The Precinct Review — Averno Noir

Unique among crime noir games, The Precinct is a game that is sure to stand out and entertain fans of 80s cop films, and all of the shootouts and car crashes that come with them. However, I found the title to be a bit repetitive, a little buggy, and not fully capitalizing on its strong themes and setting. While the game will certainly have an audience, many may find the game, as I did, fun, but feeling a bit unfinished, promising a little more than the title delivers on.

The Precinct stands as a very unique game amongst the market. Where titles such as the Grand Theft Auto franchise have popularized games about gangsters, crime, and surviving in corrupt, murky cities, there are very few titles—only one really coming to mind as I write this—that portray the opposite end of this spectrum: cops, police work, and upholding the law and keeping the peace from both dangerous criminals and corrupt officials alike.

The Precinct puts you in the shoes of a rookie cop, the son of a late police chief who was idolized by the entire department. As a member of the Averno City Police Department, you’re on the losing side of a day-to-day battle against crime, as the game puts it—understaffed, underpaid, and overworked. The title quickly delves into the themes of crime and police corruption as you work to keep the streets clean of crime, one shift at a time.

The only other game that comes to mind when comparing The Precinct to something else is L.A. Noire, another open-world title inspired by the popularity of games like Mafia and Grand Theft Auto (and produced by the same teams) that takes a look at police work instead. The Precinct is distinct from L.A. Noire, however, forgoing drawn-out investigations and interrogations to instead show the life of a beat cop rather than a detective.

The Precinct is an open-world title that puts you in the day-to-day shifts of a patrolman in Averno City’s police department, with many of the game’s crimes being what I presume are procedurally generated instances of wrongdoing. In these open-world segments, The Precinct will have you respond to any number of crimes in action, with anything from parking violations and littering to murder and gang wars happening at any time.

Where The Precinct really shines, in my opinion, is when the game leans into its 1980s cop movie inspirations. Crazy car chases that have you crashing through storefronts and firing your gun on a crowded highway, shootouts with bank robbers, and chasing perps through alleyways and rooftops feel like the best the game has to offer. The other stuff, like giving out parking tickets and pulling over drunk drivers, is pretty interesting and immersive, thanks in large part to how detailed the game’s arrest systems are. But honestly, I quickly grew tired of these segments and how repetitive they felt. I’ve never dreamed of being a police officer, and maybe if I had, I would find these segments more interesting—but playing through them as I am left me a bit unimpressed.

Two core design features of the game also feel as though they could have used some work. Driving—something you will do a lot in the game—feels kind of sluggish and hard to control, and especially if you’re playing on keyboard (something the game recommends you don’t do), you’re going to find yourself crashing into a lot of other cars, buildings, and pedestrians on the sidewalk. The game’s choice of camera angle, which is something between third-person and a top-down perspective, makes shooting really awkward—especially when behind cover, where I often found I couldn’t tell if an enemy was exposed or not, since I could see their full body behind their cover.

AI and pathing could use some work, even after a day-one patch addressing both. Your partner is notoriously good at getting stuck, and calling in for backup during a car chase almost guarantees they will crash into something on the way.

It might feel like a little thing, but I honestly feel like The Precinct would have been much better with a third-person perspective akin to GTA or the previously mentioned L.A. Noire. Something in my gut just tells me that the more immersive perspective would have done a lot for The Precinct, especially when it comes to the more mundane and tedious police work that makes up a portion of the game.

The Precinct dips its toes into themes of corruption and bad cops, but if you ask me, it doesn’t do it quite enough. While I don’t think it should have been mandatory, I think there should have been options for players to behave as crooked, corrupt cops as they go through the game. The options to, say, ask for a bribe and a relationship system with your fellow officers would have gone a long way to make the game more interesting.

The Precinct is a promising title that succeeds in capturing the aesthetic and adrenaline of 80s cop films, but stumbles when it comes to polish and variety. Its engaging shootouts and cinematic chases contrast sharply with repetitive tasks and clunky mechanics that may wear thin on players over time. While the game’s unique premise sets it apart, its potential is undercut by technical limitations and design choices that leave parts of the experience feeling unfinished or underdeveloped. For fans of crime noir and open-world gameplay, The Precinct offers flashes of brilliance, but ultimately doesn’t quite reach its full potential.

Try Hard Guides was provided a Steam code for this PC review of The Precinct. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! The Precinct is available on Steam, Epic Games, Xbox, and PlayStation.