It’s a surprise, then, that team behind it has been laid off from Kwalee Labs. Its CEO, Hollie Emery, was the bearer of this bit of bad news, citing reasons that were “out of our control” as the cause of this closure. It will leave nine talented employees at the mercy of a rather volatile job market (which isn’t looking so hot these days, considering what’s happening at Xbox).

Regardless, the acknowledgement they’ve received could be seen as bittersweet from that perspective, so we’re going to focus on the positives: gratitude for the game’s reception and for the hard work that went into making it. Especially since it took so long to finally bring to life.

“We’re enamoured by the love and support it received both by our industry and critically by journalists and media. Whilst we faced many challenges along the way, it has been the highlight of our careers – and we are incredibly proud that Luna Abyss has finally seen the light of day (thank you to everyone who believed in us!)”

We’re certainly sad to see Kwalee go, as we felt that it could have built on a very successful foundation to bring us something bigger and better the next time around. Here’s hoping the minds behind Luna Abyss find their feet sooner rather than later. In the meantime, you can check out the game today on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

But let’s be real: expecting production and gameplay quality on the level of Saros, much less Returnal, is unrealistic and unfair. Besides Luna Abyss offers enough compelling elements, even if it doesn’t quite match the very best in either genre.

So to start with, no, the actual Moon isn’t haunted. Instead, there’s a mimic, known as Luna, that serves as a penitentiary for individuals like Fawkes, ostracised by her red eyes. She’s sentenced to serve thousands of days as a Scout, plunging into the mysterious and once-highly populated megastructure that has since fallen to the Scourge. Oh, and a giant snake-like head named Aylin serves as her prison guard, blankly looking around the cell when not electrocuting her for insubordination.

"Dialogue choices feel especially meaningless – the story is the story and will play out regardless – but the thought of portraying a Fawkes who can crack the odd joke here and there, despite decades of death-defying penal labor to serve, is endearing at times."

The rot emanating from the Scourge is only the tip of the mythical Abyss, and things only take a weirder turn when meeting the mysterious Urien. Transformed into something altogether different, Fawkes is then tasked with assassinating Urien while slowly piecing together the Collective’s fragmented past and the true purpose of her increasingly maddening expeditions.

Between its jargon, average production values and lack of compelling characters in the first hour or so, Luna Abyss has a hard time drawing you in. It doesn’t help that the actual gameplay feels slow-paced and one-note with a gun that overheats far too quickly, some unimaginative fodder and impromptu rot-cleaning. The maws and gaps in the megastructure lend to some intriguing platforming and exploration, yet for the most part, it feels like you’re barreling down corridors to get to the next uninspired “puzzle” and combat arena to progress.

First impressions matter. First impressions can also be extremely deceptive. And boy, does Luna Abyss ascend beyond its first impression.

The hunt for Urien requires heading to the abandoned city of Greymont, conveniently locked behind two seals. Unlocking those requires venturing to two reactors, all while the being in question bestows new skills to help you out. Why won’t he tell you what’s going on over the radio? Seeing is believing, but unironically, especially when witnessing the various ecosystems that govern the megastructure.

A giant head works the lift, and you’re encouraged not to listen to her poetry. Two spider-like Wardens roam the environment, offering good tidings to Fawkes. Giant beings with powerful, destructive capabilities have their own commune, seemingly in penance for failing to stop the corruption. Or the darkness, or whatever centuries of disinformation have wrought on their lives.

To the credit of the writing (and the voice acting), they feel like actual characters, but only a select few occasionally elicit sympathy, mostly depending on their screen time. Fawkes is also surprisingly amicable as someone trying to come to terms with this nightmarish sentence and empathising with the other “inmates,” even if she can’t fully understand their circumstances (and not for lack of trying). Dialogue choices feel especially meaningless in this context – the story is the story and will play out regardless – but the thought of portraying a Fawkes who can crack the odd joke here and there, despite decades of death-defying penal labor to serve, is endearing at times.

"I was initially apprehensive about this since it trivialises the initial encounters, but it helps to constantly adjust movement while dealing consistent damage (especially given the lack of immunity while dashing)."

