, assisting with tasks and providing support during encounters. His presence adds depth to the gameplay, offering a sense of "camaraderie" as you tackle the challenges of Averno City together. One moment, you're chasing down a suspect through rain soaked streets, your partner Kelly is nowhere to be found. You call for backup, only to realize Kelly is stuck behind a lamppost, trying to figure out how to get into the car. Meanwhile, the suspect is making a clean getaway. Despite the occasional hiccups with your partner, The Precinct offers a unique blend of police simulation and action. It's a game that keeps you engaged, whether you're solving crimes or dealing with the unpredictable nature of your team (i'm looking at you Kelly). Another fun feature is that during a high speed chase, you can call for backup, which you unlock by staying close to suspects and keeping up the pursuit. This lets you request help, like extra patrol cars, spike strips, or even a helicopter to catch fleeing criminals. This feature adds a layer of strategy to the gameplay, letting you adjust your approach depending on the situation

Graphics & Sound

The visuals in The Precinct are stunning, with the neon lights and rainy streets capturing the essence of the 1980s perfectly. The city is richly detailed, from the lively downtown to the darker, more dangerous neighborhoods and creepy alleys. The rain soaked streets and the way light reflects off puddles give the game a truly immersive feel. Add to that a synth heavy soundtrack that fits the setting perfectly, and the sound design, whether it’s the sound of a siren (you can pick from different ones) or the distant noise of a helicopter, it all works together to pull you into Averno City. One downside I've noticed is that even though I have a high end computer, I still experience the occasional hiccup while driving. The game seems to struggle with rendering at times, causing some stutter during vehicle scenes.

Final Verdict

The Precinct is a thrilling mix of crime solving, high speed chases, and moments where you’ll question if your partner is secretly trying to sabotage you. The storyline is gripping, you’re not just chasing bad guys, you’re also trying to figure out who killed your dad. The city is packed with detail, from the buzzing downtown to those creepy alleys where you just know something shady is happening (probably involving Kelly getting stuck behind a lamppost again). You can interact with pretty much anyone, asking for IDs or frisking people who look a little too suspicious. Sure, the AI and occasional rendering hiccups can be a bit annoying (like when your car’s driving smoother than Kelly’s attempts at a sprint), but those moments don't take away from the pure chaos and fun this game offers. The game keeps things exciting and lets you explore a city full of surprises.

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Old GTA Vibe before GTA VI? Definitely YES.

This game is awesome: -Gta2/Gta Chinatown vibe with police mod. -The gameplay is too good, and the graphics are beautiful like 80s -Synthwave songs -Good story -Have a great atmosphere -The Ai needs some improvement and there are a couple of bugs in the game

Don't hesitate and try it out because you won't be disappointed.

Seriously? Spamming buttons to restrain suspects? No accessibility options for people with handicaps, such as myself? Addendum: There is no way to determine what this game considers "Evading"... Your partner will process suspects automatically, taking XP away and pulling you out the experience. Were they searched? Did they have any weapons? Too late.. they're in your squad car already, cause your partner decided to put them there..? So much potential in this game, soiled by dumb little things like not having any control over your scene. The squad cars are the slowest cars in the entire game. As you progress you unlock cars which are SLOWER than your firs cop car. Suspects end up on top of vehicles or behind objects and can't be arrested. Entire crime scenes will disappear if you get a little to far away.. 3 suspects, you catch two but one runs off a block away. You run and catch him, walk back tot eh scene, just to find the whole scene gone or that your partner has processed everyone already -_- No control, no XP for the other two criminals. Chased a carjacking suspect, caught them on a bridge, was in the middle of searching them, when my partner says "damn, we lost them" and the suspect disappeared. Left me in the circular criminal interaction menu, soft-locked and i had to restart the game...... Hit max rank, got the fastest police car.. Had to chase a station wagon and got out paced by it on every straight away xD What is it, rubberbanding? What's the point of the final police car going faster, if all the other cars just magically go faster too...?

The gameplay is good, and the graphics are beautiful. However, the AI is not very good, and there are a decent number of bugs (though none game-breaking so far). Overall, it's a good game that just needs some bug fixes and AI improvements. Hopefully they will also add more content to make for a even better sandbox experience!

