Game review: The Precinct (Xbox Series X)
When it comes to open-world style city games, players are normally playing as notorious criminals. When playing games like Grand Theft Auto, Saints Row, and the Mafia series, all of them require you to control criminals doing lots of illegal activities. You can kill innocents, rob banks, and do tons more in these types of games.
Well, a new city-based video game has come out this year for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S called The Precinct. The Precinct is much different to the games I mentioned above because you assume the role of a young rookie policeman named Nick Cordwell Jr. It's basically a small GTA-style video game, but this time players have to be on their best manners.
The Precinct takes place in the '80s in a fictional US city called Averno City. As Nick Cordwell Jr, you will team up with Sergeant Kelly to prowl the streets of Averno City to try and catch as many criminals as possible. Whether it be gang members or people speeding in their cars, no criminal is safe with these two cops around.
What I like most about The Precinct is that it features multiple different branching storylines. The main story sees Nick Cordwell Jr. trying to investigate the murder of his policeman father from five years ago. This is the final story mission of the game, and it features two different endings.
Another cool story within the game is that you have to seek out a serial killer who has been killing multiple drug dealers around the city in a gruesome fashion. During some moments in the game, you will have to visit crime scenes and seek out clues that might lead to the person responsible for all the murders.
The predominant storyline and portion of the game requires you to take down two of the city's biggest gangs, called the Crimson Serpent and the Jawheads. In order to arrest their top dogs, you have to collect evidence by solving any crimes they commit around the city.
For example, if one of the gangs is involved in a burglary, you will have to arrest their members while collecting their guns as evidence. In another example, you can do a basic traffic stop by finding their marked vehicles and getting a warrant to search their belongings.
Collecting evidence from the gang members is the only repetitive portion of the game because you have to collect a certain amount before they can continue with the main storyline. You will have to collect 26 pieces of evidence of the Crimson Serpent and 30 pieces of evidence for the Jawheads each.
Aside from arresting gang members, The Precinct will also allow you to stop other crimes from around the city. If players are on foot, they can issue parking fines if cars are obstructing fire hydrants or are too close to the sidewalk. You can even issue fines if the parking meters have expired.
Fines can also be issued for petty crimes like littering, graffiti, and speeding. You have to make sure to issue fines and not arrest people for petty fines, or else you will lose precious XP needed to level up your skills.
On the flip side, you can also bust criminals for more serious crimes that have been committed around the city. Serious crimes include burglaries, street fighting, drug deals, drink driving, and even assault with a deadly weapon.
The Precinct is pretty cool because you're forced to play as a law-abiding cop.
You are not allowed to use lethal force at any time unless the criminals shoot guns at you first. Even if they punch you in the face, you're only allowed to use your fists or a nightstick to fight back. It's game over if you use lethal force on unarmed citizens or criminals. It is also game over if you injure or shoot a fellow police officer, too, so you have to have accurate aim.
As you progress further in the game, you get access to more vehicles. You can patrol the streets in a car, on foot, or even inside a helicopter. The helicopter is mainly used to seek out criminals who are speeding in a vehicle, and you have to call on your support team to chase them around the city. These sections of the game remind me of O.J. Simpson's infamous car chase in the '90s!
Another thing I like about The Precinct is that it's a pretty lengthy game from a small developer. It took me around 10.5 hours to finish the main story, but I was far from finished because there are tons of other side quests to complete.
Some of the side quests include races, time trials, car jumps, and even finding rare vehicles and artefacts. The car jumps are my favourite side activity because you can find a speedy vehicle driving on ramps and see how far you can go!
I have played 20 hours of the game so far, and I still haven't finished all of the side quests yet. It will probably take me several hours more in order to 100% the game because you need to win every race and get gold medals in every time trial too.
While the gameplay is mostly excellent, GTA fans will love the old-school style of graphics too. The character models are cel-shaded, but most of the game is in 3D. The game also uses a top-down viewpoint much like GTA Chinatown used on handheld consoles over a decade ago.
The only thing that might disappoint some players is that Averno City is very small compared to other open-world video games. I believe the city is much smaller than even Liberty City from Grand Theft Auto III. However, this game is made by a small developer, so I didn't expect to see a city that large.
Another small complaint is that the shooting mechanics could be improved. It feels as if the game's aiming would have been better if I was playing using a mouse and keyboard instead. Trying to aim using the right analogue stick can be cumbersome.
The Precinct is, without a doubt, one of the best original games I've played in 2025. The gameplay is addictive, and the game isn't lacking in terms of content. This game is a must-have if you're a fan of old-school GTA games.
Verdict: 8.5/10