Of course, there’s more to the plot, with some intriguing twists along the way. All of this to say that if it doesn’t initially grab, Luna Abyss will reward your patience beyond the seemingly cliched grim-dark setting. It may not win Best Narrative by any stretch, but it’s still surprisingly better than you would expect.

The same goes for the gunplay, especially after unlocking the shotgun and dash. The former is useful for breaking shields, and while the latter doesn’t grant invincibility frames, it’s useful when repositioning against tougher enemies. Yes, the variety of threats becomes more diverse, along with their tactics, be it in a spiralling beam or in expanding energy rings. Dashing can also be useful when dealing with hitscan beams, the telltale flash indicating the correct timing. Fawkes also gains the ability to execute foes on low health to recover her own, though this is less a visceral Glory Kill and more like a Thanos Snap (but more underwhelming and without any actual snapping). It does the job, though, and if you’re full on health, another option opens up later for dealing with crowds.

That said, the movement can feel floaty at first, and the gunplay can get repetitive. Despite the variety of enemies improving throughout your journey, you’ll still face the same randomly floating blobs that detonate when close, the same laser-shooting hedrons and the same fodder. Perhaps my biggest annoyance is with certain shielded foes who can become completely invulnerable during periods. Muscle memory dictates swapping to a specific weapon and letting rip, only to deal no damage before the corresponding colored shield appears. By then, you’ve only got another shot until cooldown, so better hope this one lands.

Which should be easy enough, thanks to the addition of a lock-on targeting mode. I was initially apprehensive about this since it trivialises the initial encounters, but it helps to constantly adjust movement while dealing consistent damage (especially given the lack of immunity while dashing). In the late-game sections, it fuels a ballet of flying around and quickly decimating targets while swapping to the next weapon in mid-air. But while each weapon has its unique function, they’re woefully low in number. The lack of alternate-firing modes or upgrades is also a bummer, even though I can see it increasing encounter complexity beyond what the developer may be capable of.

On the bright side, at least the traversal remains fresh, especially when the environments open up to accommodate all your different abilities. For all the air-dashing, double-jumping and other options that seamlessly chain together (and which I won’t spoil), you have the power of Possession. Fawkes can enter the bodies of different beings, and though it may seem gimmicky at first, it lends to several unique sequences, including possessing a Warden that can unleash devastating firepower, perfect for clearing out tons of rot.

"Luna Abyss isn’t what I expected, and even if the first hour didn’t exactly grab me, the slow, eventual descent into the mimic Moon’s ruins, mirroring Fawkes’ own journey as she attempts to make sense of the world, proved compelling enough."

It’s a shame then that this particular option isn’t available more often, but others often make up for it, especially when seamlessly interlinked with the rest of your traversal abilities. All that exploration eventually culminates in a boss, and each frames your most recently acquired ability as a linchpin for the encounter, mostly to survive hazardous projectiles or terrain. Their bullet patterns weren’t the most differentiating at times, but they still offer a decent enough challenge, especially on the highest difficulty.

All of this is backed by an aesthetic equal parts satisfyingly washed-out, grungy and tinged with scarlet. Alas, Luna Abyss can sometimes feel low-budget, whether it’s in the cutscenes, the lackluster facial animations, or select character portraits. Even the character models aren’t safe from this, especially Fawkes, whether in her regular form or when she inhabits the crimson veneer. And yet, it’s hard to deny some truly breathtaking sights, whether it’s finally laying eyes on Greymont from afar before taking in the remnants of panicked evacuation head-on or a later area with its vertigo-inducing heights.

Luna Abyss isn’t what I expected, and even if the first hour didn’t exactly grab me, the slow, eventual descent into the mimic Moon’s ruins, mirroring Fawkes’ own journey as she attempts to make sense of the world, proved compelling enough. There are moments where it feels like something beyond the sum of its disparate parts, even as those same shortcomings rear their mechanical heads more often than not. Again, it won’t reign over the very best that either genre – first-person shooter and bullet hell – has to offer, but it’s still a fun avant-garde mesh of the two, backed by some good traversal and an intriguing story.

