Summary
- Fallen Tree Games brings a unique twist to the open-world sandbox genre with The Precinct, allowing players to step into the shoes of a cop.
- The isometric camera perspective pays homage to the early days of Grand Theft Auto, while also offering intense gameplay mechanics such as helicopter chases and cover-based combat.
- While major franchises like Watch Dogs and Saints Row have taken a backseat, indie studios like Fallen Tree Games are keeping the genre alive with innovative titles like The Precinct.
The Precinct, a new game from indie studio Fallen Tree Games, lets players take control of a cop in a Grand Theft Auto-inspired open world sandbox. Previously, Fallen Tree Games has been responsible for mobile games like Highrise Heroes and the Quell puzzle game series. The Precinct seems to be a spiritual follow-up to the studio's most recent game, 2019's American Fugitive, another open world sandbox title of a similar vein.
Over the past several years, Grand Theft Auto-like open world experiences have become fewer and further in between, with the exception of Grand Theft Auto itself. Ubisoft's Watch Dogs franchise met a quiet end recently when the publisher announced the hacking-based action adventure series to be shelved indefinitely after 2020's Watch Dogs Legion missed the mark despite it's interesting and unique "play as anyone" system. GTA's long-time competitor, Saints Row, has also been discontinued after the 2022 Saints Row reboot failed to impress gamers and critics alike.
It's Time For Grand Theft Auto 6 To Move Away From a Rockstar Staple
Rockstar has built a history of traditions that are to be expected in its games, but a specific combat mechanic needs to retire.
Thankfully, a smaller independent studio like Fallen Tree Games is picking up the torch, this time with a twist. IGN put out a new developer-led gameplay trailer for The Precinct, an isometric GTA-like sandbox experience that puts players in the shoes of a 1983 cop. Fallen Tree briefly describes the game's narrative in the video's description, explaining that gamers will play as a rookie police officer who's investigating their father's death.
The Precinct Lets Gamers Play As The Police
The Precinct's isometric camera perspective cleverly calls back to the earliest games of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Fittingly for such a game, all the activities and encounters players will come across in The Precinct's grimy, gritty city of Averno are procedurally generated; situations will arise unexpectedly while players are out on the beat. Players can choose how to handle making arrests by deciding whether to check for I.D., search for items, or talk to the suspect to try to gain more information. An intense helicopter chase headlines the trailer, showcasing how players will need to keep the spotlight trained on the fleeing car and how they can call for spike strips, roadblocks, and police vans from the air during the hunt. Of course, The Precinct also features on-foot cover-based combat and a variety of weapons for when things get heated.
A love letter to classic cop movies, The Precinct combines police sim detail with action sandbox spectacle.
While a release date for The Precinct has yet to be confirmed, this thrilling cop-based GTA-like sandbox will make its way to Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 5, Epic Games Store, and Steam at some point later this year. Whether it shows face with a release date at Geoff Keighley's imminent Summer Game Fest is unknown, though considering how close this trailer has been released to the event makes it seem like Gamescom in August would be a more appropriate expectation.
