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Game
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Flashing Lights - Police, Firefighting, Emergency Services (EMS) Simulator
Developer Nils Jakrins
Play solo or in up to 10-player multiplayer co-op! Flashing Lights is an open world police, firefighting and EMS simulator game with plenty of opportunity for role-play or more relaxed fun with friends. Become the law or save lives! Discover leagues of player-created mods! From the Steam store page
276 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Nov 4, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
56
Mixed
153 positive · 120 negative
95% range 50–62%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 153 | 120 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 3 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
9,287 of 11,354 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
56% recommend · 132 yes, 104 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 236 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (14,895 of 18,750 positive).
Players are divided on Flashing Lights, with many praising its roleplay potential but criticizing persistent bugs and poor optimization. [1][2][3][4] Some reviewers enjoy the customization and missions, especially for EMS and firefighting roles. [5][6][7] Others feel the game is half-baked, with broken AI, repetitive tasks, and a focus on DLCs over fixes. [8][9][10][11]
Liked
Representative posts
- [4]
This game would be probably the best emergency service game out there if the game's engine wasn't made from a rock and two twigs. It's also horribly unoptimized. I seriously, don't understand why this game looks and performs worst than titles before the 2000s. I'm not even exaggerating. It's disappointing since this is the only game that does police gameplay well (LSDPFR doesn't count).
- [10]
Constant poor decisions by the dev team, latest screw up is updating the game to Unity 2022. The update broke lighting, many core mechanics, AI, insane visual bugs, etc. and none of said bugs are even being acknowledged. REFUSAL to roll back to 2019 (which the game ran quite well on). You can also post in their Discord MULTIPLE times as well as Discussion posts and you will ALWAYS be ignored, unless it's a bug they …
- [1]
Greetings, reader! I've been thinking for a long time about how to properly express my thoughts about the game Flashing Lights, and I'm finally ready to share my experience. I've been playing since the game was released and have accumulated a lot of observations. · Overall impression The game is a simulator of the 911 emergency response service. The mechanics allow you to interact with various services, although the …
- [2]
YES. Absolute yes. Love this game, love the developers. Love everything. AND I MEAN IT!!! I got this game on 2024 and been playing now and then a bit, and now came back to this game and i must say, that this is my favorite roleplay game. And anyway Emergency Response game. So much to do, so open, so free, so goodly made, not too hard. And love the details. I ABSOLUTELY RECCOMEND THIS GAME. I will always keep coming …
- [3]
I'd really like to see this game in a better state than it is, in my opinion it looks like it's stuck in 2019, and I feel like optimization could 100% be improved. I loved this game for like 3 days, and it got really boring. BUT! If you really like fun, janky roleplay with your friends, or just like driving around with emergency vehicles, AND want some form of first responder roleplay, then this may be the game for …
Summarised from 26 of the 236 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 10, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Flashing Lights - Police, Firefighting, Emergency Services (EMS) Simulator talk about fun roleplay with friends and emergency vehicle driving; those who didn't talk about horrible optimization and performance issues. Which matters more to you?
Reactions
60 of 276 · most liked firstThis game would be probably the best emergency service game out there if the game's engine wasn't made from a rock and two twigs. It's also horribly unoptimized. I seriously, don't understand why this game looks and performs worst than titles before the 2000s. I'm not even exaggerating. It's disappointing since this is the only game that does police gameplay well (LSDPFR doesn't count).
