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The Precinct

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The Precinct Game Cover
84%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
optimization, stability
89% User Score Based on 4,277 reviews
Critic Score 60%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

Xbox Series X|SPCPlaystation 5XboxSteam DeckWindowsPlayStation
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The Precinct Game Cover

About

The Precinct is a single player open world shooter game. It was developed by Fallen Tree Games Ltd and was released on May 13, 2025. It received neutral reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

Clean up the city and uncover the truth in this neon-noir action sandbox police game. Buy The Precinct at PlayStation Store.

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The Precinct screenshot
The Precinct screenshot
The Precinct screenshot
The Precinct screenshot
The Precinct screenshot
The Precinct screenshot
The Precinct screenshot
The Precinct screenshot
The Precinct screenshot
The Precinct screenshot
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89%
Audience ScoreBased on 4,277 reviews
story457 positive mentions
optimization37 negative mentions
  • Engaging and addictive gameplay loop with a good mix of routine police work and exciting high-speed chases and shootouts.
  • Captures the 1980s cop show atmosphere with neon-lit city, synthwave soundtrack, and overall retro aesthetic.
  • Ongoing developer support with free updates adding new content like K9 units, tow trucks, and customization options.
  • Gameplay can become repetitive with limited mission variety and a relatively short main story.
  • Driving mechanics and AI behavior are often reported as janky, frustrating, or unintuitive, reducing fun in chases and pursuits.
  • Limited depth in investigation and crime systems, sometimes inconsistent or buggy charge and arrest mechanics.
  • story
    1,925 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in this game is generally considered short, predictable, and somewhat cliché, focusing on a rookie cop investigating his father's death amidst gang conflicts. While it provides a sufficient backdrop that enhances immersion and pacing, many reviewers feel it lacks depth, emotional weight, and variety, with most gameplay enjoyment stemming from the simulation and open-world activities rather than narrative. Post-story, players can continue patrolling freely, but the limited story content and repetitive missions leave some wanting more expansions or additional story-driven content.

    • “The precinct is a fantastic story-driven game set in a gritty, neon-lit 1980s city. I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great action and story experience.”
    • “The story missions to capture gang higher ups/leaders and how you go around patrolling the streets as rookie officer Nick Cordell Jr to solve his father's murder, is well-done.”
    • “The story is immersive, pulling you in from the start, and the character interactions are equally well crafted. I thoroughly enjoyed almost every moment of the game, and the storyline kept me hooked all the way till the end.”
    • “The story and dialogue are not my cup of tea and it's unfortunate this game wasn't 100% sandbox; it would be interesting if your actions could affect the game world over time so there was a reason to keep coming back.”
    • “The story is uninspired and the voice over sounds like it's ai. The biggest crime in the story was the driving control.”
    • “If there ever was a video game blatantly programmed and designed for a console, yet neglectfully sold on pc, it would be The Precinct; primary and optional missions are all too linear and forgettable, weapon handling is beyond atrocious, the story may as well be a substitute sleep aid, and every interaction is made to feel odious due to how slothful the paperwork is and how incompetent the police npcs are in foot and vehicle pursuits.”
  • gameplay
    972 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay offers a fun, addictive core loop combining top-down police simulation with fast-paced chases and arcade-style action, capturing a strong 1980s cop show vibe. While driving mechanics and AI behavior can feel clunky or repetitive, and some aspects like shooting and partner AI need polish, the variety of tasks—from patrol duty to evidence handling—keeps the experience engaging and immersive. Overall, despite some repetitive elements and a relatively short story, the game delivers satisfying, accessible gameplay with solid mechanics that appeal to fans of both arcade and simulation styles.

