Police Simulator: Patrol Officers, by developer Aesir Interactive and publisher astragon, strangely parallels Civil War Reenactments: instead of an ambitious project, which gives an idea of the life of soldiers on the battlefield, this 3D police simulator attempts to accurately simulate the daily life of a police officer, and succeeds quite well in that respect. Taking place in a busy urban setting, Police Simulator: Patrol Officers is played in “shifts” where the player has a set amount of time to finish tasks in a jurisdiction of the player’s choosing. Every shift ends with a summary of the player’s completed tasks and how many points you gained for your hard work, and through continued achievements new areas are unlocked.
In the beginning, the player is but a mere parking enforcement officer, off to ticket sinners whose parking meters timed out, whose license plate expired last week, or the evil doers who partially park on the sidewalk (you know who you are). The game doesn’t hold your hand, gradually making the player make judgement calls to complete tasks and punish crimes. This is a pretty neat concept to say the least as you’re relying on much of your real-life observation skills. As you make progress in your career, you gain more tools and, in turn, responsibilities in dealing with problems that occur. This includes dealing with traffic accidents that take place through the game’s traffic system. These mechanics help give a sense of progress as our player character climbs the ranks. Police Simulator: Patrol Officers stays true to its name, reflecting a very realistic experience of what being on the force is like, but this realism comes with significant setbacks.
This Early Access game is a little too willing to sacrifice the player’s quality of life to maintain that sense of realism to the extent realistic elements become an annoyance rather than a feature of the game. There’s a reason why most player characters in modern games have some unspoken magical power to turn every light green on arrival, that is, NO ONE wants to wait at red lights. Police Simulator: Patrol Officers ignores that common game design trope among other quality of life mechanics. This causes the game to feel too slow for comfort: you can’t run faster than a light jogging speed, there is no jumping or vaulting mechanics, repeating animations get old fast, and shifts only end once you walk all the way back to the station. In short, the game tends to prioritize staying true to real life over solid gameplay mechanics.
These gameplay flaws don’t bother me as much as the lack of story within the game. I’m not even talking purely about how the game has no story, but more so about how the experience just lacks character and a human touch. There isn’t quite enough engaging gameplay for me to be interested in the game for that alone, but that’s made worse by the fact that there isn’t any story or characters for me to be engaged with on an emotional level. On a more positive note, there are thoughtful elements in the UI design. Loading screens and progression screens are reminiscent of an officer’s computer (I kept getting intrigued at how the loading bar looks like a password entry bar). The developers seem to have put a great deal of work into this ambitious project, and despite the flaws, the game has great ideas. I look forward to where the developers take the project past early access.
Check Out the Police Simulator: Patrol Officers Steam Early Access Trailer:
Police Simulator: Patrol Officers for PC will be available via Steam Early Access and the official astragon homepage starting today, June 17, 2021 for USD $24.99/19.99 Euro/17.99 GBP (RSP).
Related: Police Simulator: Patrol Officers New Screenshots Feature Daily Policing in Brighton
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I remember when I was a little kid, I watched my dad talk to a cowboy robot in a post-apocalyptic open world game. He kicked me out of his office, stating that the game is inappropriate for children, but I think that’s where my love of western RPGs started. Since then, I’ve grown up playing competitive games, interacting with the community, and exploring immersive worlds. I’m definitely an old soul as my favorite games include all of the old Fallout games, RPGs with classical elements such as Divinity: Original Sin 2, and the all-time great Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
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