The Precinct Review — Bake Him Away, Toys

The Precinct is a 1980s isometric neon-noire police adventure, heavily inspired by classic police movies of that era, with NPCs even quoting iconic 80s movie lines across the city. Developed by Fallen Tree Games, the studio behind American Fugitive, The Precinct puts players in the shoes of a rookie cop working for the Averno City Police Department. In our current political climate, police officers are under more scrutiny than ever, and The Precinct aims to encourage ethical police behaviour in order to keep the city safe. But ultimately, does The Precinct successfully deliver a love letter to classic 80s police fiction?

The story follows Nick Cordell Jr., a rookie police officer working his first shift at the Averno City Police Department (ACPD). The name Cordell is well known within the ACPD, as his father was the chief of police and a well-respected member of the force. Sadly, Cordell Sr. was gunned down in the line of duty, and his killer was never captured. This has changed the ACPD for the worse, as police officers fear for their lives, with some even turning dirty for their own safety. The narrative tackles many classic cop movie troupes, such as city gangs, police corruption, and loyalty, as young Cordell attempts to unravel the mystery of his father’s death and bring the culprit to justice. Along the way, Cordell will be working with his veteran partner, Officer Kelly, and with detectives Le and Ferrera to take down the Crimson Serpent and Jawhead gangs, infiltrate a street racing syndicate, and even deal with a serial killer lurking in the shadows.

I loved the missions throughout The Precinct’s campaign, as these offer a variety of interesting scenarios, such as storming a warehouse to take down a gang leader, providing helicopter support during a police chase or stopping an armed bank robbery. Unfortunately, the majority of story missions are incredibly short, taking less than 15 minutes to complete, and ultimately, there are just not many of them. The Precinct also struggles to deliver interesting characters, as most of the ACPD officers get very little time to showcase their personality or give you a reason to care about them, aside from your loyal partner. There are some twists and turns throughout the story, but as I never found myself attached to any of the characters, these twists never successfully delivered the shock value they intended.

When The Precinct’s story does deliver fantastic moments, it is able to replicate the atmosphere and vibes of games like L.A. Noire, especially when dealing with the Averno City serial killer. One mission sees Officer Cordell taunted by the serial killer, in a scenario that would rival any of The Riddler’s finest plans, as you race across the map to save the latest victim from certain death while responding to devious riddles. Ultimately, when The Precinct does its best work, it provides the same thrill and personality of the classic 80s cop movies it tries to replicate, but I just wish The Precinct offered more of these missions and gave me a reason to care about Cordell’s fellow officers.  

Your main task throughout The Precinct will be working your daily shifts as a police officer. Each day, you will be assigned an area to patrol with a main focus, such as vandalism or gang violence, and as you complete good police work, you will earn XP that can be used to unlock new abilities, weapons and additional buffs for Cordell and his patrol car. The Precinct incentivises ethical police work by offering more XP to players who follow procedure (intricately described in the in-game handbook), while withholding XP (or even removing them from their current assignment) from those who are generally being an unethical police officer. There is no benefit to being a bad cop, and Fallen Tree Games strongly decentivises that behaviour with this system.

While completing your daily assignments, you will find gang-related evidence that is connected to either the Crimson Serpent or Jawhead gangs. When you find enough evidence to build your case against them, you will then unlock new campaign missions where you aim to arrest the leaders of each gang.

Gameplay-wise, The Precinct offers a mixture of simulation and action elements, with an isometric viewpoint that bears a striking resemblance to classic top-down Grand Theft Auto entries on the original PlayStation, but more in line with the visual perspective of Baldur’s Gate 3.

There are three varied ways of exploring the world, which are on foot, by vehicle or in the air, as you control a helicopter. While in the air, players will be tasked to keep their spotlight on alleged criminals to support the police officers on the ground and run plates of suspicious vehicles. As you keep your spotlight fixed to these culprits, you will gain the ability to call in support, such as additional on-foot officers and police cruisers, as well as utilise tyre spikes and roadblocks to stop the suspect. The helicopter controls well, and supporting your fellow officers is an enjoyable change of pace. When patrolling the streets on foot, you can issue parking tickets, get into shootouts, conduct police checks on suspicious individuals, and tackle any suspect that dares attempt to outrun the law; tackling suspects sends both officer Cordell and the individual flying with full ragdoll physics. It’s hilarious and never gets old. Lastly, when behind the wheel, players can pull over other vehicles, monitor speed limits, get into police chases, or take part in street races.