    • “The gameplay loop is engaging and different ways to approach policeman duty gives some replayability value, but it has some flaws; chases lack depth but overall it's a solid experience.”
    • “The core gameplay loop revolves around selecting daily shifts and patrolling the city with your partner, Kelly. Regardless of your assignment, you're free to respond to other calls and intervene in spontaneous criminal activity, keeping gameplay dynamic and unpredictable.”
    • “Great gameplay loop, good action involving shootouts and car chases, and excellent stylized graphics.”
    • “Gameplay is extremely repetitive.”
    • “The gameplay loop just feels samey as the AI is as barebones as it gets.”
    • “Gameplay loop gets old and annoying really fast.”
  • graphics
    457 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game’s graphics effectively capture a distinct 1980s neon-noir aesthetic, blending retro style with modern details to create an immersive, stylistic cityscape reminiscent of classic cop shows and old-school GTA titles. While many praise the visuals as vibrant, atmospheric, and well-suited to the game’s tone, some users note performance issues and optimization problems that force lowering graphical settings, which can diminish the game's visual impact. Overall, the graphics stand out as a strong point, offering a unique and pleasing art style that complements the gameplay and setting despite occasional technical drawbacks.

    • “The game has some great looking environments and the graphics are well designed and laid out.”
    • “The 80s neon-noir aesthetic, dynamic weather, and day/night cycle truly bring Averno City to life.”
    • “The graphics are excellent for this style of game and the soundtrack provides the perfect atmosphere.”
    • “Graphics vs. performance: the game looks stunning on "high," but the frame rate becomes incredibly janky and inconsistent, especially during high-speed chases.”
    • “It does lack optimisation, performance is sluggish at any graphics setting on my PC.”
    • “Despite mediocre graphics and a narrow camera view, the optimization and performance are terrible.”
  • music
    261 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's music consistently receives high praise for its authentic 80s synthwave soundtrack that perfectly complements the retro neon-noir atmosphere and immersive gameplay. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature that enhances the mood, evoking classic cop movies and driving the nostalgic vibe. While a few note limited variety or wish for more era-specific tracks, the overall consensus is that the music is excellent, integral to the experience, and a major reason to recommend the game.

    • “Special praise goes to the soundtrack—it's absolutely spot-on, capturing the era with synth-heavy beats and melodies that feel ripped straight from an old-school action movie.”
    • “The soundtrack is phenomenal, an impressive series of pieces of synthesized/retrowave music, including a proper title song, that is simply excellent and really enhances gameplay.”
    • “The precinct is a love letter to the buddy cop films from the 80s; the aesthetic is nailed perfectly down to the vehicles, the buildings, the signs on the streets, and especially the music. There is nothing like going around the city in your car while listening to some smooth synthwave tunes.”
    • “I just wish the OST would come through more.”
    • “The only point I can mention is that not enough attention has been paid to the music.”
    • “The soundtrack has a couple of catchy tracks, but there is barely any variety, and it loops quickly.”
  • optimization
    166 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game exhibits highly inconsistent optimization, with many users reporting performance issues like stuttering, frame drops, and overheating even on high-end PCs, while some find it runs smoothly on mid-range setups and Steam Deck. Although graphical fidelity is often praised, the overall performance tends to be sluggish and unstable, detracting from immersion and gameplay. Developers have released updates improving stability, but optimization remains a major weakness requiring further attention.

    • “The game plays well and is stable (assuming you have a decent gaming rig; like on any game there's always the Walmart gaming rig buyers that whine because their pathetic computer melts even when playing Ms. Pacman; so ignore the trolls, because this game is pretty stable and well optimized).”
    • “Gameplay is fun and smooth, and best of all, it's well optimized — runs great even on lower-end PCs.”
    • “I've played this on both my medium performance gaming desktop as well as my Steam Deck and I have to say that the game plays beautifully on my gaming desktop with 80+ fps though I do wish there was an option to actually set the fps in addition to the v-sync option.”
    • “Where to even start, game is massively unoptimized to the point of unplayability, tutorial that lasts what feels like hours before you can actually play the game and have anything that remotely feels like fun, bugs constantly to the point of not being able to even aim your gun, boring predictable story.”
    • “The game definitely needs optimization.”
    • “Performance is awful for how the game looks.”
  • atmosphere
    166 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game’s atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive and authentic 1980s neon-noir aesthetic, featuring moody lighting, dynamic weather, and a synth-heavy soundtrack that vividly brings the crime-riddled city to life. While some note occasional visual or story simplicity, the overall atmosphere is considered a standout feature that deeply enhances the gameplay and evokes classic cop dramas. The city feels alive and cinematic, making patrols engaging and the setting richly immersive.

