Empire of Sin

 PC
User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 137 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 63 out of 137
  2. Mixed: 27 out of 137
  3. Negative: 47 out of 137

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  1. MEDVE1978
    Dec 25, 2020
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Not a very bad game, but a lot of wasted good ideas. It looked so fresh, so multidimensional. But sadly, it is just an illusion. At first I tried Angelo Genna at middle difficulty, just to get used to the challenge. I gave it up after a couple of hours, because it was too easy. I chose than the character of Frank Ragen on the boss difficulty. After 3-4 hours you get on a level on which you will be able to get a 3-4 gangster crew and you become unbeatable. You do not even have to use all synergies with your gangsters, a doctor and hired guns are enough. I haven't even tried con artists or demolition experts. I had a pretty easy tactic: got more and more excellent rifles / sniper rifles. With those it is one shot, one kill. Frank Reagen had the homerun special skill, which is a melee ability that kills pretty much everyone or does a KO with very significant damage. In the first couple of games I used it on quite everyone, ran around the houses, and waited for the cooldown to use it again. But after some fights Franks gets better and better. The police never bothered me, I only had to pay them 3-4 times during the game. The FBI and the Buerau of Prohibition is also mentioned, but I never got to fight them.
    There is no real story to every boss, its really a sandbox and unfortunatly that makes it somewhat boring too. After you have beaten 2-3 other bosses, you will have such a big empire that allows you to always have some cash. So you can hire more gangsters and develop them.
    That causes problems I used to encounter in other games like Civilization. It is pretty tough to create a new empire in Civ games, but once you have reached a size - maybe 1,5-2 times as big as the score leader, you will have no more challenges, you can quasi steamroll everyone else. There is no late game challenge, you just have to endure every turn until you conquer everyone or reach scientific victory. With Empire of Sin it is the same, once you have the 3-4 men crew + gang leader you are pretty much unstoppable. To the other aspects of the game:
    1. Graphics are really nice.
    2. The management side is not good. It promises so much with the synergies, ambience and advertising of your speakeasyes / brothels, management of your breweries, but its not worth it. Developing these buildings is really expensive and you do not get the payoff. It's much easier to fight your way to the top by killing the bosses.
    3. Diplomacy and trade. Really bad. You can make mutual benefit trades, which help your rackets, but it does not matter whether you insult your future partners or just try to be kind. Selling booze and other stuff is not really developed either. There were options that the game never used (ask for a favour etc.). It's like a really colorful facade, with nothing usefull behind it.
    4. Technical issues. The game breaks down quite often, I had a lot of these. Twice one of my gangsters simply dissapeared. You could see his character sheet and that he is still employed, but the character wanished and I couldn't find him again. The combat froze multiple times. Once I automatically lost a mission one second after it begun and I couldn't discover why. You can either run to a location or "travel" which is teleport. While running time goes faster, so you can spend days with running. Sometimes "travel" did not work, I clicked and nothing happened.
    5. AI. The AI is dumb. You easily can take out the bosses one by one. They don't ally themselves. While combat, you can have a better chance even with your weaker guards if you go into a room and let them come in while switching to overwatch. They come in like sheep and you can slaughter them. Boss fights are only dangerous with the bosses that have long distance rifles or sniper rifles. But this fades really quickly after you get your own special rifles and sniper rifles.

    So overall it is a mediocre game, but maybe just because I like turned based X com style games. It is really sad, because it teased so much. The AI, the police, the trade mechanics they all could have been fixed to get a better game.    … Expand
  2. piercetheemo
    May 18, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. im a guy who prefers story over anything, so empire of sin's promise of a 1920s chicago world was jus up my alley

    i did my playthrough as mabel ryley. i really found myself enjoying her story, especially with the twist at the end (spoilers, her mother was the one that killed her husband) i have since gone on to play angelo genna and finish his own missions (which largely focus on his brothers)

    honestly my only complaint is that i'd like to see the ai be a bit more agressive bc rn theyre just barely keeping up w me... im playing the new gangster patch so maybe things have changed since    … Expand
  3. fireblazing
    May 27, 2021
    6
    I have really been enjoying Empire of Sin so far. The setting, music and story is deeply immersive. The missions are my favorite part. I really like managing my own empire but I still feel like the game should have more AI strength. I think that they should expand more aggressively. Having said that there have been changes (that I have noticed) especially in the newest patch that improvedI have really been enjoying Empire of Sin so far. The setting, music and story is deeply immersive. The missions are my favorite part. I really like managing my own empire but I still feel like the game should have more AI strength. I think that they should expand more aggressively. Having said that there have been changes (that I have noticed) especially in the newest patch that improved the AI significantly... Just still a ways to go until I'd consider it buffed out.

