This Is the Police

 PC
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 250 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 169 out of 250
  2. Mixed: 59 out of 250
  3. Negative: 22 out of 250

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  1. weirdcryo
    Aug 13, 2016
    5
    The game looks really good, it's smart and really appealing, at least for a while, sadly it's gets old too fast.
    Most of the story it's cliche but the MC voice is on point every time and makes you care, although some of the secondary character voices are really off.
  2. Dal_ReviewedDat
    Aug 18, 2016
    7
    F**K THE POLICE!!

    Nah, don't this game's alright ... Pro's - > Really good script and voice acting > Love the art style and UI etc > Easy to start micro-management, feels rewarding when you bring a wayward cop out of the Dark side! > Original idea Cons > After day 60 it's pretty repetitive, the story is still there, but you feel the grind! > The Mayors office    F**K THE POLICE!!

    Nah, don't this game's alright ...

    Pro's -

    > Really good script and voice acting
    > Love the art style and UI etc
    > Easy to start micro-management, feels rewarding when you bring a wayward cop out of the Dark side!
    > Original idea

    Cons

    > After day 60 it's pretty repetitive, the story is still there, but you feel the grind!
    > The Mayors office requests are ridiculous!! By day 4, when your still getting to grips with your new role and the game on the whole, you'll be asked to FIRE all your BLACK cops to HELP reduce racial tensions (which by today's standards is crazed, I think #BLM may be slightly pi55ed with the idea of not being represented at all in the force - I've had a google and I can't find any record of this ever happening - granted - it would probably have been brushed well under the carpet, but I just feel it's a really odd thing to add into a game. You then get punished for NOT doing what your told by the corrupt mayoral office.

    Overall, as an indie game, this is a great little buy, will burn at least 30 hrs + into it, but has it's flaws. The narrative is great, really good story and likeable characters. It will get repetitive, and feel more a grind in later stages. If you see this on a steam sale - go for it though!    … Expand
  3. neviem
    Jul 29, 2016
    5
    This games feels more like a flash game than anything else. The story is interesting, but full of cliches (latest day I've got to was around 30 atm), however what is not so interesting is that you always have 2-3 really simple options (simple from the point of view of a Chief of police) like will you be with gangster or with this other gangster? And this is main story, you simple can't beThis games feels more like a flash game than anything else. The story is interesting, but full of cliches (latest day I've got to was around 30 atm), however what is not so interesting is that you always have 2-3 really simple options (simple from the point of view of a Chief of police) like will you be with gangster or with this other gangster? And this is main story, you simple can't be 'neutral', or backstab someone, or anything like what you can see in eg. The Wire. You can't even conduct an investigation in the mob, because.. well because you know what. You know there are gangs in the city, yet you can't do anything about then until.. until I don't even know what. Like halo, THIS IS THE POLICE.
    The gameplay itself is.. boring I would say, it is one of those games where you do nothing for the majority of 'gameplay'. Your daily routine is sending 3-8 patrols to various crimes. What it means is you click on 'bubble' assign 2-3 cops, click go and wait. rinse and repeat. The cops have no 'soul' at all, they are just numbers which are basically theirs 'stat'. When someone dies, you don't really care, you just hire another one, often with better stat. Btw the stat system is also strange, game tells you at the beginning that 150 means 'good' cop, but what does it then means if a cop has 700 rating? Is he some kind of superman? Game doesn't explains it at all. My feeling is that every crime is just numbers comparison - assign enough stat points and you are fine.
    There are some other mechanics like detectives, city hall and mobster interaction, but everything feels so much restricted and limited, that it's more like they put it there just to be there. Mayor will often ask things like 'Fire all black/old/asian" policemen, like what?
    Recommendation? I don't know the price (was founding it on KS) but if you can get it bellow 10 it may give you some hours of fun, but otherwise..    … Expand
  4. narek1
    Aug 22, 2016
    7
    there is nothing to say about this game, you just like it or you are not. Not everyone will like to sit down for 10+ hours and just click on the button on mouse, but if you can take not modern graphics, much reading, a similar stories, corny and tightened dialogues and mayor, with local celebrities, that are just just eating your brain with their stupid questions, than you will like this.
  5. Kentathon
    Jul 4, 2018
    5
    I was going to give the game a 7/10 because it's enjoyable and one of the more unique games I've played. Unfortunately, I'm unsatisfied with the games broken City Hall mechanic and I'm going to have to cut the review scores budget.
  6. gruia
    Feb 17, 2018
    7
    solid gameplay, solid writing. great attention to detail
    impressed on all accounts.
    personally i got a bit unstimulated after a while by the gameplay and wouldve wanted it to end like 60% sooner ).
    if they provided with an option to play story mode it woudlve been great
  7. Tzukishiro
    Aug 16, 2016
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game starts with a very interesting story and characters, the gameplay is simple but very fun, as you go along, the plot thickens, but then it's also when everything starts to go to ****

    In the end, notihng you do matters, you get a **** ending and you are out of the game, you can't continue to play unless you start from scratch. It doesn't matter how you played, how good you did or anything, you get thrown out and then you can uninstall or play again. I uninstalled.

