This Is the Police

 PlayStation 4
This Is the Police Image
Metascore
63

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 39 Ratings

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  • Summary: This Is the Police is a strategy/adventure game set in a city spiraling the drain. Taking the role of gritty Police Chief Jack Boyd, you'll dive into a deep story of crime and intrigue. Will Jack reach his retirement with a nice stack of bills, or will he end up broken ... or worse?
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 12
  3. Negative: 1 out of 12
  1. Digitally Downloaded
    Apr 5, 2017
    90
    "Incredibly successful" is actually a wonderful phrase to go out on. I struggle to find an aspect of This Is The Police that I didn't find enjoyable and appropriate for the style of game as well as what was promised in trailers prior to the game's release. 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.
  2. Push Square
    Mar 21, 2017
    70
    An interesting genre mash-up that offers noir adventure and city management in bite-sized chunks. An expertly crafted atmosphere can't hide some rigid storytelling and shallow systems, but fans of cop movies and resource management should give this one a go.
  3. COGconnected
    Mar 29, 2017
    70
    This is the Police nails its efforts in mashing up a management sim with an engaging noir story. However, top notch presentation aside, the gameplay tends to grow a bit weary somewhere in the middle. Having said that, fans of management sims should still give this a look. There are interesting systems at play and most of them make This is the Police worthy of your time.
  4. God is a Geek
    Mar 31, 2017
    60
    Managing Freeburg’s police force whilst simultaneously skimming yourself a little bit of cash on the side is a decent time, even if monotony does creep in as your days in the force dwindle. The minimalistic style and presentation do it some favours, and the story makes good use of some familiar good-cop-gone-bad tropes with a bit of personal introspection thrown in for good measure. Whilst its handling of specific topics that are currently being played out in our own society is decidedly haphazard, This is the Police remains pretty easy to drop in and play, in no-small part thanks to some smooth tunes.
  5. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    May 29, 2017
    60
    A game as flawed as its protagonist. [May 2017, p.96]
    All this publication's reviews
  6. CGMagazine
    Apr 17, 2017
    60
    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.
  7. GameCritics
    Apr 25, 2017
    40
    Overall, This Is The Police is a somewhat enjoyable strategy/time management title, although the story felt like wasted time since I never grew connected to the characters or the plot, and it had no real bearing on play. With more weight given to the plot and better integration into the game overall, this sad tale of a man slowly sinking to the bottom would have come together into something fascinating. As it stands, the strategic parts can’t save the experience overall and the end result is a title that feels only half-done. Ultimately, This is the Police ended up being a game to kill time with, not one to lose time on.

See all 12 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 11
  3. Negative: 2 out of 11
  1. That_DL_Kid
    Oct 2, 2017
    9
    I found this game to be a hidden gem. I turned the game on the first time and sat and played if for almost all of my Saturday. The premise isI found this game to be a hidden gem. I turned the game on the first time and sat and played if for almost all of my Saturday. The premise is simple but addicting and I enjoyed the story line even if it was a but cliche/linear. This is a great game to relax and play after a hectic FPS. I would say give this game a try, at the time of writing this I only paid $14 for the game. Well worth the price of entry.… Expand
  2. bergcamp101
    Sep 21, 2020
    9
    Great, great, great game! The plot is very strong, and characters are remarkable and memorable.
  4. Felix_taskete
    Mar 4, 2020
    8
    Well, right now this is one of the best russian games. Really liked structure and gameplay of this game. graphic is cute. 8 out of 10.
  5. Frontfacepeppe
    Nov 15, 2017
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Moral of the story, it gets old fast. Its a novelty game. in similar fashion to Papers Please! this is a game you fully experienced after just one hour of gameplay. There is also a certain way to roleplay this game (you get some choices) and during our testing we tried to be a good cop and ignore the demands of the mafia and that just gets you killed so if you want to finish the game you need to help the mafia.… Expand
  6. SplitMind
    May 21, 2021
    6
    This Is The Police is game with good depth but falls into repetitive game cycles and RNG mechanics.

    The graphics of the game are fairly    This Is The Police is game with good depth but falls into repetitive game cycles and RNG mechanics.

    The graphics of the game are fairly simple but effective. Cut-scenes are told through a visual novel with a very familiar voice actor playing the main protagonist. This is quite a charming approach and the noir aesthetics add to the overall atmosphere. The downside is when the game asks you things like firing all old cops, which is very difficult to ascertain when the graphics are simplistic and you only have a small portrait of each cop to work with.

    The gameplay is where TITP sells itself very well. Ultimately it's about strategy with hiring the right cops and assigning the right cops for a job to develop them rather than have them killed on duty. The problem with this is that even when you assign half-decent cops to a task, the offender getting away or people getting killed often falls down to randomisation. In addition to this, the detective aspect of the game is at once oversimplified by sequencing photos together but also complicated by the abstract nature of deciphering which order photos belong.

    However good the mechanics are, where the game will make or break for people is the daily grind. The game doesn't do itself any favours by telling you it's 180 days long and then literally makes you play through the first 45 days or so individually. By this point I was very worn-out on repetition and by the time things were shaken up I had already lost interest. The game would benefit from being shorter for me.

    The story is intriguing; you're a police chief nearing retirement who wants to do it on his own terms whilst navigating the corrupt world of mafia involvement and seediness. I liked the inclusion of Jack's personal life but this was very scant in the early hours to the point that it's easy to forget your own character's name. The story was very slow and seemed to be picking up around day 60 but this was past my tolerance and where I decided to put the game down.

    Overall. TITP is a very interesting game but is spread too thinly. I am very interested in trying the sequel, and if you're interested in the gameplay and don't mind the grind then you will find great value for the price of this game now.    … Expand
  7. Poriboshe
    Oct 18, 2020
    5
    This game itself is interesting,but very long and monotonous!But nevertheless,you are very interested in the distribution of police officersThis game itself is interesting,but very long and monotonous!But nevertheless,you are very interested in the distribution of police officers in the city and the investigation of murders, thefts.The plot in this game is almost in last place.The game is long and it discourages the desire to play it.… Expand
  8. Weirdwolf047
    Mar 30, 2021
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Story presentation is good and the story is nice as well. Managing your police forces is not bad. But at some point in 3rd of the game my policeman are doing in some stupid car accidents at the rate of 2-3 per day. Ok if they will be drunk but this is just so stupid. This is the first game in my life that I didn't finish just before the end on day 174 out of 180. It was so annoying that I just stop care about the story at all and the worst thing is I quite liked the story.… Expand

See all 11 User Reviews

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