MY REVIEW
Game Synopsis
As with any comprehensive review, the whole gaming experience needs to be evaluated, so it should go without saying that there will be spoilers ahead. In Police Force, the game follows an officer responding to the "deadliest 911 calls" in an unnamed municipality. While Black Eyed Priest Games plans on the final game featuring four cases, only the first case is available now. In Case 1: Barker Residence, you play as a lone police officer, armed only with a pistol and a flashlight, as your respond to a domestic disturbance call. In the introductory text, you learn about the Barker family, whose patriarch has been experiencing psychiatric disturbances. A neighbor reported hearing disturbing noises from the home , where Barker lives with his wife and daughter, late in the evening on Halloween 1988. The scene opens with the officer's flashlight illuminating a jack-o-lantern in the house's entryway. As the officer proceeds to explore the house, Mrs. Barker is found stabbed to death in the kitchen. Over the next few minutes, the player proceeds to explore the house, uncovering evidence and getting a little bit of a backstory on the Barker family, before finding Barker's daughter caged in a dead-end room in the home's basement. As the officer makes to exit the room, Barker bursts in, and it's kill-or-be-killed as he charges the protagonist. Once he is subdued, the game ends.
The Good
There are a number of things that Police Force does exceedingly well. First, the game does an excellent job of building tension throughout, with no ease in dread until after Barker's sudden charge during the basement finale. Throughout the house, you're continually expecting someone to pop out of the shadows, and some nightmarish imagery (a mannequin sat behind a divider in a room, some creepy effigies sat around the basement) really adds to the experience. The game also required you to switch between investigative mode and firearm mode. This mechanic added to the tension by not allowing the player to be ready to fire at any moment. Indeed, when the villain runs toward you, it's pretty unlikely you'll have your weapon out, and, on my first play-through, I was killed before I could fire off enough rounds to stop him.
The Bad
While I did enjoy playing this game, it isn't without its major flaws. First, there is nearly nothing in the game besides the opening text that suggests it is set in the 80s. The graphics are fairly modern, so there's no retro influence there. (Admittedly, retro graphics are a bit of a fetish for me, and you can have a game set in the past that doesn't use them turn out perfectly [e.g., the unbelievably good Stories Untold].) I was also underwhelmed by the myth-making once you're actually in the house. With the exception of a little bit of scrawled text on the wall and a note in the daughter's room, you really don't learn anything explicit about the Barker family as you move through their startlingly clean, under-decorated home. While I admit I'm spoiled in this post-Gone Home world, I could've used a little bit more clutter to round the realism of the situation out.
Final Statement
Despite its flaws in world-building, I really enjoyed playing Police Force and actually booted it back up for another run-through immediately after I finished. (The game does only take about 5 minutes to complete, so no huge time commitment here, truly.) I've appreciated Black Eyed Priest Games' prior work, especially Quiet Haven, and I'm eagerly awaiting the upcoming three episodes of Police Force. I'm hopeful the developer will be able to keep up the tension in a variety of policing situations. If so, this one could end up an indie hybrid classic.
BRANDON’S REVIEW
Background: As Austin stated I have an interest in tactical shooters and police simulations. The first tactical shooter I had ever played was the original Rainbow Six for Nintendo 64. Frankly, Police Force is a tactical shooter of sorts despite being more horror-oriented. It certainly would be scary in real life for a lone officer without backup to enter this dimly lit home in pursuit of a possible murder suspect. I will discuss my playthrough first, and then I’ll discuss what I found great—and what I learned needs improvement.
Upon the start of the first case the player finds themselves in a foyer of the home. Below you on the floor is a in-game instructional manual. Continuing forward you’ll find the instructions handy. When you explore the home, the environment really stands out. This reminded me of the first level in SWAT 4: Close Quarters Battle. In that level you are hunting an elusive serial killer. You are just hunting a suspect, and you have the duty of doing it alone. Once I found one of the hostages, I was amushed by the murderous father. Four rounds and he was down; mission accomplished.
Atmosphere: They got it done the right way. This house is dimly lit. You’ll want to move tactically, and you’ll want to be cautious as you explore this house of death. When you uncover evidence you’ll radio it into dispatch. However, there were some issues I discovered in the course of my playthrough.
Critiques: The flashlight is of horrible quality. No competent law enforcement officer or urban explorer would use such a flashlight with shoddy illumination. Furthermore, the game is supposedly set in the 1980s, this was the age of wheelguns (revolvers) when it came to police handguns. The player’s gun model resembles a subcompact handgun like a Walther PPK. It should be a full framed semi-automatic or a revolver that’s period appropriate: Smith & Wesson Model 66, S&W Model 59, Beretta 92, Sig P226…
Overall Analysis: I enjoyed the game. I’m ready for more episodic fun in Police Force!
*****
Police Force is available free/pay-what-you-want at https://leggomygiallo.itch.io/police-force.