This game was reviewed on PlayStation 5.

Luna Abyss occupies a unique space as a narrative focused bullet hell shooter. What inspired this pairing of genres?

Benni Hill: We have always been inspired by high-octane action games that tell stories – such as Nier: Automata – and wanted to take that inspiration into thematic areas that we as a team were interested in. A lot of Manga and Anime inspired how we approached our storytelling and action – with a focus on escalation and high-stakes.

Hollie Emery: We were also a bit obsessed with shmups and classic cave shooters, and exploring high density bullet hell patterns. We wanted to overcome the challenge of rendering lots of bullets on screen in a 3D space, as we felt it would create a unique gameplay experience for a first person shooter.

"Our visual style was heavily inspired by the infinite structures from the manga BLAME!"

What were the biggest inspirations behind Luna Abyss in terms of story, gameplay, and visual style?

Benni Hill: Our visual style was heavily inspired by the infinite structures from the manga BLAME! As well as soviet constructivist brutalism. The almost alien feel of concrete allowed us to conceptualise the Abyss, and from there we let our imaginations run wild – bringing in Victorian and diesel punk elements to build out the world.

For gameplay, we really drew on our love of action-adventure games – the feeling of exploring an alien environment and using the gun to interact via shooting was inspired by Metroid Prime, whereas the bullet-hell action was inspired by Nier: Automata. We envisioned a game where aiming was not the goal, but evasion of awesome bullet patterns, and high-threat attacks.

Narratively our inspiration comes from many different areas – but our love for manga and anime such as Neon Genesis Evangelion – as well as strange fiction – drove our creativity to develop what we feel is a unique and engaging world and story.

How did the idea for the game’s main setting, a strange megastructure inside an artificial moon, come together?

Benni Hill: Harry, Hollie and myself had gone through a long process of concept exploration, and found that we kept coming back to one core concept – what if a new moon suddenly showed up in Earth’s orbit? What would people do? Would it spark a new type of space-race? What would they find on it? These questions were exciting, and the more we dug into them the more we found. The questions drove the mystery, and we wanted to share that mystery with players.

Hollie Emery: Harry was reading the manga BLAME! and wanted to explore megastructures in a game setting too. We hadn’t really encountered that style in a game before, so we were really excited to explore it. Creepypastas were also inspirational, such as the backrooms: weird, uncanny valley discomfort, and playing with scale to make the player feel like a small cog in a large machine.

Given that Luna Abyss takes place inside a derelict structure, how has the team avoided making its environments feel repetitive?

Benni Hill: Without giving too much away, the Abyss is not always as it seems. The structure is very liminal – what is up may be down – spaces that feel that they should be outside are inside. There is human architecture within the Abyss as well – these are mysteries that we want players to uncover as they play – but the flexibility of the world’s mystery has allowed us to create a suite of unique and interesting environments to explore!

"Without giving too much away, the Abyss is not always as it seems."

How varied will the arsenal be in Luna Abyss?

Benni Hill: Every weapon in Luna Abyss has a specific reason to exist to counter the enemies that you will face as you explore. We have four firearms, each with specific roles in combat – from a standard rifle (The Scout Rifle), to a cybernetic shotgun (The Shieldbreaker). The four weapons cover everything from sharpshooting to heavy artillery. To top that off we also have two execution skills to help regain health and clear multiple enemies.

Will certain weapons be more effective against specific enemy types or encounter designs?

Benni Hill: Each weapon has a specific reason to exist, and enemies will have varying states that require specific weapons to be used to overcome them. An example of this is that some enemies will have a blue shield that requires the Shield Breaker to shatter it. The Shield Breaker can be used as a standard weapon too, but has a longer cooldown than the Scout Rifle, so overusing it isn’t a wise choice. We aim for players to be fluidly moving between their arsenal in flow as they carve their way through the combat encounters – combining their firearms skills with their traversal skills.

What approach is Luna Abyss taking to storytelling?