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not sure how it got positive, This game is very very buggy for being out as long as it has. the developers wont fix any issues, but can pump out new dlc's? AI needs serious work, updates are poor. Really hope this game gets better as it's got a good base.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have no clue how this has 83% positive reviews. This game is bad. It runs like ♥♥♥♥; most of the callouts are broken/boring and are often just the same thing over and over again; the backup feature works half the time and is broken in an entire region of the map; it looks like ♥♥♥♥ and the gameplay is ♥♥♥♥. For a game this old to still have these issues and have the gall to charge $25 is ridiculous. If this had been released recently or if it was in a early access phase I would be a lot more…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game has so much potential to be great but yet the game has so many bugs especially with optimization and the "backup" system. This game has been out for nearly a decade, and its been years since ive purchased this but yet there has always been so much bugs. I wish the devs could work a lot more on fixing the game instead of focusing on releasing DLCs. Quality over quantity.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Constant poor decisions by the dev team, latest screw up is updating the game to Unity 2022. The update broke lighting, many core mechanics, AI, insane visual bugs, etc. and none of said bugs are even being acknowledged. REFUSAL to roll back to 2019 (which the game ran quite well on). You can also post in their Discord MULTIPLE times as well as Discussion posts and you will ALWAYS be ignored, unless it's a bug they know how to fix. PLEASE avoid this trash heap as much as possible. The…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I haven't played it in a long time. Now the performance is even worse. More bugs. And still no navigation system. But they sure have time for DLCs....
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Despite being out for quite some time, Flashing Lights still feels half-baked. The game is riddled with strange bugs and glitches that completely ruin the overall experience. It often freezes mid-play, forcing restarts and breaking immersion. The NPCs are absolutely brain-dead — they move and react like amebas, and there’s only a very small variety of them to begin with. Traffic AI is just plain useless; cars stop randomly, crash into each other, or ignore basic logic entirely. Overall, it’s…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love this game, but I can't recommend it right now. It's still a glitchy mess - pop-in, missions that STILL get stuck, disappearing perps and cars, the combat is still pretty rough as well. If they could iron out some of the rough edges, this would be one of the best 1st responder sims out there.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Today is October 27th 2026 and I purchased this game. Oh my god the horrible optimization and major FPS loss. Controls are very janky at times, customizations of the vehicles are very ackward. Requested refund.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First off this game has so much potential. However, it is ran by a dev team that is not willing to make the game better whatsoever. I wouldn't recommend this game in its current state due to all the ongoing bugs such as, disappearing patients, disappearing calls, lack of optimization, controls and keyboard functions glitching and causing you to restart the game 3 or 4 times, voice chat bugging and having your mic open to everyone in the server for 4 seconds when you load a police, fd or ems…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its such a great idea BUT MY GOD THERE ARE SO... MANY.. BUGS..... The game is broken
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really like this concept but the gameplay leave much to be desired, the devs should focus on fixing the bugs and improving the janky controls instead of relasing more dlcs at its current state i cannot really rocommend this .
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've been playing this a bit with my son, since he's at the age where firemen and policemen are the coolest. However this game was only entertaining for a very short while, as it get's stale very fast. The game throws random tasks at you, the majority of those are simple boring, or even frustrating tasks. Completing or abandoning these tasks do not matter one bit, there's no reward for completing them, and i'm not sure if it's even possible to fail at them. On top of that, you'll VERY quickly…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't know how this game got to positive. It is sooooo buggy. Multiplayer is so difficult to get working smoothly. It crashes, freezes and you lag all over the place! Gameplay itself is solid, just wish they would do something about multiplayer.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is between a negative and a mixed. At its core it is slightly better than the side EMS/Fire Rescue/Police side mission in the GTA games. There are also a lot of bugs and clipping issues with vehicles. You should know what you are going to get here and it is real mediocre and routine grind. It is not great but it not the absolute worst out there.