Each shift, you will react to dynamic crimes as they occur within your vicinity or respond to calls that come in over the police radio. These can range from robberies, carjackings, gang-related violence, or a mugging. When responding to a call, you must arrive within the time limit and then proceed with handling the situation as you see fit, with a peaceful resolution and a criminal behind bars being the ultimate goal. As with most simulation experiences, conducting your daily shifts can be repetitive due to the similarities of crimes and the process that must be followed to resolve these instances. The Precinct does allow players to customise which area of the city they can explore as well as the focused crime of that shift, but keep in mind that you are following the same police procedure each day, which in essence, does become quite repetitive.

When dealing with a suspect, you must follow procedure, which includes inspecting their ID and conducting a background check before proceeding with a physical search. If you are dealing with someone behind the wheel, you can even breathalyse them and request them to unlock the trunk for a vehicular search if you deem it necessary. While there aren’t as many options as some simulation experiences I have played, there is a solid amount of choice to handle each situation, all of which are easily conducted using a radial menu similar to The Sims series.

Once you are happy with the situation, you can decide to let them go without punishment, fine them or put them in handcuffs. No matter what you choose, you must pay attention to the crimes they have committed, because selecting incorrect charges or the final outcome of this interaction can either increase or decrease your final XP amount. This process is interesting and makes you pay strong attention to each interaction, but you can also ask your partner to automatically pick the correct charges if you would rather not focus on this aspect.

Naturally, suspects are unpredictable, and when they want to avoid a prison sentence, they will resort to gunfire. The Precinct’s shooting is solid and responsive, with a visible trail of your bullet’s trajectory on screen (auto-aim assist is available). To survive these encounters, you must use cover, and The Precinct allows players to stick to cover with a single button press to avoid gunfire and regenerate health. I must mention that sprinting and vaulting over objects is tied to the same button, so there were many times where in the heat of battle I would sprint to the next piece of cover, only to vault over it, which eventually led me to keep my finger away from the sprint button during these moments. Driving, on the other hand, is a mixed bag. Some vehicles control well, even at high speed, but others lack handling and feel like you’re constantly driving on a frozen lake.

One of the biggest issues I had with The Precinct was the inconsistent AI. This relates to both your partner and NPCs in general. At times, your AI partner will help book criminals and escort them to your cruiser, but other times, he will simply run away, vanish or stop moving while a second suspect escapes, causing you to lose XP. NPC inconsistencies relate to suspects doing things that make no sense, like carjacking someone in front of a police officer. The punishment of losing XP based upon the actions (or lack thereof) of your partner is certainly annoying, but I definitely found some of the NPC behaviour to provide some uniquely funny moments, such as a suspect jumping into a dumpster to hide when I was directly behind them.

The world of Averno City feels vibrant and alive, and isn’t big enough to make travel a chore. The Precinct also does a fantastic job of nailing the 80s atmosphere of Averno City. This is due in no small part to the terrific synthwave-themed soundtrack, with neon-inspired music littered with some filthy saxophone that helps emphasise the period perfectly. As an avid synthwave fan, I absolutely adore the soundtrack, and the 80s atmosphere of Averno City shines through.

Averno City’s various buildings are adorned with neon signs, and the city itself has a sense of grime due to the use of textures and minor details, such as alleyways being littered with trash or burnt-out vehicles. The Precinct also features dynamic weather, with streetlamps lighting up puddles of water on the road following a downpour, and a day/night cycle that makes neon signs pop at night. There are a few minor visual issues, such as seeing the same NPC face on multiple IDS, some buildings being devoid of doors and repeating interior layouts, and a less-than-appealing user interface. But regardless, Fallen Tree Games, a team of only five developers at launch, should be commended for creating a sandbox environment with such a strong visual identity.