Choose Police Stories
Choose Police Stories if you want the Steam Leaderboards side of the pairing. 2,383 Steam reviews back the pick.
Police Stories vs Police Stories: The Academy
Police Stories and Police Stories: The Academy both land in Action, Strategy, Indie on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Action, Strategy, Indie on Steam. Police Stories (2019) is 3 years older than Police Stories: The Academy (2022). Police Stories: The Academy scores higher on Steam reviews (87.7% positive) than Police Stories (82.3% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Police Stories: The Academy
Choose Police Stories: The Academy if you want a Free To Play experience. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 87.7% positive across 366 reviews.
Both Police Stories and Police Stories: The Academy sit in Action, Strategy, and Indie on Steam and both list Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen, and Online Co-op, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Police Stories |  Police Stories: The Academy | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2019 | 2022 |
| Genres | Action, Strategy, Indie, Simulation | Action, Strategy, Indie, Simulation, Free To Play |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Unrated |
| Price | 19.99 USD | Free to play |
| Steam reviews | 82.3% positive (2,383 reviews) | 87.7% positive (366 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Shared/Split Screen Co-op | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Shared/Split Screen Co-op |
| Developers | HypeTrain Digital | HypeTrain Digital |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Strategy, Indie on Steam.
- Police Stories (2019) is 3 years older than Police Stories: The Academy (2022).
- Police Stories: The Academy scores higher on Steam reviews (87.7% positive) than Police Stories (82.3% positive).
- Police Stories: The Academy is free; Police Stories is paid (19.99 USD).
- Both support cooperative play.
- Police Stories is Deck Playable on Steam Deck; Police Stories: The Academy has no Deck rating yet.
Police Stories vs Police Stories: The Academy — FAQ
- Which is better, Police Stories or Police Stories: The Academy?
- On Steam reviews Police Stories: The Academy scores higher (87.7% positive) than Police Stories (82.3% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Police Stories: The Academy is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Police Stories or Police Stories: The Academy first?
- If you want chronology, Police Stories (2019) came out before Police Stories: The Academy (2022). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Police Stories and Police Stories: The Academy similar?
- They overlap on Action, Strategy, Indie on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Do both Police Stories and Police Stories: The Academy have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: Police Stories ships Online Co-op, Shared/Split Screen Co-op; Police Stories: The Academy ships Online Co-op, Shared/Split Screen Co-op.
- Is Police Stories: The Academy free?
- Yes — Police Stories: The Academy is a free-to-play Steam title. Police Stories is paid (19.99 USD).
- Does Police Stories run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Police Stories is rated Deck Playable by Valve. Police Stories: The Academy doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.