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game had so much promise but now its simply a buggy, unoptimized game with every dlc as pay to progess, since 25 bucks wasnt enough for the devs. Only plus point is the custom light bars you can make. Most servers are locked and those that arent have only a few people online. Missions are done in five minutes with barely the feel of reward since A they are repetitive after playing two hours so its becoming boring and B the reputation system is ♥♥♥♥. you need 150k reputation each department…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →7 and a half years, almost 3 of which was 1.0, and barely any of the well-known bugs have been fixed, many of which make it to where the game is unplayable until you reboot. The devs need to stop focusing on DLC and actually fix their damn game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Flashing Lights – So Much Potential, Yet Still Feels Unfinished Story: There isn't much of a story here, and that's perfectly fine. The appeal comes from roleplaying as police, firefighters, EMS or recently DoT personnel and responding to various emergencies. The concept itself is genuinely fun and has massive potential. Game Mechanics: The core gameplay loop is enjoyable, but the overall experience feels surprisingly rough for a fully released game. AI behavior is repetitive and often…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Greetings, reader! I've been thinking for a long time about how to properly express my thoughts about the game Flashing Lights, and I'm finally ready to share my experience. I've been playing since the game was released and have accumulated a lot of observations. · Overall impression The game is a simulator of the 911 emergency response service. The mechanics allow you to interact with various services, although the possibilities are slightly limited. When playing for a long time, players…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i like this game, i'd love to play it more, but why does it play and run so terribly??? it seems this game is heavily unoptimized and idk how people are happy playing it under 60 fps
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unfortunately, I had to request a refund after only about 20 minutes of playing. The game has a lot of potential, but in its current state, it feels poorly optimized and unfinished. I experienced several glitches almost immediately. The map and environment often don't load fast enough, and NPCs sometimes get in the way or block you from completing certain mission objectives. These issues made the game frustrating very quickly. The vehicle handling also feels extremely basic and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I want to like this game, but because of non-existent AI, it is barely playable. Be prepared for crazy traffic jams, and NO way to deal with them. There is just no way to remove an AI car that decides to stop in the middle of the road and causes a miles long jam, making the game unplayable. The dev seems to be focused on launching useless DLCs that add nothing to the game, and completely avoids the core issue with this game: AI.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First off, I feel this is a pretty untapped category of games, wish there were more games like this. Unfortunately this game is not it. The interface for this game is very clunky, the physics are rough but the game models look good. It is fun to drive around and play cop and the game could be a lot better if the games interface and physics were improved.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do NOT buy this game unless it's for $5 or less. The core and basic idea of this game is solid and is ultimately what draws people in. In addition to the fact that there aren't many alternatives to this niche genre. However, the graphics are mediocre, optimization is trash, there are numerous bugs, updates are few and far between, and some parts of the game feel very unnaturally cut off. For example, the radio system and methods of navigation. Despite having all the individual aspects to make a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good idea but it feels like an early access game with many bugs that gets repetitive quickly.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Got it on sale for 4 bucks, but somehow still ended up dissapointed. The idea of this game is cool, especially when you are playing with friends I guess. But the singleplayer experience just felt flat, kind of boring and very VERY jank. I don't think there are games out there that do a better job though, beggers can't be choosers.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Horrible optimization. No matter what settings it'll lag like crazy when you drive or move mouse. Cod/beach town is decent. City unplayable. Game garbage untl fixed. Fun roleplaying with others Buy when 85% off.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is so godly underdeveloped, I purchased it in its early access a very long time ago thinking it would be good and has potential. Originally the developers were doing good and this game was actually going somewhere. But its been years and this game feels like it was made by a teenager in a development software in a couple months. Most vehicle models are super basic, the sirens are terrible, AI help is horrifyingly terrible for a game that is supposed to be realistic. And the developers…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TLDR: This game has been out for 3 years and has not made any progress. It is hot garbage. Go play GTA LSPDFR/FiveM instead. I would argue Police Simulator: Patrol Officers is even a better game and its not that good either. The game has so much potential but the devs are total garbage. This game has been out for several YEARS at this point and has made almost no progress recently. They keep adding more and more stuff to the game and never fix the bugs that they introduce. The game is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →YES. Absolute yes. Love this game, love the developers. Love everything. AND I MEAN IT!!! I got this game on 2024 and been playing now and then a bit, and now came back to this game and i must say, that this is my favorite roleplay game. And anyway Emergency Response game. So much to do, so open, so free, so goodly made, not too hard. And love the details. I ABSOLUTELY RECCOMEND THIS GAME. I will always keep coming back to this game now and then
