Preview – Police Simulator: Patrol Officers

With sincere thanks to the fine folks over at Astragon Entertainment, I’ve recently been taking a look at the Early-Access Steam release for Police Simulator: Patrol Officers. As another in a long line of sim titles from Astragon, this is one which we’ve been looking at with interest and after having the opportunity to get hands-on we’ve been far from disappointed.

As the title is still in the Early Access program, we’ll not be giving the full common-sense Parent’s Guide and overall reviews, but you can find our video and extended written review just below, which do touch on these areas.

The Basics

Though it is still in Early Access, there’s already an awful lot to be getting stuck in with even at this time. It may be relatively self-explanatory but in Police Simulator: Patrol Officers you’ll be taking the reins as a new officer in the fictional US city of Brighton. The title is playable single player, or with a friend as your partner with a fairly streamlined joining process. While there’s very little in the way of training before being unleashed onto the streets, the title’s tutorial mode does provide some great on-the-job training.

Your first shift starts relatively slowly, seeing you sent onto the streets to deliver parking tickets within the local area. This provides you with your first look at Focus Mode, where you can smoothly analyse objects such as licence plates, people, cars, parking metres and more, providing pop-up hints using your astute police senses. While it’s just a first step, there’s still a fair amount to be getting to grips with here, and you’ll need to ensure you’re providing the right tickets for the right cars, depending on how and where they are parked as well as expired licences, invalid insurance and more impacting factors.

Your Police Computer will be of assistance but you need to ensure you are making the right decisions. As well as gaining points for correct actions during your shifts, you will also incur demerits should you take any purposely or accidentally shady actions, counting down from 100 to doom.

Moving On

Following your first day of leaving financial surprises for those parking illegally, as well as citizens who jaywalk or litter, you’ll unlock more tools, more callout types and more areas of the city to explore. Exploration is also a great touch, and you’ll discover various landmarks as you patrol the city. Rather than simply gaining points, discovering areas is a must, as this will allow you to point lost citizens in their direction when asked.

Soon you’ll be dealing with major and minor traffic collisions, chasing down wanted criminals, clocking and fining speeders and much more. It’s obvious that a great deal of thought has gone into the title, and even at this early stage there are a lot of little elements which come together to make a nice overall experience. Interviewing and reporting on traffic collisions, gathering witness statements to find more detail on the appearance and identity of wanted persons, and even the use of a flashlight at night to gain more hints, it seems that Astragon have really considered the details.

Parent’s Guide

As Police Simulator: Patrol Officers is currently still within Early Access, it should be noted that content can change at any time. As such, we’ll not be providing a full Parent’s Guide at this time, as this could provide misleading information in future. Do keep an eye out for our full Parent’s Guide and review, available as the title moves into full release.

With that said, at the time of writing there’s not a lot in the title which is a cause of significant concern. Police Simulator does have some more adult themes for drug and alcohol use, and there is also use of mild violence where confronting suspects. In addition, as a sim title there is a lot to remember, especially with the huge number of rules, citations and investigative tools and processes.

While I don’t think it’s one which the Micro Bandits would have too much fun playing themselves, and I wouldn’t want them to think too hard on the themes involved at times, the title does push for a controlled and progressive route to policing. You’ll have points deducted for questioning, searching or arresting citizens for no reason, which shouldn’t really count as progressive but here we are. Overall, this is one which I wouldn’t mind the Micro Bandits watching me play.

The Run Down

Again as an Early Access title it would be a little improper to provide a full review at this time, and Police Simulator: Patrol Officers comes with all of the usual issues which you should expect in any pre-release game. Visuals could do with a polish, and I have had the occasional crash back to desktop which seems to happen at random. I’m happy to report that larger crashes and bugs are now rare, and only happen to me maybe once per play session.

The visuals in the title are actually a little better than I expected and, aside from some hairstyles, it’s been a pleasure to look at overall. There’s already a lot to be getting stuck into in Police Simulator, and it’s one which already keeps sucking me back in for more whenever I get the chance. In addition to this, Astragon also provide access to their Trello project plan, to let users see the upcoming roadmap, replies and reactions to feedback and more. I took a look at the title for the first time as I streamed it, and you can see how much I genuinely enjoy this one in the video below.

With a relatively low price point over on Steam, and with a lot to do already, I’d say that Police Simulator: Patrol Officers is worth a buy if you like the concept. With ongoing active development things can only get better but even as it is there’s a good amount to do, and the basic mechanics are solid and working. If it looks like the kind of title which interests you, and you don’t mind the usual pre-release Early Access glitches and bugettes, PS:PO is definitely one to pick up.