    Regardless Empire of Sin is definitely a game I've found myself enjoying currently.    … Expand
  4. starssun
    May 28, 2021
    7
    Alright game . Just got on Gamepass.

    Would like to see more content , missions and music .
  5. peaches12
    May 13, 2021
    7
    it's good but needs more to it. too shallow of playthrough ... it is fun but it feels like it needs more
  6. FrAySsEr
    Dec 6, 2020
    7
    An sich ein echt spaßiges Spiel. Habe es auf einen Ruck durchgespielt. Leider ist der Umfang des Spiels nicht der Brüller, im Endeffekt ist es immer der selbe Ablauf. Gebäude erobern und verbessern. Und wenn man dann mal eine gute Anzahl an Bandenmitglieder hat, muss man nur noch die Unterschlüpfe der Bandenbosse angreifen und ZACK. Durch ist man... Schade, Schade. Ich hoffe da kommt nochAn sich ein echt spaßiges Spiel. Habe es auf einen Ruck durchgespielt. Leider ist der Umfang des Spiels nicht der Brüller, im Endeffekt ist es immer der selbe Ablauf. Gebäude erobern und verbessern. Und wenn man dann mal eine gute Anzahl an Bandenmitglieder hat, muss man nur noch die Unterschlüpfe der Bandenbosse angreifen und ZACK. Durch ist man... Schade, Schade. Ich hoffe da kommt noch mehr Inhalt. Sonst würde ich warten, bis das Spiel mal im Angebot ist.… Expand
  7. jamespaylor32
    Jul 11, 2022
    5
    Empire of Sin has so much potential but is let down by repetitive gameplay, frustrating bugs and a lack of polish. One example of an extremely frustrating and obvious bug is when you initiate a tutorial with your character select wheel open it gets stuck, you can't save the game and there is no way to dismiss the wheel or tutorial.
  8. elefsar
    Apr 27, 2021
    5
    Çok fazla yazı ama az aksiyon, sıra tabanlı olması sarmadı, çok basit mekanikleri var ama arayüzü çok karışık.
  9. Obstinal
    Jun 3, 2021
    7
    I like this game, I play it on Steam. There are some bugs that I have run into but they are overlooked.

    I wish it was multiplayer so I could play with friends but on its own it is a fun singleplayer game.
  10. cturagot
    Jun 9, 2021
    7
    I’m really enjoying Empire of Sin. 1.05 is the most recent patch. The Gangster Update

    Lots of bugs have been fixed and there are some key gameplay changes like no rush . Really like that one. Makes it harder to complete a run. (Which is a good thing) Been playing mostly as Reyna. For me all that is missing is some more depth to diplomacy and business. Can hardly wait for the upcoming    I’m really enjoying Empire of Sin. 1.05 is the most recent patch. The Gangster Update

    Lots of bugs have been fixed and there are some key gameplay changes like no rush . Really like that one. Makes it harder to complete a run. (Which is a good thing) Been playing mostly as Reyna.

    For me all that is missing is some more depth to diplomacy and business. Can hardly wait for the upcoming content    … Expand
  11. Noodlesss
    Jun 25, 2021
    7
    I can't wait to see what DLC will bring to the game. I was really looking for something tycoon-like to play, and Empire of Sin filled that yearning for me, with more depth than expected.
  12. Bloss0m
    Jul 9, 2021
    5
    罪の帝国は楽しいです。暴徒のボスを演じながら帝国を管理します。

Awards & Rankings

48
#48 Most Discussed PC Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
63

Mixed or average reviews - based on 49 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 49
  2. Mixed: 30 out of 49
  3. Negative: 5 out of 49
  1. CD-Action
    Jul 23, 2021
    70
    Set in atmospheric Chicago in 1920s, Empire of Sin puts you in a role of a crime boss aiming to become the biggest fish in the underworld. It borrows from many genres and all its intertwined gameplay mechanics (business management, RPG elements, turn-based combat that bears a striking resemblance to the XCOM series) are deep enough to create an engaging experience that requires constant attention. Apart from shallow diplomacy and unsophisticated enemy AI, Empire of Sin’s problem is that while it was skillfully put together from tried-and-true components, it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. [02/2021, p.56]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Apr 12, 2021
    40
    All around a very mediocre gangster strategy game. Its greatest strengths are its greatest problems crowned with way too much repetition and unbalanced difficulty. [Issue#309]
  3. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Feb 17, 2021
    79
    John and Brenda proved that they still have the skills to make a passable game, but with a duet like that, we’ve expected a lot more creativity. [Issue#251, p.60]
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