Empire of Sin

51%
Game Brain Score Based on 2,448 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • stability
Empire of Sin Game Cover
A refreshingly deep and customizable turn-based tactics game lets you reign supreme in a 1920s criminal empire.
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"Empire of Sin" is a strategy game set in the 1920s Prohibition-era Chicago. As a criminal mastermind, players build their own criminal empire through strategic management of illegal businesses, hiring and controlling gangsters, and navigating the city's political landscape. With turn-based tactical combat, players must make tough decisions and employ devious strategies to outwit and outfight rival gangs and become the ultimate crime boss.

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Reviews

51%
Audience ScoreBased on 2,448 reviews
story108 positive mentions
stability274 negative mentions
  • The game has a unique setting in 1920s Chicago, providing an interesting atmosphere.
  • The turn-based combat system is enjoyable and reminiscent of XCOM, allowing for strategic gameplay.
  • The variety of characters and their unique abilities adds depth to the gameplay experience.
  • The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay and progress.
  • Gameplay becomes repetitive quickly, with limited variety in missions and environments.
  • The AI is often unchallenging and makes poor decisions, leading to an easy gameplay experience.
  • story725 mentions

    The game's story aspect is characterized by a mix of engaging character backstories and mission-driven narratives, but it suffers from significant bugs that often prevent players from completing quests. While each mob boss has unique storylines that can be interesting, the overall narrative feels shallow and repetitive, with many missions lacking depth and coherence. Players frequently encounter game-breaking glitches that hinder progression, leading to frustration and a diminished sense of immersion in the game's world.

    • “Its initial hours are to be praised; with a large cast of unique characters that all come with their own initial story, it's easy to get immersed in your narrative while short-and-sweet alternative missions keep you occupied between the game's progression loop.”
    • “The story is great, the in-game mechanism and flexible story/gang decisions making offer a really enjoyable experience.”
    • “The main reason I continue playing is because of the stories for the gangsters and the bosses and the different storylines that can be replayed different ways.”
    • “After being out for multiple years, the game still has bugs that break main storylines and the developer has not resolved the issue at any point.”
    • “The story is dull and companion missions are simplistic.”
    • “The missions are unimaginative and the game is filled with mission and gameplay bugs, some of them are game-breaking which you won't realize until it's too late to get a refund.”
  • gameplay538 mentions

    The gameplay of "Empire of Sin" has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its fun mechanics and engaging atmosphere set in the 1920s, but also highlighting significant issues such as repetitiveness, bugs, and shallow mechanics. While some enjoy the blend of turn-based combat and management elements, others find the gameplay loop monotonous and lacking depth, often leading to a grind after a few hours. Overall, the game shows potential but requires further refinement and updates to address its numerous gameplay flaws.

    • “Lots of content and I honestly think the gameplay is incredibly fun.”
    • “The minute-to-minute gameplay is pretty great, as the combat is satisfying and there's always something new to work on, upgrade, conquer, etc.”
    • “I really enjoy this game, the characters are fun and interesting, the gameplay is good, just wish the street view was a bit more detailed.”
    • “The gameplay is very thin - use your character to attack a building, designate it as a brothel, distillery, or bar and then repeat it over and over and over across 12 boroughs that have nothing distinct about any of them.”
    • “The idea of the game is good, but the game mechanics are so bad that they kill most of the enjoyment.”
    • “Gameplay gets stale, and there has been nothing new coming to the game or any updates since 2021.”
  • stability275 mentions

    The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous players reporting a plethora of bugs and glitches that significantly hinder gameplay, including game-breaking issues that prevent mission completion and frequent crashes. While some users note improvements over time, many still find the game unpolished and frustratingly unstable, leading to a recommendation to wait for further updates before purchasing. Overall, the consensus is that the game is currently a "buggy mess," with stability being its most significant drawback.

