This Is the Police is a single-player strategy adventure game where players step into the role of Police Chief Jack Boyd in the fictional city of Freeburg. The core challenge centers on navigating 180 days of mounting pressures while aiming to secure a substantial retirement fund amid widespread corruption and crime.
Gameplay
The experience revolves around daily management of the Freeburg Police Department. Each day brings a stream of emergency calls that require decisions on staffing and response priorities. Officers vary in skill and reliability, so assigning the right personnel to incidents becomes essential to avoid failures that reduce department resources or respect from City Hall.
Staff oversight includes scheduling shifts, handling absences, and preparing officers for more demanding situations as the timeline advances. Later stages introduce access to specialized units for high-risk operations. Investigations form another layer, requiring players to connect evidence and identify suspects from crime scenes depicted on an isometric city map.
External pressures shape every choice. Negotiations with criminal elements or political figures present trade-offs that affect both immediate outcomes and longer-term standing. Press conferences and occasional courtroom appearances add further layers of accountability. The voice performance of Jack Boyd adds weight to these moments through consistent narration of events and internal reflections.
Game Modes
The primary mode follows the structured 180-day campaign. Players work through a sequence of escalating events tied to the department's operations and the city's power struggles, with decisions carrying forward consequences across the full period.
Completing the campaign unlocks Sandbox mode. This option removes the retirement deadline and financial target, allowing free-form experimentation with officer management and city responses without the original constraints.
Story and Choices
Freeburg serves as the backdrop for a narrative focused on institutional decay. The mayor exerts influence over department matters, while organized crime operates with increasing boldness. Players decide how Jack Boyd engages with these forces, whether through cooperation, resistance, or selective enforcement.
Each major situation offers branching paths. Responses at crime scenes, dealings with underworld contacts, or handling media inquiries can shift alliances and alter available resources. The story tracks these shifts through voiced dialogue and on-screen events, leading to different conclusions based on accumulated choices rather than linear progression.
Is It Worth Playing?
This Is the Police suits players who appreciate deliberate pacing and narrative weight in management titles. The emphasis on resource allocation, evidence gathering, and moral trade-offs creates a focused loop that rewards careful planning over rapid action.
Reception highlights the strength of its story delivery and the impact of decisions, though some note the repetitive nature of daily tasks and the frequency of setbacks. The game remains a complete single-player package with no ongoing seasonal content or live updates required for the core experience.
Those drawn to strategy adventure games that blend staff oversight with investigative elements and branching outcomes will find the most value here. The campaign length and replay potential through different choice paths support multiple runs for those interested in exploring alternate paths.