    Apart from that, there are a lot of errors that made playing quite annoying, like typos on investigations,,, those BROKE the game, as it made it impossible to figure out the frames you had to put in unless you looked it up or played with all of the possible combinations. Some investigations just give you **** all info that are no help at all, but I guess that's realistic, so I'm not TOO mad about it.

    Another huge design flaw is the fact that the ACCEPT button is RED and REFUSE is BLUE... how does that make sense? I almost clicked the wrong button many times and I've seen some youtubers actually **** up a lot because of that, and it's obvious as to why, the colour code makes no sense.

    In the end, it's a fun game that lasts for a little while, but I'd say it's not worth the money nor time.    … Expand
  8. Moongazer
    Oct 5, 2016
    6
    Game very quickly gets boring and repetitive, especially in the sequences between the main plot, the last 2 hours are plain unbearable. Only 1 ending, your choices don`t really matter.
  9. RagingPoet
    Nov 1, 2017
    5
    Cutscenes are amazing but the gameplay is very repetitive and becomes a chore after the first 2 hours or so. Difficulty is non-existent after you learn the basics
  10. atomlord
    Dec 24, 2018
    7
    Поначалу игра цепляет, сюжет захватывает, миссии интересные, управлять участком весело, но ближе к середине игры сюжет скатывается, миссии однообразные, а последствия нелогичные и непредсказуемые, поэтому управлять участком становится не интересно. Ближе к концу игры геймплей превращаться в рутину, а концовка вообще разочаровала (хороших концовок нету).Поначалу игра цепляет, сюжет захватывает, миссии интересные, управлять участком весело, но ближе к середине игры сюжет скатывается, миссии однообразные, а последствия нелогичные и непредсказуемые, поэтому управлять участком становится не интересно. Ближе к концу игры геймплей превращаться в рутину, а концовка вообще разочаровала (хороших концовок нету).
  11. Soullex
    Nov 30, 2022
    6
    Abi her günü tek tek oynamak gerçekten çok sıkıyor. O kadar doydum ki 2. oyuna başlayasım gelmiyor.
  12. hoanns
    Jun 6, 2020
    6
    80% of the time you stare at the city model doing nothing. Gameplay becomes very repetitive. The end is so unsatisfying, you feel like you have had no effect on anything. It ends the same no matter what
  13. LilBlackRabbit
    Jun 9, 2020
    5
    This game looks very appealing when you first start. You play Jack Boyd, a police chief in Freeburg, and were forced to retire after 180 days because of the corruption of the system. You set yourself a goal of building a retirement fund of $500,000 during this time period. For getting the money you needed, you can choose to team up with the mob or stay true to the oath you took. DuringThis game looks very appealing when you first start. You play Jack Boyd, a police chief in Freeburg, and were forced to retire after 180 days because of the corruption of the system. You set yourself a goal of building a retirement fund of $500,000 during this time period. For getting the money you needed, you can choose to team up with the mob or stay true to the oath you took. During this 180 days, you can manage the police and detective teams you have to solve crimes and stuff. The story is actually interesting with an old school police movie feeing.

    HOWEVER, I think 180 days are too long for this game. It gets repetitive after day 50. I stopped reading about the missions and just send whoever is available out. And you cannot speed up the game when all the police are out and you find yourself spending a lot of time just waiting for everyone's back and end the day. I started watching TV when I'm playing this game after Day 60. (I tried to read a book during playing but I got caught up and missed a couple of missions. So it's probably not a good idea )And now I'm at day 86 and it's becoming really dreadful. It's almost painful to play the game. It literally took me 1 hour to pass 4 days in the game. I do not get any fun from playing it anymore. I'm not sure if I'll ever finish playing this game.    … Expand
  14. YigidOx2
    Mar 16, 2021
    7
    It is a good idea, but its implementation is very wrong. There is no relationship between mechanics and dynamics, and the story feels worthless after a while.
  15. d3uzZ
    Apr 17, 2022
    7
    Можно разгонять протесты фемок силой.
    Однозначно рекомендую!
  16. KevLooney
    Apr 29, 2022
    6
    6/10. The game is boring and the game shows police in a sympathetic and unrealistic light.

Awards & Rankings

84
#84 Most Discussed PC Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
66

Mixed or average reviews - based on 35 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 35
  3. Negative: 4 out of 35
  1. Worth Playing
    Apr 6, 2017
    70
    If you don't mind a drip feed of soul-crushing events, then This is the Police will work for you. The actual gameplay is littered with questionable content, but the core is engaging for both quick and marathon sessions. The story is what holds things together; the many twists are fascinating, and the presentation is charming due to its artistic simplicity. It may not be for everyone, but for those looking for something a little different, This is the Police is worth a shot.
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  2. games(TM)
    Oct 27, 2016
    50
    A clash of approaches that doesn't quite work. [Issue#179, p.84]
  3. Everyeye.it
    Oct 17, 2016
    78
    This is the police is a bold game, innovative and creative. It has an impressive style and a compelling narrative.
    Read full review
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