    • “The atmosphere is fantastic, with neon-lit streets, radio chatter, and sirens echoing through alleys that make the city feel alive and cinematic.”
    • “From the very first siren wail to the neon-lit streets begging for justice, the precinct delivers an electrifying experience that grips you in its intense atmosphere and refuses to let go.”
    • “Between the atmosphere, the color grading, and the sound, the precinct doesn’t just recreate an era; it opens a doorway back into it.”
    • “Other than the price per hour ratio being really bad, the game could use more work regarding atmosphere and immersion, a larger city, and more vehicle choices.”
    • “The story itself attempts to paint the game's world as a gritty, crime-riddled city inspired by 1970s–80s New York, but any potential atmosphere is neutered by over-sanitization.”
    • “The character 2D cutouts are abysmal and take you out of the atmosphere.”
  • stability
    133 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is frequently described as buggy, with common issues including AI glitches, mission bugs, vehicle and flying mechanics problems, occasional crashes, and clipping or freezing. While these bugs can sometimes disrupt gameplay or require restarts, most reviews note that the game remains playable, with developers actively working on fixes and optimizations. Performance is generally good on various platforms, but the overall experience would benefit from further polishing and bug resolution.

    • “Gameplay is fun and smooth, and best of all, it's well optimized — runs great even on lower-end PCs.”
    • “This game runs very smooth; no glitches and major bugs that I have come across over the course of my gameplay.”
    • “On arrival it runs well, isn't buggy, and has a bunch of solid design decisions around gameplay loop.”
    • “This game is so buggy and you constantly get stuck in buildings/terrain and they don't even have a built-in unstuck feature.”
    • “This game is still buggy. I hope the developers read my review. I encountered a bug where my character cannot move when I try to arrest an NPC right next to a bench—my character will sit, and when I get out of the bench, I cannot move or do anything. Same thing happens flying a helicopter and there is a bug also when driving your vehicle; it ejects you out of it.”
    • “- There are serious glitches with missions that forced me to restart from previous save points or abandon a call multiple times.”
  • humor
    84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's humor shines through its quirky AI behaviors, physics-based chaos, and absurd situations reminiscent of 80s cop dramas, creating many accidental and situationally hilarious moments. Players enjoy the dark, satirical tone, goofy NPC interactions, and chaotic shootouts and chases that often lead to laugh-out-loud scenes despite some bugs and technical glitches. While not overtly comedic by design, its blend of cheesy dialogue, slapstick mishaps, and nostalgic atmosphere offers a consistently funny and entertaining experience.

    • “The npc logic is absolutely cooked (in a good way) and it’s hilarious.”
    • “What makes The Precinct so funny is that it fully understands the joke: you are trying to impose law and order on a population that treats crime like a casual hobby.”
    • “The randomly generated crimes definitely make for some hilarious moments.”
  • grinding
    67 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding in the game is widely described as repetitive and sometimes tedious, especially during mid to late stages with tasks like arrests, paperwork, and chasing suspects feeling drawn out. However, the relatively short length and occasional fresh twists help keep the experience from becoming overly tiresome, and some players find the grind manageable or even enjoyable when balanced with the core gameplay. Overall, progression is accessible without excessive grind, though the limited variety and repetitiveness may wear on players over time.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “A bit grindy sometimes.”
    • “Towards the end, however, once you're not farming evidence, it picks back up and I found the ending enjoyable.”
    • “This 4-hour game was bloated to 10+ (it took me 12 on very hard) by locking story progress behind grinding the half-assed, rudimentary police work and by sending you back and forth across the map all the time.”
    • “You're arresting so many people each 'shift' that it becomes extremely tedious and you're even penalised if you apply the wrong charge by taking away exp from you.”
    • “In retrospect, progression of abilities and acuity of crimes was way too immediate, the shine wore off very quickly and became a tedious rinse and repeat even for the bosses which are just longer resolutions to the same chase/fight almost every time.”
  • replayability
    59 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Replayability in this game is generally praised for its procedural crime system, varied patrols, and sandbox elements, offering an engaging and often endless experience beyond the main story. However, some reviewers note that once the story and side missions are complete, replay value diminishes without mod support or additional content. Overall, the game's addicting core gameplay and customization contribute to strong replay appeal, especially for fans of open-ended police simulation.