Benni Hill: Our narrative team is passionate about building a world through the eyes of the characters that exist within it – including the inconsistencies of personal perspectives. There is a traditional narrative to follow at the heart of Luna Abyss that flows through to a conclusion for the protagonists, but the periphery of this world – and the strange characters you meet along the way – is for the player to discover, rather than for it to be forced on them. Interpretation is important to us, so instilling this idea in the story has always been key from the start.

Hollie Emery: We worked with loads of awesome voice actors to bring the story to life too, such as Safiyya Ingar, Nina Yndis, David Menkin, Amelia Tyler, Patrick Moy, Dianne Pilkington, Bethan Dixon Bate and more.

"Our narrative team is passionate about building a world through the eyes of the characters that exist within it – including the inconsistencies of personal perspectives."

Replayability is often an important part of the genre. How does Luna Abyss encourage multiple playthroughs?

Benni Hill: Luna Abyss has varying difficulty modes, including a hard mode, where players can challenge themselves to beat the game’s toughest bosses. There are also a lot of discoverable collectables, such as codex lore entries, that build out the story in unique ways. We have a level select to allow players to jump into missions to search for missing content and try to fill out the codex to hit 100%.

From a developer perspective, what are your thoughts on the PS5 Pro, and how does the added GPU power change your approach compared to the base PS5?

John Reynolds: Any increase in GPU power allows the developer to share the game world in more detail and give the player a more immersive experience.

What are your thoughts on PSSR 2.0, and what opportunities does it open up for your game?

John Reynolds: PSSR 2.0 allows games to target higher resolutions or framerates, which can show off the environments in all the detail, or get the smooth 60, 90, or 120 frames per second that make the experience feel great.

What resolutions and frame rates are you targeting on PS5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X and PS5 Pro?

John Reynolds: Luna Abyss targets 1920×1080 for all platforms. With the Series S and Steam Deck, we’re using some upscaling to keep the 60 framerate that makes the bullet hell work so well. The game is also Steam Deck verified.

Inspired by The Shadow Out of Time by H.P. Lovecraft, players will control Professor Harry Everhart and his student Evangeline Drayton, who discovered a strange artifact several years prior. As with anything Eldritch-related, it’s had a terrible effect on their sleep cycles, and thus, they venture forth to find some peace of mind.

Much like Call of the Sea, you’ll explore environments and search for clues while solving puzzles, whether it’s in New England, the Australian outback or “otherworldly cities out of time.” You’ll have to switch between both characters at times, and various Occult Books offer “new reality-warping enigmas” to challenge you.

Of course, you can also soften the difficulty by enabling hints and icons. Best of all, the adventure is carried by the talents of Yuri Lowenthal and Cissy Jones, who voice Everhart and Drayton, respectively. Stay tuned for more updates, and in the meantime, check out our review for Call of the Sea.

We were quite happy with the sequel, although some players have since reported issues. These include blocked progression and rewards from bosses not showing up. The latest patch fixes all of this while

While the full list of fixes can be found here, the major talking points include the ability to return to where you fought bosses for their rewards. Important items required for progression will make their way directly to your inventory, and you can also smash through that pesky wall in Upper Kankan now. There’s also been a bit of balancing around your Breath’s healing, i-frames on parries and dodges, improved Dash Counters, and a few adjustments to attack speeds and hitboxes on select bosses.

The developer also revealed that they’re pondering the return of the boss rush feature from the first game as they try to fix the issue of some bosses dying before you get to fight them. You get the rewards if that’s happened to you, while the option to take them on somewhere down the line could be very welcome, considering how each one is quite memorable.

Major Patch – Combat, Platforming, and Bugs – 1.0.17551c

Major bugs:

• Boss Rewards bug – Every single player which died alongside a boss and lost access to it’s rewards for any reason, you can go to their arena now and gain that reward. Missing progression items will appear in your inventory upon loading your save with this patch.
• Missed Bosses – Bosses that previously died randomly due to a bug has gotten extra protections to prevent such cases. The reward you lost should be in the arena. We can’t safely return to bosses to your save in order to fight them, but we’ll use this as an incentive to explore an earlier re-introduction of the boss gauntlet system from GRIME.
• Kankan wall blocker – Anyone who got stuck behind a one sided wall in Upper Kankan can now simply break it from both sides to get out.

