I've had my eye on The Precinct ever since we reviewed the team about it in 2024, describing the game as "a mix of Police Simulator and old-school GTA". Now that I've had a chance to play a few hours, I think that's the best description we could have landed on - it's just like those classic GTA games, mixed with Police Simulator: Patrol Officers.
In The Precinct, it's your job to uphold the law on the streets of Averno City. After you've got through the fairly lengthy tutorial, you'll settle into a daily routine where you patrol a certain part of the city and carry out various tasks, from issuing parking tickets to engaging in car chases and shootouts with criminals. All of this is carried out from a top-down viewpoint, and the visuals are actually pretty great considering this is very much an indie game.
The day-to-day of patrolling the streets is just as addictive as it is in Police Simulator: Patrol Officers, although it's both more intuitive and more simplistic. When you apprehend a criminal, it's very clear what their offenses are and what you need to do to arrest them, and the whole process of getting from one crime to another is pretty quick overall. Some may be disappointed by the lack of depth that goes into handling each crime compared to a more realistic simulator, but personally I think the system works well and keeps the gameplay fluid and engaging.
The car and helicopter chases are probably the best part of The Precinct for me so far. Car handling feels very similar to the old-school GTA games (albeit with a bit less speed and a bit more control), and as you keep pace with the person you're chasing, you're rewarded with the ability to call for support - such as in the form of additional cop cars or even a spike strip to slow the perp down. Helicopter chases require you to handle all this from the air, with your goal being to shine a spotlight on the car so your colleagues can track them down.
Shootouts feel a bit more hit-and-miss, as the shooting mechanics in general definitely take a bit of getting used to. The top-down perspective and slightly awkward aiming can be a bit tricky to deal with, while the cover system works fine enough but can be slightly oversensitive - meaning your character ends up putting themselves in danger by leaping over things and getting in the way when you don't want them to. That's not to say shootouts are awful by any means, but you'll probably need some time to adjust.
As mentioned, the whole cycle of carrying out your daily tasks while responding to random crimes is an addictive one, and I've really been enjoying this so far. It's still early days for me, but it's said that you can continue this daily loop even when the story ends, and that bodes well for my personal interests - I could see myself just engaging in this cycle with its procedually-generated crimes for many weeks, months and years to come!
Speaking of the story, this is told in the form of static images and text boxes, which admittedly is struggling to get my attention right now. The premise seems decent enough (your father was killed in the police force, and they're still trying to uncover details about it), but I can't help but find myself skipping these chats for the most part. To the team's credit, they've added some decent voice acting this time around (their previous game, American Fugitive, didn't have any), and there's also a whole levelling-up system along with an upgrade tree to boost your skills as the story progresses.
If we're talking performance, The Precinct looks great and performs generally well on Xbox Series X, although there are definitely frame rate drops in both the police station and in some busy areas. I'm playing using a VRR-supported TV, and yet I'm still noticing these drops. I've also run into a few bugs during my time with The Precinct so far, but nothing too crazy - aside from one where my (CPU) partner couldn't get into the police station and it broke the game!
If I were to review The Precinct based on the initial few hours I've played, I'd probably give it a 7/10 as things stand, and possibly even an 8/10. I'm having a really good time with its fun and addictive gameplay, and I'm definitely going to be sinking a lot more hours into it. I also think its Xbox launch price seems pretty reasonable at just £24.99 / $29.99, so here's hoping that it commands the attention it deserves.