    • “Even if combat is repetitive, it is currently not buggy. The existing aspects are decent.”
    • “The game is a buggy mess, and even when it's not broken, it's poorly designed.”
    • “It's so buggy, there are literally still things in it that say 'placeholder,' like they didn't even attempt to finish it.”
    • “The game is currently also very buggy, about 20% of missions have glitched out and I’ve not been able to complete them.”
  • graphics191 mentions

    The graphics of "Empire of Sin" receive a mixed reception, with many players praising the overall aesthetic and visual presentation, particularly the recreation of the 1920s gangster atmosphere. However, numerous reports of graphical glitches, animation issues, and performance problems detract from the experience, leading to a consensus that while the visuals are appealing, they are marred by technical shortcomings. Overall, the game showcases solid graphics but suffers from inconsistencies that impact gameplay immersion.

    • “Empire of Sin has an overall aesthetically pleasing set of presentation values.”
    • “The graphics are solid, the environments are beautiful, and the myriad game mechanics are fun to employ without being too complex.”
    • “The graphics are stunning, and yes there are a few minimal bugs, but after 4 hours of gameplay, I’ve found nothing that impacts gameplay let alone ruins it.”
    • “Crappy graphics and animation, check.”
    • “The game runs at 12fps on the main menu with all graphics settings turned down on a 2080ti.”
    • “Graphical glitches render it unplayable, which is a shame because I was having fun.”
  • music106 mentions

    The music in the game has received generally positive feedback, with many players praising its jazzy soundtrack that effectively captures the 1920s atmosphere and enhances the overall experience. However, some reviewers noted that the music can become repetitive over time, detracting from its initial appeal. Overall, while the soundtrack is considered a highlight, its limited variety may lead to some players feeling fatigued by the same tunes.

    • “The music of this game was amazing and the turn-based gameplay was awesome.”
    • “The music does a wonderful job setting the mood.”
    • “I love how they've presented the setting with the music, art, and general vibe.”
    • “The music could be better though...”
    • “--the music is a corny electric/synth version of 1920's-ish tunes.”
    • “The game has tons of bugs, clunky and weird animations, poor voice acting, boring and repetitive sound that gets stuck in your head; from the songs to the voice lines the units do, you will always hear the same thing again and again.”
  • grinding71 mentions

    The reviews consistently highlight that the game's grinding mechanics are excessively tedious and repetitive, often leading to a lack of enjoyment and engagement. Players express frustration with the monotonous combat and limited variety in gameplay, which can make progress feel stagnant and unrewarding. While some appreciate the concept and potential, many recommend waiting for improvements or sales due to the overwhelming grind required to advance.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “I like the concept but it's too grindy and repetitive.”
    • “The combat is absurd, tedious, and incredibly repetitive.”
    • “Playing it through, I immediately drew some comparisons to games like Omerta: City of Gangsters and initially I enjoyed it; the good graphics and dialogue between the gang leaders, with some small story details about the relationships between who we hired to be in our crew, but after a few hours I realized that this was all the game had to offer: repetition and grinding that does not seem to reward any progress.”
  • atmosphere54 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive recreation of the 1920s Chicago mafia setting, enhanced by engaging music, character design, and NPC interactions. Players appreciate the blend of fun gameplay with a strong sense of time and place, although some note that the atmosphere can occasionally feel repetitive. Overall, the game's ability to evoke the charm and grit of the era is a standout feature that contributes significantly to the enjoyment of the experience.

    • “Overall, the game does a good job creating that 20's Chicago atmosphere.”
    • “The atmosphere is great, the music fits just right.”
    • “I love the graphics and the voice acting - they did a great job of establishing the 1920s gangster Chicago atmosphere.”
    • “No flavor, no atmosphere, no team or resource management to get your teeth into.”
    • “In my opinion, that completely destroys any roleplay factor and atmosphere.”
    • “The only positive thing I can say about it is the 1920 atmosphere.”
  • replayability51 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag, with some players finding it enjoyable due to the variety of characters and quests, while others criticize it for a lack of depth and repetitive gameplay. Many reviews highlight that the absence of a character creator and limited recruitable gang members diminish replay value, despite the potential for different playthroughs based on character choices. While some players see promise in future expansions and updates to enhance replayability, the current state of the game leaves many feeling disappointed.