Combat Balancing:

• Attribute value increased – You now gain more value out of your attribute stats. Especially from Health, with a smaller drop-off every milestone. This will increase a lot of your power in the late game.
• Healing increased – All Breathcrowns healing value has increased across the board, giving you more value per heal.
• Parry Immunity has been extended.
• Player Immunity upon taking a hit has been extended.
• Dash Counter range increased significantly, making it easier to perform.
• Dash Counters which require you perform them from the air had their VFX updated to be clearer.
• Visagehand major bug fixes and polish.
• Updates to various bosses’ hitboxes, clarity and cooldowns.
• Quadblade now has a Breath-ward in their HP.
• Various attacks have been slowed down.
• Many, many more.

It smartly reworks familiar ideas through a new lens, weaving its themes into the journey of the Formless, an art mimic brought to life by the mysterious Rippler of Waves and told that the world before it exists to sate its appetite. That setup gives real purpose to the combat, pushing you deeper into the world as you cut down enemy after enemy and encounter the occasional ally along the way.

"The world itself carries an ethereal charm to it, its dangers seeming so natural and organic that you’re compelled to learn more about how it came to be the way that it is."

Before getting into combat and progression, though, it’s worth highlighting how strongly GRIME 2 is built around the idea of individual agency, with hands serving as a constant visual and mechanical expression of that theme. That idea runs through the entire game, and the repeated presence of hands in the world, in enemy designs, and even on your character, helps reinforce it in a way that feels organic rather than forced.

The world itself carries an ethereal charm to it, its dangers seeming so natural and organic that you’re compelled to learn more about how it came to be the way that it is. It’s also elegantly structured, with areas folding back into one another so naturally that the path forward remains coherent even when you’re poking around every hidden corner for much-needed upgrades.

Part of what makes that structure work is how vulnerable the Formless feels at the start. You begin with light and heavy attacks, along with a jump, dash, and parry for movement and defense. It’s a simple setup that the developers have utilized well with additional layers and moves opening up as you keep taking down some incredible bosses.

Each area teaches you how to use the mechanics it introduces, and its boss usually serves as the final exam, forcing those lessons into your muscle memory through punishing attacks. While I wouldn’t put them on the same level as a full-blown Soulsborne, they still offer a stern challenge, with the standard difficulty in particular keeping me on the back foot more often than I’d care to admit.

"The environment could work either for you or against you, depending on how you use it, which adds interesting wrinkles to fights."

Every boss fight you take on is tough but fair, requiring precise use of dodges, parries, and a grapple that’s introduced a little later. The weapons you use against them are also quite varied, and nailing down the timings on each animation was a huge part of the fun. You’ll likely settle into a preferred pairing of melee and ranged options, which gives you the flexibility to handle most encounters efficiently.

Of course, the art mimic does have one massive trick up its sleeve, and that’s the ability to absorb Molds of your enemies, using their own moves against them. Several enemies come with a yellow dot on their health bars. Whittling them down to their breaking point opens them up to a grapple that lets you copy their abilities. Repeat the process enough times, and that move gets added to a growing list that you can then mix and match to make your mimic your own.

The environment could work either for you or against you, depending on how you use it, which adds interesting wrinkles to fights, ensuring that things in this weird world never get boring. That’s because exploring each level requires a fair bit of dexterity on your part, be it in dealing with the various enemies in differing combinations that stand in your way, or some platforming challenges that were a pleasure to pull off correctly, thanks to how cool it all looked! Even slight mistakes can quickly shatter your rhythm, whether that means eating damage from enemies or blundering into carefully placed traps.

You recover health through the Breath mechanic, which involves building up the eponymous meter by killing enemies in the field before you use it all up to give yourself a heal-over-time effect. It’s fairly quick but does require that you continue to avoid damage in case you’re really low on health. The Force meter adds an interesting layer to offense, rewarding you for managing it well rather than simply mashing attacks.

