This Is the Police Reviews
This Is the Police will most assuredly find an audience. There is a tinge of Tharsis in the way that difficulty is handled – the world is out to get you, and things only get worse as you lose more and more resources. Most people won’t like this approach. But for those of you who enjoy having the odds stacked against them, for that one triumphant run in which luck is finally on your side and you come out of it all bruised, battered, but ultimately victorious, then This Is the Police may be right for you.
Although Jon St. John (known for voicing Duke Nukem) is the voice of Jack Boyd, I found myself not genuinely caring how the narrative played out. I thoroughly enjoyed the management sim portion of the game and could see myself play through a sandbox mode for quite some time, if one is ever added. Add randomized cases and crimes, and it could be something special, but as it is, the lack of true freedom in the narrative holds the game back. Having your playthrough cut short after only a handful of days because you wouldn’t listen to the mayor’s racist request is something that should not happen. Don’t give the player a false sense of choice when in practice there is only one way to play the game.
This is the Police is quite pleasant and original title, but because of its humdrum gameplay, it fails in an attempt to keep the player near the console for londer sessions.
Review in Polish | Read full review
The first five minutes of This is the Police will no doubt hook players into the world they’re about to step foot in. Unfortunately, the only way to progress through the story is to grind through the gameplay, which at times can slow the game to a screeching halt. This is upsetting due to the game’s fantastic storytelling. There will be people who will pass through the gameplay with ease and find enjoyment in it. However, in my case, it provided me with a negative experience. This is the Police is by no means a bad game, it just fails to hold up after the player starts the gaming sections. There will certainly be those who enjoy the gameplay and find it thought provoking, however, if a player wants something more involved, they might be disappointed.
An intriguing concept hindered by too much going on. There are plenty of details throughout, but few received the attention they deserved.
A promising premise but falls short of its full potential by overreaching itself.
This game reached its peak (for me) about half way through when it started to become a little too repetitive and tedious. The decisions you make do shape the story (initially) but only to an extent as you are basically forced into becoming a corrupted cop anyway. Instead of it being ‘choice driven’, I found this game to be more about skills management and balancing resources (no matter how corrupted you are) to make sure all parties you interact with are happy. The controversial content (racism, sexism etc.) may be a bit hard to swallow but it certainly adds to the story of police corruption and gives the game a different edge. I would say it is good value for money for the crime buffs among us, but not a must play title.
The controversial content (racism, sexism etc.) may be a bit hard to swallow but it certainly adds to the story of police corruption and gives the game a different edge. I would say it is good value for money for the crime buffs among us, but not a must play title. [OpenCritic note: Lyla Saudi reviewed both the PC (3.9) and Switch (4) versions. Their scores have been averaged.]
This is the Police is simple but highly addictive if you have the time to dedicate becoming more invested in Jack Boyd and his personal chaotic life.
There's still a lot to admire here, especially the attention to sound design – from the satisfying clink of the cuffs every time you apprehend an offender, the patter of rain on windows and the windows themselves being drawn, and the jazz offering that accompanies and soothes you as you try to put an end to gruesome happenings. Unfortunately, once those turn into background wallpaper, the omissions only hurt more.
When it does manage to deliver a hard-hitting narrative, This Is the Police really delivers. All too frequently, however, it's hard to connect with Jack and the other faceless denizens of Freeburg. While the core gameplay does succeed at conveying the challenge of being a police chief in the midst of a collapsing personal world, it doesn't exactly pull off being fun, especially during the frequent, slower moments.
For the ultimate failure of This Is the Police is that it makes everyone culpable but the police.
The question of morality seems to be at the heart of This Is The Police, but the game doesn’t always seem to understand exactly what it’s trying to say
This Is the Police is a fun game on Nintendo Switch with a minimalist look, an interesting story, and entertaining gameplay mechanics. The price might at first seem high, but rest assured that this one has more than enough content to justify its asking price. If you're more into purchasing physical copies of Nintendo Switch games, you can do that when This Is the Police releases at retail on December 5.
This Is the Police should be applauded for taking a concept such as police work and making it into a unique, yet somewhat flawed experience. The tale of Jack Boyd and his struggles to escape the trappings of his troublesome life make for an interesting story, but like his state of mind, the constant back-and-forth between work and contending with ambiguous morality choices through each passing day makes it seem like a never-ending cycle of success and failure.
This Is the Police is a pretty interesting management simulator with an engaging plot and tackles issues that feel all too relevant in today's society, despite it taking place thirty years ago. It gets kind of repetitive at times and the issues brought up don't go that deep, but I still found it to be a competent management simulator with a unique aesthetic and gripping plot.
This Is the Police is one of the best simulators I have played this year: it's engaging, fun, and it never gets boring. It's the perfect game to play in handheld mode since it's a release you will want to play at all times. Download the game today!
While every moral conundrum gave me real pause to think, too often I thought my emotions were being exploited and toyed with by a game that was going to play out the same way regardless.
This is the Police is basically a visual novel disguised as a strategy videogame. Apart from a lack of any depth in its mechanics, choices don't really matter, as almost everything happens no matter what you do. The story section is a lot better, and the audio-visuals even more so, but these won't be enough to satisfy strategy enthusiasts.
Taking over the role of police chief to run Freeburg would have been a great simulation/management game on its own, but then add layer upon layer of villainous folk and reasons to go over to the dark side, and the game becomes a fully immersive experience that requires great difficulty to put down.