Empire of Sin is here after we first heard about it through the 2019 E3 convention. Developer Romero Games and publisher Paradox Interactive came together to create a 1920s prohibition RPG that looks pretty sweet. Unfortunately the game didn’t quite hit all of the right targets this time around.
Set in the 1920s, players control mob bosses like Al Capone and other known mob bosses (and some fictional) to build their empire and try to take over Chicago. Choosing your underlings and their skills help to take over territories and help the player own more underground businesses. These places are distilleries, brothels and casinos, much like the real era. Players must fight in a turn-based style to take out their opponents.
With so many underlings to choose from, you must choose wisely who you will add skills to. Over time these skills could change for good and for bad. The map changes on every load in so that distilleries and other buildings can’t be found, just like the true era. This can be great and frustrating depending on who you ask.
Empire of Sin has great potential. The art style is fantastic as well as the music. The voice acting could have been a bit better. Sadly, the game lacks, well, the actual game. Fight dialogue happens way too frequently, the ratio of supply crates are way too frequent and the overall diplomacy system is pretty broken. Why try and make peace when all you have to do is walk in and kill the opponent’s boss? This is literally how simple winning is. There is very little that can be customized here like weapons, skills and characters. This game is specifically trying to use an RPG with a city management style that also throws in turn-based battle. Plain and simple, there is way too much going on here.
All of the objectives are laid out in the beginning and there is no real tutorial on how to manage anything or even how to play. Many bugs have been reported as well, but the developers are currently working on these issues. Basically Empire of Sin has the right game in mind, but hasn’t quite lined up all of the objectives and side missions in a way that players can actually experience the game. I hope they take all of the feedback they have received upon launch and find a way to redirect the game because it definitely has potential.
Currently the game is being sold starting at $39.99USD and other packages can run all the way up to $69.99USD. This is a very steep price for a game that should have probably stayed in development for at least another year. Keep an eye on it though as the developers start to fix things.
5/10 (current form)
Available on PS4, Xbox, PX and Switch