"The story helps set it all up with context for your adventures, and is another solid part of the experience."

Managing all of these elements when you’re juggling multiple enemies or trying to learn the ins and outs of a boss’s attacks is deviously delightful. It looks so simple to a spectator, as you’re probably going to see for yourself if you dive in, but it is challenging and incredibly satisfying to pull off. It’s the kind of combat system that feels instantly inviting even while demanding real concentration and precision.

The story helps set it all up with context for your adventures, and is another solid part of the experience. I’m a fan of games that tell their stories through world-building, and this one has that in spades. You meet a range of characters, some welcoming and others decidedly less so, who stand out thanks to strong visual design and sharp writing. It’s a testament to GRIME 2’s quality that there is a certain wit and charm to be found in its bleak world, and the story brings it all together very well.

The soundtrack deserves special mention, giving many areas a haunting beauty that makes it easy to stop and simply take in the atmosphere. I’m particularly fond of the adorable noises some enemies make when they let an attack loose. It made me chuckle to myself even as I was laser-focused on the action.

The game performed very well on my base PS5, running smoothly enough for its combat and platforming to consistently look and feel excellent. Although there aren’t any graphical options on offer, I reckon they’re an unnecessary addition to a game that looks and performs like this one does.

"Its combat is spot on, while its platforming trappings can have you grinding your teeth as you try to nail down the timing on its various challenges."

I did encounter one early bug that froze the game and forced a restart before I could continue, but beyond that, I ran into no major technical issues. There was also the occasional bit of pop-in when traversing between areas, but you’re unlikely to notice it unless you’re actively looking for it. It does bear mentioning, though.

You’ve probably already guessed that for me, this one’s very easy to recommend. Its combat is spot on, while its platforming trappings can have you grinding your teeth as you try to nail down the timing on its various challenges. Put that challenging gameplay loop beside a world and story that are quite intriguing, and you’ve got the recipe for a title that lets you fully immerse yourself in its absurdity.

If you were a fan of the original title, you’re going to love this one. If you’re new to GRIME, strap in for a very entertaining romp through a world that’s spellbinding right from the get-go. Either way, this one’s worth your cash and the time and effort it takes to master all it has to offer. Its difficulty may look intimidating from the outside, but it shouldn’t put you off, because you’d be missing out on one of the more compelling RPGs in recent memory.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

Wielding heavy masses, throwing daggers, and even using a bow is child’s play for the new protagonist. What’s really interesting is its core ability to create Molds, thus gaining new appearances and weapons. It can also grapple around with its tendrils, ascending walls faster than Akhlan and even smacking enemies from afar.

The result is a much faster tempo of combat and exploration, but you don’t have to take our word for it. A free demo is available now on PC via Steam, where players battle through the Temple of Hands. Thus far, it’s rated “Very Positive” based on 99 percent approval from its 127 user reviews.

GRIME 2 doesn’t have a release date, and it’s currently only in development for PC.

The story revolves around Professor Harry Everhart (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) and his student, Evangeline Drayton (Cissy Jones), who face hallucinations and nightmares after discovering an artifact several years prior. If that weren’t enough, their loved ones have gone missing. Thus, the duo embark on a globe-trotting adventure, from New England to the Australian outback and more, to find out what’s going on.

Of course, as implied by the title, powerful Eldritch beings are involved and may not let them leave with their sanity intact. Developed on Unreal Engine 5, Call of the Elder Gods challenges players to hunt for clues and solve puzzles, engage in “reality-warping enigmas” with Occult Books, and more. Stay tuned for updates, including a release date, in the coming months.

“We’ve been blown away by all of the positive comments we’ve received and all of the useful bug reports and feedback that you have sent our way,” posted the studio. “We wanted to assure you that, even though we may not respond to every single review or report, we are looking at all of them and incorporating them into our future strategy.”