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly, for what it is, it's a pretty fun game. As someone who's played tons of games like this, here's my pros and cons. PROS: Lots of customization for emergency lights, from the colors, patterns, light bars and light heads, it doesn't lack. Cool missions and tasks for each department. They use real vehicle models which makes it much more fun and you feel a bit more realism. The suspension mechanics, and driving are very fluid even on keyboard. The map is large, they have cool little towns…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'd really like to see this game in a better state than it is, in my opinion it looks like it's stuck in 2019, and I feel like optimization could 100% be improved. I loved this game for like 3 days, and it got really boring. BUT! If you really like fun, janky roleplay with your friends, or just like driving around with emergency vehicles, AND want some form of first responder roleplay, then this may be the game for you.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For how long this game has been out and how it looks and plays, I cannot reccommend this one. At least not without friends and/or getting it on sale. I've had this game for a long time now, it's a great concept and has plenty of cool vehicles and is still being updated but past that it just feels... awful. The visuals are honestly awful. The screenshots and videos that are shown make it look decent but I've not once been able to get it to look like that. There's not a lot of video settings…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Horrible game. Its a asset flip. clunky controls, horrible ui, terrible animations. There is no redeeming qualities about this dumpster fire of a game
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great concept, but the execution is mediocre and overpromises on what it delivers. The game is buggy, repetitive, and not very intuitive. After a few minutes, the gameplay becomes stale because you're essentially dealing with the same incidents over and over again. The lack of more complex scenarios, intelligent NPC behavior, and useful AI-controlled officers is particularly disappointing. There is a solid foundation here, but the game needs significantly more depth, variety, and polish. With…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game hasn't improved at all in 5 years in terms of core graphics, animations and feel of the game. They just add DLC as a cash grab.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Focusing too much on dlcs', there are still sos much core gameplay that could be fixed, but they'd much rather focus on these dlcs' for some reason
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →EDIT: I've decided I do like this game after all. No, it isn't perfect but for what was presumably a miniscule budget, the city doesn't look bad at all, if occasionally a bit lifeless. (Literally in the case of most of my EMS patients) Yes, there are issues namely: 1. I'm trying to CPR someone (she didn't require CPRring but the game didn't bother telling me what to do next and it took ages to work out she needed a leg bandage) why does my back up (three police officers and two paramedics)…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I will say the same for any other Police "simulator" out there, LSPDFR is still the best. Flashing Lights is cool, I think the Ems and Fire stuff is where they really shine but it does still need a little more work, In my opinion It should be a little more in depth, I still enjoy EmergeNyc or into The Flames much more for Fire stuff. I kinda wish they would get away from the point system thing, people just do calls as fast as possible rather than doing them realistically, they just want…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fix bugs and make game enjoyable to play? Nah Just release more DLC! In its current state, I do NOT recommend this game. Still with the same old bugs and now new ones, plus WORSE performance than ever! The whole game has seemingly degraded over time and I will not buy a single DLC until I can play more than 60 seconds without a bug. (that is not an exaggeration, it is non stop bugs - from visual, to performance to gameplay)
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game could be fun, but the devs seem to have largely abandoned actually working on the framework for the game in favor of making more cosmetic stuff. It feels more like a low effort police car customizer and driving simulator than a full game. It runs terribly even after all these years. Its fun for ten minutes, but after that you'll quickly find out how buggy or repetitive it is. The missions are stale, buggy, and offer little enjoyment to the game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →game is overall fun does feel rushed sometime list of fun things: arrest random person take them to the ocean at night and execute them build a clean dodge charger patrol the beach in a truck run over drunk people go home and play flashing lights
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →flashing lights has a lot of potential but it's not there yet. the idea of the game is fun but the overall experience is mid. - the grapics are a bit janky for a game that is fully released - the game has some weird quirks especially in multiplayer (sometimes can't get in/out of vehicles, equip things, etc) - the AI is relatively bad in driving and pulling over. they don't really behave much like humans - driving physics are quite janky and shooting is mid - the AI calls are also repetitive…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it runs decent with certent settings but i mainly have to play with gforcenow but the game is exstreamly fun to play with others but NPCs could have been smarter