    • “The core gameplay loop is addicting and satisfying, offers challenge without frustration and the sandbox element of randomness allows for high replayability.”
    • “Over all it's a decent game with a fair amount of replayability because the crimes are completely random and procedurally generated so subsequent playthroughs are going to be different.”
    • “Short story but really fun to play, and the custom patrol mode gives it a kind of rogue-like element that makes it very replayable.”
    • “There is no real replayability; you restart the story and might have some differing dialogue options for silly replies, but the crimes will all be the same and you will follow the same path.”
    • “Gameplay is repetitive, with zero replayability value once the game is complete.”
    • “While the core mechanics are fun, the gameplay becomes a bit repetitive, which, combined with a linear storyline and limited player agency, reduces replayability.”
  • emotional
    21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers a moody 80s-noir atmosphere with some emotional undertones linked to the protagonist's personal journey, but overall, it lacks emotional depth, complexity, and memorable storytelling. While voice acting adds some weight, the repetitive gameplay, predictable plot, and lack of engaging character development hinder player connection and emotional impact. Though the setting shows care, many players find the narrative dull, leaving the emotional experience underwhelming.

    • “The precinct has a special emotional touch behind it, you can tell the developers really cared, beyond just ticking boxes for gameplay mechanics.”
    • “Noticeable as well is the stellar voice acting which brings the main characters to life and adds emotional weight to the narrative.”
    • “And let’s not forget the emotional journey.”
    • “For me, the game is kind of boring, and the character progression is pointless, a waste of time to get levels and 'clues' for a boring story with a lot of confusing conversations.”
    • “Great game to play as a demo, but when you buy it, you realize that the game has nothing more to offer... lack of content, boring story, repetitive gameplay, small skill tree, bad AI, bad driving dynamics, annoying bugs... there is so much to address that I cannot say I am confident the devs can salvage it - but I hope I'm wrong, because this game definitely has the potential to be a really fun game to mess around with.”
    • “The game seems extremely linear with very repetitive calls along with a small map, a small selection of cars and guns, and a relatively boring story in which you complete by going on duty, performing a stop or shootout, obtaining intel on the gangs, going after the gangs, then repeating it over and over.”
  • monetization
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is praised for reasonable pricing and absence of bloated or predatory microtransactions, offering free content updates. However, some users feel the studio prioritizes monetization over player feedback, raising concerns about it being a potential cash grab.

    • “A superb game that runs well and offers free content at a reasonable price.”
    • “No bloated microtransactions.”
    • “A superb game that runs well and offers free content at a reasonable price, but it's disappointing that more games rely on shallow gameplay and predatory microtransactions.”
    • “This game studio legitimately made this a cash grab, ignores player feedback, and has locked the forums.”
    • “I really hope it gets fixed and isn't just another cash grab.”
  • character development
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game is generally seen as lacking depth and growth, with some users feeling it is lazy compared to other games. While character designs are realistic and detailed, the dialogue and presentation, such as the lack of cutscenes, detract from a more engaging narrative experience. Nonetheless, for an indie title, the character and environmental design are considered impressive.

    • “You know a game’s good when your patrol car has more character development than half your Steam library.”
    • “How engaging is the plot and character development?”
    • “The character designs are realistic and detailed, and the environments are richly detailed and immersive.”
    • “Lazy character design and character growth.”
    • “I wish the dialogue was a bit better and was hoping for something with cutscenes instead of just a character design being highlighted when talking.”
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60%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews
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11h Median play time
12h Average play time
6-20h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 57 analyzed playthroughs
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Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

The Precinct is a open world shooter game.

The Precinct is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, Steam Deck and others.

On average players spend around 12 hours playing The Precinct.

The Precinct was released on May 13, 2025.

The Precinct was developed by Fallen Tree Games Ltd.

The Precinct has received neutral reviews from players and neutral reviews from critics. Most players liked The Precinct for its story but disliked it for its optimization.

The Precinct is a single player game.

Similar games include Police Simulator: Patrol Officers, Contraband Police, American Fugitive, Flashing Lights - Police Fire EMS, Enforcer: Police Crime Action and others.