Often, we play as the ragtag, the rebels, the enemy of the authority. The other side of the coin also has much to offer gaming-wise. Both the plot and the gameplay offer memorable experiences. And that’s exactly what we’re looking for, something to remember. What are the best police games on PS4 and PS5?
Selecting Police Games on PS4 and PS5
Our goal is to share games where you can play as the police. That includes all kinds of operatives, such as Swat members, detectives, FBI agents, undercover agents, and more. For example, we know of a werewolf-cop game. Of course, the type of officer you’re alters often alters the story to enjoy. For example, a detective protagonist delivers a “Noire” plot; a Swat operative focuses on action-heavy gameplay, and police officers are often part of simulators. The one rule we have for the list is granting you the opportunity to play as the law -the thrill of fulfilling your duty against all odds. And by “odds,” I mean crime, corruption, lack of resources, time limits, or your own morals. Therefore, we accept all kinds of mechanics, genres, and plots. However, these games have to be good. We’re considering its fan reception, critical reception, and our opinion to measure its quality.
Top Police Games on PS4 and PS5
L.A. Noire (Remaster)
L.A. Noire is a dark police thriller. It’s also an open-world detective action-adventure experience. As such, it’s one of the most influential titles of the PS3 generation. It’s the base formula for titles like GTA or Red Dead Redemption. Also, it’s a 10/10. The characters, the plot, the shooting, and the driving are top-tier. Here, play in third-person perspective as Cole Phelps, a detective in 1940 L.A. Your job is to solve a series of murders, and a conspiracy, in the city. L.A. is going through the golden age of Hollywood, but it’s drowning in success. Cole faces the city’s ugly underbelly, secrets that may shake the metropolis. To that end, the gameplay revolves around chases, shooting, interrogation, driving, and detective work segments. The PPS4 remaster features 1080p/30fps on the console and 4K/30fps on the PS4 Pro. The bundle includes all of its DLCs, collectibles, and outfits. Moreover, it packs a series of graphical, technical, and U.I. improvements.
Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition
The Definitive Edition packs all of the available 24 DCLS for the game and improved visuals and music. Even though the title is not as popular as it should be, we believe it’s an absolute jewel. You play as Wei Shen, a highly-trained undercover agent in Hong Kong. Your job has you deep within the ranks of the Triad organization, and you must destroy it from within. Or, like newer Yakuza games, you can relax in karaoke…or other barely legal places. The tasks require you to mingle with the criminal organization, though. So, the story is about balancing your duty to the police with your duty to the triads. You must commit crimes to prove your worth while delivering information and completing tasks for your superiors. The setting delivers an open-world action-adventure game with martial arts / shooting combat. In particular, you rise Triad ranks mostly through arena-type combat. And as you play, you’ll unlock new skills, power-ups, combos, and more.
Judgment
Speaking of the Yakuza series, we also recommend Judgment. This is an open-world action-adventure spin-off, but it has a case to stand as one of the best police games on PS4 and PS5. You play as fallen lawyer Takayuki Yagami. He becomes a detective and starts chasing his past to claim redemption. The mission goes through a secret criminal network in Kamurochi city to undercover a series of murders. The story is a psychological thriller. Yagami must find a balance between mercy, justice, and his own sanity. Your goal is to track the suspects, find clues, and take your evidence to the court. Along the way, though, you must learn to distinguish friend from foe. As for gameplay, you roam in a third-person perspective and defend yourself with a mix of martial arts movements. The combat is cinematic and over-the-top, like a Mission Impossible movie. Similarly, the plot is full of twists, mystery, and revelations.
Disco Elysium – The Final Cut
Disco Elysium is an open-world isometric RPG. The experience involves making choices, taking paths, and talking to NPCs. It’s almost an interactive game, a movie with gorgeous hand-drawn visuals. And The Final Cut is even better, as it’s the enhanced version. Welcome to a dark, somehow abstract story about authority and morals. You play as Harrier du Bois in the fictional city of Revachol. Poverty, crime, drugs, and corruption have taken over the area. A Coalition of nations has had a tight grip on the city since a communist revolution tried to take over the city decades ago. As for gameplay, you explore an open world to solve main and side quests. The mechanics revolve around dialogues: you interrogate suspects, talk to NPCs for info, and make choices with what you know. And as you play, you’ll develop skill trees in various mental abilities, which can help you on the quest (like persuasion, poetry, or intimidation). This goes alongside a thrilling soundtrack, deep stories, complex choices, and innovative mechanics.
