Rebel Cops is what would happen if you crossed Lethal Weapon with XCOM. It’s a hard-boiled cop drama that plays out in isometric, turn-based confrontations between the criminal underworld and the only cops in the town of Ripton that haven’t yet been bought off or slaughtered. Set in the nineties, you’ll foil bank robberies, storm warehouses, and battle your corrupt former colleagues across intricately designed dioramas. Your squad grows in abilities and aptitudes, but one bullet can end their promising career -- unless you can heal them before they bleed out.

Unlike XCOM, there are plenty of non-lethal moves which fit the bill (get it?) of the police setup. For example, you can hold an unsuspecting perp at gunpoint for an easy arrest, or sneak up on them with a baton to dish out some old-fashioned hard justice. Of course, sometimes conflicts can’t be solved without bullets, and a lack of hit points means that tension can set in quickly. You can shoot to wound, but a headshot could save the life of your otherwise doomed comrade. There’s a downside to a bodycount, though; public perception will shift to see you as the baddies, potentially withdrawing financial and material backing.

These alliances can be rebuilt by performing favours, and you’ll need the people’s help to keep your squad well supplied with weapons and armour. You can also scavenge it from more open missions, but these feel unfocused compared to the tense life-or-death stakes in traditional skirmishes. Rebel Cops makes some fun adjustments to an already tense formula. Its conflicts are fraught and exciting, while its meta-game is excellently woven into both the storyline and moment to moment gameplay. You should definitely kick the door down.