The studio has described five of the big issues that its programming team is hard at work on fixing: general bug fixes, quality-of-life improvements, crime rate balancing, AI behaviour, and escort unit fixes. Plans to fix these core issues have been described as its short-term goal. In the mid-to-long-term, however, Fallen Tree Games is asking players for feedback about what new features and content can be developed for the game.

For general bug fixes, the studio has said that it is focusing on the major bugs that players have discovered and have been providing feedback about. It also notes that there will likely be quite a few edge cases and unique bugs that are difficult to track and fix owing to the scope of the open-world game. The developers are also taking player feedback into account as it incorporates more quality-of-life features going forward.

As for rebalancing the game’s crime rate, the studio has described the in-game city’s crime rate being too severe. “Crime in Averno City may be bad, but we want to keep it at least somewhat realistic,” it posted. To that end, work is currently being done to reduce the number of overlapping incidents that can happen. AI behaviour as well as escort units will also get some tweaks.

“This is what we’re focusing on in the short-term, but in the mid- to long-term we’re also compiling suggestions from your feedback to decide what extra features and content we can add to The Precinct in the future,” wrote Fallen Tree Games. “We are committed to adding more content to the game, but we haven’t decided yet exactly what that will be.”

The Precinct was released on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S earlier this week. There is also a physical edition available which comes with a Steelbook, a digital copy of the game’s original soundtrack, as well a physical map of Averno City that players can make use of as they navigate through its crime-ridden streets. The game is priced at $29.99 on all platforms.

For more details about The Precinct, check out our review, where we gave it a score of six out of 10. We praised its stylish visuals, presentation, and nuanced take on police work, while also criticising its performance issues, cheesy dialogue, and clunky combat.

Intriguing mechanics and a decent aesthetic aside, the writing can be hit or miss. The police work becomes predictable and sometimes repetitive, and the gunplay could use more polish. Nevertheless, it is a unique gameplay loop.

"It’s one thing to take inspiration from the banter of old cop movies and another to translate that enjoyably. When it’s not trying to be comedic, many of the exchanges are passable enough, even if Cordell Jr. doesn’t get much say outside of the dialogue choices you select."

It’s 1983 in Averno City, which is described as rotten to the core. Gangs are noted to rule the streets, even though you barely encounter any, and when you do, they’re extremely good at adhering to the speed limit. You play as Nick Cordell Jr., a rookie cop who just joined the force even as the murder of your father, a legend in the force, looms large over the police department and the city as a whole.

After initially foiling a bank robbery, you’re quickly involved in larger cases, whether tracking down the August Gang’s leader or going undercover to take down a street racing ring. All this is in service of eventually finding out how your father died and meting out justice the ACPD way. It’s fairly straightforward and more than a little cliched, with the overall vibe and music taking inspiration from old-school cop movies. However, the developer does a decent job of immersing you in the experience.

The same goes for introducing its cast of misfits, from Kowalski, who doles out shift assignments, to Chandler, who bears a suspicious resemblance to Kowalski, the jokester Christie and the nonchalant Kelly, who’s close to retirement. Of course, other characters are introduced as you progress, like Eugene, the evidence guy, and detectives Li and Ferrera, who you know are detectives because one has suspenders and the other has a long coat. I wish their characteristics were more defining.

As such, the lines range from overtly cheesy to outright unnatural. It’s one thing to take inspiration from the banter of old cop movies and another to translate that enjoyably. When it’s not trying to be comedic, many of the exchanges are passable enough, even if Cordell Jr. doesn’t get much say outside of the dialogue choices you select.

"Shooting civilians is also out of the question – it’s an automatic game over, though surprisingly, running over multiple civilians, who dodge-roll Dark Souls-style, isn’t. "

Characters aside, The Precinct is focused on implementing the nitty gritty – or recreating it as much as possible – that constitutes real police work. You have a shift that runs for a certain number of hours and can focus on specific crimes like vandalism, which often involves dealing with those spraying graffiti, giving out speeding tickets (and engaging in hot pursuits against those who don’t play nice, and on-foot patrols.