Detroit: Become Human
Detroit: Become Human is a sci-fi interactive adventure game. All you do is make choices and perform quick actions. Then see how the choices play out on the screen. It’s complex, though, as the branching paths lead to over 80 different endings. The story happens in a futuristic Detroit, where Androids have taken over many human jobs. Humans dislike them and treat them as slaves without free will. However, A.I.s are on the verge of gaining self-consciousness. It leads to a revolution, which you experience in episodes and through three protagonists. One of the playable characters is Connor, an advanced detective AI hunting for rogue androids. Even though it seems he does his duty without questions, he has reservations – you make a choice. Connor’s gameplay is about finding clues about the environment and then making choices with the information. The other characters are Markus, the leader of the Android revolution, and Kara, an innocent “maiden” android.
Tom Clancy’s: Rainbow Six: Siege
Rainbow Siege Six is a tactical multiplayer shooter. It offers 5v5 matches where one team plays as SWAT agents and the other as the terrorists. It’s one of the most popular online FPS available. The SWAT team must breach a position and attack. Meanwhile, the other team must defend. So, operatives of each team have skills that help defend or attack, such as breaking walls or barricading a corridor. Before you join a game, you choose one of the operatives. Each has exclusive weapon loadouts, skills, armor, H.P., and other stats. Every Operative belongs to a real-life anti-terrorist organization. There are various game modes, though. For example, you can rescue hostages, reactive bombs, or secure areas. There’s also a tutorial mode, solo modes, a co-op mode, and others.
Heavy Rain
Heavy Rain is an interactive detective drama by experts in the genre. It’s the first title by Quantum Dreams, representing the first game of its kind. It was a bet for the Sony console, and it paid off. The story is a detective psychological thriller; your job is to make the choices and see how the cinematic evolves. As for the plot, it’s about finding the origami serial killer. He or she kills when it rains and leaves a paper-origami shape in the scene. You experience the game in episodes with four different characters. There’s Ethan Mars, who lost his son to the killer; Scott Shelby, a private detective; FBI agent Normal Jayden; and journalist Madison Paige. The four protagonists can take their own paths as they try to catch the killer in different ways. Depending on how you play the game, they can get in the way of one another. And overall, your choices may lead to 18 different endings.
Tokyo Dark
Tokyo Dark is an indie point-and-click detective adventure game. It’s also a 2D experience with a horror setting, haunting music, and an unsettling mystery to discover. The plot revolves around a dark gate in the Tokyo sewers. Wanderers disappear near the entry point. Your companion disappeared similarly, so you must shine a light under the city streets. You play as detective Ito on a narrative adventure that will test her sanity, courage, and determination. Searching for her missing partner requires you to be clever. You must collect items and use them differently to solve puzzles and move forward. Moreover, you make key choices during the gameplay. These choices affect Ito Ayami’s mental state, leading to multiple endings. And its themes of horror and mental health are deep and intriguing.
This Is the Police & This Is the Police 2
This Is The Police is an adventure police strategy game that mixes tactical decisions with narrative choices. You play as Jack Boyd, a police officer in his final days in the force. The gameplay delivers a top-view perspective as you travel to the missions in the town. Then, missions begin with an animation featuring the game’s cartoon style. Although it looks silly, it packs a lot of sentiment and meaning behind every event. Then, you use the information you gather to solve the cases. You also manage your police team, as well as agency resources, to complete different tasks. The first one is generally more popular than the 2018 sequel, as the sequel changed too many things. But if you like its entry title, you can keep playing the second one. In particular, the sequel leans heavily into police corruption, and you must balance your morals, duty, and results.
Autobahn Police Simulator 3
The title is self-explanatory, and it’s perhaps what you want to play. This is the third part of the Autobahn police simulator saga. It comes from a German developer and takes its name from Germany’s 25-mile Autobahn highway. The title allows you to play as a rookie police officer. You go back to work after a car accident left you incapacitated for a while. Now, you must fulfill your duty as a police officer to rise again in the force’s ranks. The setting is the Autobahn highway, so gameplay revolves around driving your police car. The game supports a gaming wheel, night/day cycle, third-person perspective, or a first-person perspective. Then, you play through 40 missions, or you can roam around in the free-play mode. Your task is pursuing and catching criminals on the spot, and you can do it on foot or in the car. You’ll get your tasks through realistic radio communication.
