The Precinct Review – Bake Him Away, Toys

The Precinct, as a concept, is intriguing enough. What if old-school Grand Theft Auto with its top-down perspective but with the player controlling the police? It’s the antithesis of Fallen Tree Games’ previous title, American Fugitive, and efforts have been made to capture that authentic policing experience. Granted, it’s through the lens of a fictional 1980s city that’s watched too many pulp fiction police dramas, but the vision is clearly there.

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.