Depending on the assignment, there’s enough leeway to pursue a little of everything. You could be driving around a specific district and suddenly get a call about a street fight or burglary in progress. It’s also possible to randomly check license plates and speeds of different cars to determine if they should be investigated. As you resolve various crimes, you’ll earn progress towards unlocking the next location and level up to unlock upgrade tokens for new skills.

As for the actual police work, you can’t just go around smacking everyone in the head with a baton. Shooting civilians is also out of the question – it’s an automatic game over, though surprisingly, running over multiple civilians, who dodge-roll Dark Souls-style, isn’t. When confronting a perpetrator, you must go through several steps, like checking their ID, searching them for any potentially illegal contraband or weapons, giving them a breathalyzer test if they’re intoxicated, etc.

Depending on the circumstances, you can tack on different offenses. If you encounter a burglar attempting to flee or even trying to fight, you can throw in evading arrest or assault for bonus XP. Other acts like reading them their rights or covering up bodies also provide XP.

"The same can’t be said of the cover-based shooting. It’s a little haphazard on controller, especially when trying to line up the height of a shot. Enemies perfectly landing their shots when you barely peak out of cover doesn’t help. The mouse and keyboard feel better when aiming, but it’s still clunky at times."

Learning the due process can take some time, but there is some enjoyment in figuring out the different offenses to tack on since selecting the wrong ones results in a slight XP penalty. However, while there is a variety of crimes to tackle that can feel vastly different – the relatively peaceful ticketing of parking infractions versus a high-speed chase where the crook escapes their vehicle and takes a hostage – many devolve into the same booking process more often than not. It adds the tedium of a shift, especially as you’re trying to obtain evidence to advance your investigation into the city’s gangs.

At least you can eventually customize a shift, from the duration and location to the type. As for the actual story missions, they’re fairly rote and don’t offer much beyond more extensive shootouts or chases. They could have been more memorable if the dialogue was up to snuff, but alas. There are other activities to discover on the map, like hitting jumps and partaking in challenges that your fellow officers have set up for the best times. I’m not sure how either is explained away as part of the job, but they break up the monotony, at least.

Additional tools are unlocked as you level up, including better weapons like shotguns and beefier vehicles like 4x4s. You also get new support options to call in when required, and while it’s funny to T-bone a perp’s car with a fellow cruiser, oftentimes they feel superfluous and unhelpful. I’m not sure what helicopter support is supposed to really offer in the early going but at least flying around isn’t too shabby.

The same can’t be said of the cover-based shooting. It’s a little haphazard on controller, especially when trying to line up the height of a shot. Enemies perfectly landing their shots when you barely peak out of cover doesn’t help. The mouse and keyboard feel better when aiming, but it’s still clunky at times. The actual movement itself is acceptable, even if it’s odd that criminals never lose stamina while you, a fresh out-of-the-academy recruit, are continuously sucking wind. It is somewhat odd that Cordell ragdolls when tackling an escaping perp. Funny, but still odd.

"While The Precinct is a throwback to the old days of Grand Theft Auto and offers its own unique twists due to the police perspective, it’s hard to recommend. Even if bugs are ironed out, and the performance is improved, the story and characters just aren’t compelling enough to get you invested."

The Precinct’s presentation is passable – Averno City is lit well enough with decent details, even if the depth of the sandbox, like dynamic interactions between NPCs, is limited. You’ll spot the same ID portrait more than once for some as well, which isn’t a big deal but does sully the immersion.

Outside of bugs, like a perp’s neck turning more than 90 degrees to look at you before fixing itself, the biggest annoyance is the performance. Even while being well beyond the system requirements, the slowdown was enough to warrant dialling down the settings, and even then, there were issues.

While The Precinct is a throwback to the old days of Grand Theft Auto and offers its own unique twists due to the police perspective, it’s hard to recommend. Even if bugs are ironed out, and the performance is improved, the story and characters just aren’t compelling enough to get you invested. The actual gameplay can feel novel, though it can also wear out its welcome over longer periods. It’s worth checking if you’re looking for a different take on the cops and robbers dynamic and feeling generous. Otherwise, there are plenty of other indie sandbox titles that are more worth your time.

This game was reviewed on PC.