An Almost Satisfying Police Simulator I've played several police simulator games before, and this one is by far the best — but it still falls short in a few frustrating ways. One of the biggest issues is how restrictive the objectives are. For example, once I accept a case from the 911 operator, I can't engage with anything else on the way. If I witness another crime in progress, I'm not allowed to intervene because the game blocks me with a message: "This is not your current objective." That breaks immersion and makes me feel like less of a real officer and more of a quest follower. Another annoyance is dealing with multiple suspects. Some crimes involve 3–4 individuals, and if they start running, good luck. It takes a long time to restrain one suspect, and by the time you’re done, the others are long gone. If you try to chase them first and leave the initial suspect unattended without arresting them, they might flee too. It feels like the system punishes you no matter what choice you make. Also… Kelly? Pretty useless. That said, the game has a lot of potential. It nails the atmosphere and has a solid foundation. With some quality-of-life improvements and smarter AI behavior, it could go from "almost satisfying" to truly great.

i did not realize this is a full release and not just an EA. At least then there is an excuse. But there are also only 2 gangs, which takes about 6 hours to beat. A 6 hour game for $30 should be a crime itself. Another crime is labeling this as a "sandbox" game when it is really just repeat the same 4 things over and over and over. No persistence to the "sandbox" game, you are making ZERO progress on anything in the city besides your own personal upgrades which are mostly useless. It is also evident that they hired "that" company to leave glowing reviews of the game. Hundreds of reviews with 1 review on record. Really? You never reviewed a game and now magically you are Charles Dickens writing a glowing review about an subjectively BAD game? Yikes. Can't suggest it at this price point. Its innovative in its own way - but really isn't inspired and I don't see that changing without drastic changes. - The simulation part is there - when you arrest a perp you need to list every charge you witnessed. Cool concept, but considering how the game is its tough to keep track of and becomes a chore considering how many 100s of arrests you make. - The 80s vibe was actually done really well! - A lot of the arrest type focus on your shift are lame. Driving related offenses are tough to find, especially speeding because there are stop lights every 10 seconds, so only the lead cars even have the potential to speed, but they rarely get to even the speed limit before stopping for a light. - Chasing perps is not fun - neither in a car or on foot. NPCs run the same speed but have an advanage because they are on a pathfinding "wire" and go directly from point A to B, so you need to guess where C is and try to make up ground. You can't get "faster" per se, but you unlock better Stamina management which still doesn't shorten the mindless chasing. Vehicle chases also suffer from this. - You make an arrest and go through the typical "check ID" and "check inventory". Well while I ask dispatch to run the ID, someone around the corner suddenly pulls out a gun and unloads an entire clip, reloads and is about to empty the second. But you can't do anything because you are waiting for dispatch to let you know about the ID.... ok. - Calling in support is rarely supportive. Calling in a patrol car puts them in decent position, but you are 50/50 on if they will slow down the perp, or miss and hit you, setting you back on the precious ground you tried to gain... Spike traps are worthless because they ALWAYS set them up far BEHIND where you are. Calling in on-foot backup spawns them right there, only to shoot a taser shot short and do nothing. - 2 criminal activity is also lame. One stands there, and the other runs long enough for you to chase them and the first person to get away and you get penalized. - The game is a "story" that is about as inspired as you would see on a lore-less RTS that nobody cares about and wants to have a campaign to check that box. You grind for rewards (unlocks/upgrades) and that naturally seems to progress the story, I am not invested in it at ALL. - The "day" revolves around your shift, you pick an area to patrol and a "type" (like looking for driving violations, or assaults, or whatever). But none of it really matters. If I want to go to the other side of the map from my patrol area, nobody cares. Just as long as you are arresting people/handing out tickets you are doing a good job - and you should just look for "easy" crimes to wrap up and not bother with ones that will involve a chase. Overall the upgrades are a lot of passives that don't feel fun to try to unlock. The actual unlocks (cars/weapons) are more impressive but still fall flat. It is only a layer of customization because a lot are not worthwhile for the gameplay. It tries to layer in some story, but only a few arrests are fun, interesting, or worth the time investment that it doesn't really matter. I am shocked that I only spent 5 hours in the game as I thought I really enjoyed it, but after multiple sessions I realized I was getting bored after only 30ish minutes each time. At 5 hours I have 2/3 of the skills unlocked and done with what I think is 2/3 of the story. If I cant finish it in 10 hr total, I'd be shocked.. That being said, there is 0% chance I play this for 25-30 hr to reach the min of $1/hr in-game. After 5 hours it is a struggle to want to play anymore so if I manage to finish it will be kicking and screaming the entire time. PS - Their "Serpeant Gang" logo is virtually identical to my "S" branding on socials that I've used for 15 years. Exact color scheme, only their tail has a little additional length and their snake doesn't have a bit of fur on its head like mine. That is fine.

It's a good and fun game overall, but it's missing some basic polish. For example, after zipping up dead bodies, they still just lie there, which really breaks immersion. When an escort unit arrives, they walk the criminal away on foot and leave their car blocking the road. There's also no option to tow abandoned or illegally parked vehicles, which feels like a big oversight for a game in this genre. Movement is another issue: it's clunky, and your walking speed doesn't match your partner's, which makes AI-based missions frustrating. These might seem like small details, but they add up and impact the experience in a noticeable way.

A decent Cop simulator game set in 1980s US. Worth every cent it cost, not a masterpiece but quite good already. My top 3 indie game this year so far.