Police Simulator: Patrol Officers: Nintendo Switch Edition is a port of the 2021 Steam title. It allows players to become a police officer in the fictional US city of Brighton, catching crooks and moving up the ranks of the force as you make the city a safer place to live. It’s a unique fit for the Switch and will likely appeal to simulation fans with a lawful neutral alignment.
The gameplay hook is fun. Start your shift, find some bad guys, interrogate them, arrest them as necessary, end your shift, and repeat. The bad guys in question start out at a fairly low level. People can be booked for jaywalking or speeding, and you’re given simple objectives each day. You can even write up a ticket for cars parked facing the wrong way on the street. It’s fun to seek out injustices, even if they’re only minor. Things become more interesting when you unlock vehicles and more complex crimes.
If you like law and order, you’ll appreciate the by-the-book mentality of Police Simulator. You play the role of a rookie who does things properly. Every move you make is controlled via a robust menu wheel, giving all sorts of options. You can ask questions of your suspect, ask for ID, do a drug test, and so on. But you can’t just frisk someone without a good reason, and you’ll lose points for doing so. The XP you earn is what helps your rank grow, so it’s important to follow those rules. After all, who polices the police?
And hey, accidents happen. You can be involved in a traffic accident yourself if you’re not careful while driving. But when an accident occurs – whether you’re involved or not – you’ll need to write a thorough report. Paperwork might not be glamorous, but it’s all part of the job. So, you’ll need to interview each person involved and take plenty of photos using the in-game camera. It’s satisfying to watch the report meter increase until you get it just right. Even the perpetrators are usually impressed with your robust work. They’ll certainly let you know when you hand in something shoddy.
Another neat detail is the fact that you work for a precinct. Just like a real-life cop (or at least according to cop shows I’ve watched), you can only patrol a certain area, staying within your zone. This limit means suspects can annoyingly flee across those arbitrary borders. I guess it makes for a good story for the kids/partner/other cops? On the plus side, the zones expand the more you play, giving you access to new areas ripe for exploration. And full of crime, of course.
The graphics are neat, if a little patchy at times. The Switch handles things relatively well, though there are a few humorous glitches. For example, bad guys can sometimes run through cars while fleeing. Determining whether ID cards match the suspect is tricky when the pictures don’t match at all (but are supposed to). There were some game crashes, too, but the developers addressed these with a patch before the release date. Kudos to them. Apart from that, the landscape is crisp and clear, with many people, cars and objects on display. With some more updates, things will look and feel even better.
The audio is interesting in its simplicity. Voice acting is present, helping engage you in your role. I’m not sure if people are actually this nice to cops in real life, but it makes you feel good when they thank you for a ticket in the game (or compliment those accident reports). Don’t get me wrong, there are certainly complaints, but you can’t please everyone.
Overall, Police Simulator is a unique experience that feels like you’re living the life of a cop on the city streets. The gameplay loop is enjoyable, though some bugs do mar the experience. If you like simulation games and thrive on law and order, you might get a kick out of this.