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →where does one even start when discussing this video game... first of all this game is perchance the biggest mound of canine faecal matter that i have had the misfortune of stumbling apon. It is riddled with game braking errors (bugs if you will) and seemingly not a single component of the video game works as intended. I might even go as far as to say that this video game is the single worst video game i have ever set my now depressed eyes on. Infact it is so deplorable that i personally…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Look, me and my brother had an awesome time playing this game. There's a lot of cool stuff you can do to feel like a real emergency responder. If this game, this idea, were to be translated to a game engine that was capable - it would be amazing. But even with an extremely powerful rig, you're just stuck at horrific FPS and fidelity. There's not much in this world I hate more than Unreal Engine 5 - but if this were using that engine it would be amazing. It just looks and runs so incredibly…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is terrible. For example my stretcher fell over due to physics. Spent nearly 15 minutes figuring out how to get it upright. It required me to crouch to push the stretcher into a position where the indicator would allow me to grab it, but then the character stayed in crouch. 30 minutes is enough to know I'm done with this.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a police officer.... this game has very much to be desired (I know there are probably limits to what you can do in a game such as this, I do community modding for other games) there is no vehicle damage meaning PITs are useless...AI backup are just extra cars to dodge, criminal charges are few such as (stop sign/red light violations, if a violator has no insurance, that's a charge and you tow the vehicle. It's a fun game, repetitive at times, but it's mind numbing. If I could advise on…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Broken mess of a game. It's fun for 10 minutes, until you need ot do anything more than run around and press the left click. Buttons to control the radio are barely explained. Controler keybinds stay on my ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ screen dispite me not using a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ controller. AI people are unresponsive. OH LOOK, YOU ARESTED THE SAME PED SIX TIMES IN A ROW for various mundane stuff. The so called "controls" tab in settings doesn't save, and doesn't even show me the controls I need to fix other control…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Cant give this one a thumbs up. It has potential but its sloppy and hard to enjoy. Made me reinstall LSPDFR.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Concept is amazing however game is not fun nor playable as a good game in single player I have not tried multiplayer but as single player stands needs some super duper upgrades. Hope to see some massive game change in the second version. love the concept.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🚨 Flashing Lights — the most honest game title in human history 🚨 It didn’t lie. Not even a little. You were promised flashing lights. You received: ✨ flashing lights ✨ immaculate light patterns (Even if you have to set them up yourself. I spent a solid 2.5 hours just playing with the lights.) ✨ vehicular rave mode ✨ NPCs with the training of a baguette and absolutely no functional gameplay that is worth the current price tag or my time. A marketing department somewhere…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →honest opinion: graphics - 6/10 (not the best but theyre ok) gameplay - 8/10 (cant put stuff like radar gun in your hotbar, they stay in the trunk) ai - 2/10 (tow and prisoner transport park a hundred miles away and the criminals dont even move, they just shoot everything that moves) vehicle selection - 8/10 mod compatibility - 8/10 (should add more livery slots) mechanics - 7/10 (they work good but just arent as realistic as other games) overall: 8/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☐ Good ☑ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☐ Very good ☐ Good ☑ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☐ Good ☑ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☑ Potato ☐ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DON'T SPEND YOUR MONEY. IT WILL NEVER BE FUN. I have put a lot of time and faith in this game since the early access days. I supported the DLC's because I thought, stupidly, that it will get better. After this latest DLC, I have come to the realization that it won't ever get better. Every concept introduced over the years like mission editor, civilian mode, K-9, and much more are all great ideas that have been implemented in a half-ass state. Aside from the bugs that literally every mentions,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This seems more like an early access game rather than a finished game. The NPCs notoriously suck at driving, the gunplay is horrible, there is a load of bugs that ruin the gameplay and immersion. I do enjoy the game but LSPDFR is a way better emergency service game, despite it being a mod for GTA V. I just wish the devs actually tried to fix the current issues of the game instead of adding new features
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nah, I'd just play the LSPD modded GTA 5, better graphics, less buggy, doesnt feel empty, etc.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is good and I enjoy playing it, but there is one issue i cannot avoid. Despite the specifications of my PC of which can run battlefield 6 in 4k at 100fps runs like a snail and lags insanely and i cant find a fix. This is in the vanilla game with no mods added.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game has been out for years, and they still haven’t managed to fix the optimization issues. It’s crazy that in this day and age they can’t improve a game that’s relatively simple graphically. The game has a lot of potential or at least it used to but it seems like nobody really cares enough to fix it, which is a real shame. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who doesn’t want the game lagging even on a super powerful PC.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's crazy how every update to this game is just filler without rhyme or reason
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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