    • “The gameplay is a lot of fun, and the number of playable characters and different decisions available give this game a lot of replay value.”
    • “There is also great replayability because after picking one of 14 bosses, you are randomly placed in 1 of 10 different neighborhoods, with your starting placement and starting rivals in each neighborhood also random.”
    • “Fascinating playable characters, lots of replayability, crazy four-way gunfights, strangely educational about history.”
    • “Overall it's a very fun game, but its replayability and lack of immersion makes it feel mediocre.”
    • “If you wanted to create an empire and see it rise from nothing to a big competitor for the city with replayability and different options for the different bosses, then you will be disappointed.”
    • “Each character has their own storyline mission, but besides that, everything is the same, so the replayability is pretty low.”
  • humor27 mentions

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players appreciating the quirky characters, funny dialogue, and amusing interactions that evoke the 1920s gangster vibe. While some bugs and awkward animations add an unintended comedic element, they can also detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game offers entertaining moments and a lighthearted tone, though expectations for consistent humor may vary.

    • “The economy, upgrading, looting, turn-based battles (awesome), politics, gangs/competition, crew members with unique abilities, hilarious/great voices and accents...very entertaining and a breath of fresh air.”
    • “When I first played this game, I chose Al Capone. For the first 10 to 20 hours, it was a blast! I loved the setting, the ambiance and tone of 1920's Chicago, the jazzy music that made you want to dance, the quirky characters with differences in personality and specializations, the funny and badass dialogue, great storylines, and side missions.”
    • “My funniest encounter is a mobster of mine falling in love with a woman, wanting help with a date and asking me to ensure they don't drink, getting progressively more funny as they keep trying to get one before it turns out it's actually a hit on them more or less.”
  • optimization14 mentions

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, including frame rate drops even on high-end hardware. While some users noted smooth performance in certain aspects, the overall consensus suggests that the game requires further patches and optimizations before it can be recommended for purchase.

    • “The standard view when wandering the city is nice to look at and runs smoothly at 120 fps in 4k resolution.”
    • “Performance: 10/10 - the game performs impeccably.”
    • “Build rackets, gun down rivals, etc. You can do pretty much everything you'd expect out of a gangster game, and there is a pretty cool logistical planning and optimization element to the mid-game.”
    • “In typical Paradox fashion, it's a niche game that nobody else is making, but it wasn't completely optimized and probably didn't get as much attention from product testing as it deserved.”
    • “The game is broken and poorly designed/optimized.”
    • “It's also very poorly optimized, and my RTX 2060 is working harder than when I play Cyberpunk 2077.”
  • monetization10 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game is heavily criticized, with users labeling it as a blatant cash grab that relies on familiar concepts to attract fans. Many express disappointment over the early promotion of DLCs, suggesting a lack of commitment to improving the core game, and overall, the monetization strategy detracts from the game's potential.

    • “Just another cash grab game using concepts and ideas they know will draw fans in.”
    • “The different DLCs are cash grabs.”
    • “The worst part...they are already advertising DLC, which kills any hope I had that they are even working to make the actual game any better.”
  • emotional7 mentions

    Reviewers express disappointment in the game's emotional depth, noting that it lacks impactful storytelling and character development, making it feel shallow and unengaging. Comparisons to other titles highlight a perceived failure to evoke genuine emotions, with some players feeling that even older games offered more meaningful experiences. Overall, the emotional aspect is criticized for being underwhelming and poorly executed.

    • “This is by far the most heartbreaking meta issue I have with this game.”
    • “Eve Online shed a tear of pride when this game came out.”
    • “Except Saints Row 2 was more emotionally impactful than any of the story on display here and was actually a decent copy of what it was trying to emulate.”
  • character development6 mentions

    Character development in the game is described as average and lacking significant impact, with some players noting that it feels dull and easily circumvented. While there are elements of character progression and design, the overall execution does not meet expectations, and the RPG aspects are considered lackluster.

    • “It mixes XCOM-style combat with empire management, budget management, and some character development, which overall was an enjoyable mix.”
    • “Management, diplomacy, economy, missions, conversations, character development.”
    • “RPG aspects are dull and lackluster, as character development doesn't have much of an impact and negative effects can be easily circumvented.”
    • “The game at the moment provides an average challenge, and there is some reasonable character development.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

59% average critic score

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Play time

11hMedian play time
17hAverage play time
6-24hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 52 analyzed playthroughs

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