Empire of Sin

Empire of Sin is a love-letter to the old-school design of Bullfrog games. Part management sim, part RPG, part XCOM (with gangsters), it achieves its goal to bring different elements together into a cohesive and enjoyable unit. Its shortcomings and few bugs did not affect how much fun we had testing this game.

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]

Ultimately, EoS is not a bad game. But the lack of content within its strategic layer holds it back from living up to its full potential. With that said, I think the tactical combat and RPG elements are pretty solid. If you are drawn to lots of X-Com style tactical combat and some over the top Prohibition themed hijinks, you will find some fun within EoS. However, people looking for a deep strategic or tycoon focused experience, will likely be disappointed.

While it is not a bad game, Empire of Sin is sometimes disappointing in that it fails to give shape to complementary ideas that could have been good. If the first hours in the game are rather pleasant and that we take pleasure in growing his empire of crime, once the management mechanics are assimilated, the game goes on autopilot. In addition, he proves too unconvincing in his fights, conventional, sometimes buggy and which often seem interminable, because too repetitive and not very nervous. Not uninteresting then, but not as balanced or entertaining as one would have hoped.

Empire of Sin gets lost in a maze of design decisions that lead to an unfocused and sprawling game. The management and RPG mechanics cannibalize each other, meaning that neither works on its own and they definitely don’t work well together.

In borrowing from stories that are so often about one kind of ambiguity, Empire of Sin creates another: the ambiguity of too many numbers and systems for any to feel significant. [Issue#354, p.114]

Empire of Sin's criminal management sim and turn-based tactical combat combo sounds brilliant on paper, but it completely fails to live up to its aspirations due to major imbalances and bugs.

I have played over a hundred hours of Empire of Sin so far. I expected not to enjoy it as much as I have. Great game, hope the Devs can improve it even further.

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.

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

This game could've been so good, but has the same pitfalls as XCOM. 1 star racket, 4 guards of 55 health each vs my team of 7 heavily armed gangsters, 75% chance of victory? My whole team dies as a result? Total **** The RNG is terrible. The consrols are needlessly difficulty in consoles. Load times are still

Was so hyped for this game. As soon as it came out, I ordered the Deluxe Edition. Spent the 100$ CAD instantly. 12 hours later, I have major regrets. The game simply lacks all aspects it has in its arsenal. From the economy, to the turn-based combat. Unbalanced in all aspect. Way to easy even on the highest difficulty. What a let down. Biggest purchase regret this year. I wanted to love it, but the lack of depth made this title boring. No point in the economy system, no point in making alliances or not, not point in a lot of things. What a let down. DON'T BUY if you're on the fence about it.