Finally, A GTA-Like Where We Are the Cops

Ever wondered what the officers of San Andreas, Los Santos, and Vice City really go through with maniacs like us roaming the streets? Well, this new indie title may give us just a slight glimpse into their world.

Enter The Precinct, a cop simulator game from indie devs Fallen Tree Games and published by Kwalee.

Hold up, what’s a “GTA-Like?”

Okay, let’s back up. There’s obviously no such thing as a “GTA-like” – Rockstar goes to great lengths to make some of the most detailed, mind-blowing games we’ll ever see. But that’s honestly the closest comparison I can make to The Precinct, the latest entry into the cop simulator genre.

It plays kind of like an older GTA game if Rockstar had stuck with the original top-down view. The viewpoint is high third-person, and honestly, it’s really good. The camera controls are intuitive, and the camera follows the action amazingly well.

We play as Officer Cordell, stepping into our father’s shoes at the local PD. After the tutorial, we’re thrust out into the streets to patrol in various beats. For the most part, you’ll be writing parking tickets, dealing with vandals, pulling over speeding vehicles – you know, cop stuff. But then, some days, the likeness to GTA really comes alive.

I had one moment where I was trying to stop a drug deal in its tracks. At this exact moment, a random NPC decided to steal a parked car while another car came speeding past with police cars in tow. Three simultaneous crimes, and I really didn’t know which way to turn!

And this sort of chaos isn’t all that rare. It’s happened a few times. Once, I was just walking a beat, and some guy pulled out an automatic weapon and started shooting at us, typical GTA-style antics.

Great game, but it does feel a bit easy…

I haven’t been killed in the line of duty yet, although it’s been very close. But I would imagine dying at the end of a 24-hour shift would be rather devastating if you lose your day’s progress. I don’t know, I’m not brave enough to try it. Are you? Let me know in the comments.

The point I’m trying to make is that the game is a little too easy for a cop simulator. You can take several bullets and then hide behind your patrol car for a few seconds to regenerate all your health. It’s not quite immersive. More GTA antics, I guess. We are the cops that all GTA players would fear!

There’s another drawback here. This game very quickly becomes “same-old” (just like real police work?). It gets to be a bit repetitive, with the same crimes occurring, and you having to follow the same steps. But keep in mind this game was made by a small team with only a few games under their belt, and they’ve done a stellar job.

What does the future hold for The Precinct?

The game’s already topped 1,000 very positive reviews on Steam, and it amassed nearly 10,000 players on its first day. And sure, there are small bugs – NPCs acting weird, cars getting stuck, unused patrol cars not being moved away (where’s the towing service?) – but there’s nothing absolutely game-breaking. It’s well polished for such a small game.

And while I was terrified that it would be swiftly abandoned so that Fallen Tree Games could work on their next title, my fears were quelled. A patch has already been dropped that fixed a collection of bugs, and the developers have welcomed player feedback in terms of which features to add next.

I see so much potential in this game. Maybe a cops vs. robbers expansion that allows us to be on both sides, or one that sees us working as undercover detectives. At its heart, it’s a sandbox game, which leaves it open to almost endless possibilities.

I would also love to see a deeper storyline with more varied and interesting characters, but for what it’s worth, I have loved my time with this game so far, and I’m excited to see where it goes next.

You can play The Precinct on PS5, Xbox X/S, and PC.