PLATFORM: PC, PS4, SWITCH (REVIEWED), XBOX ONE | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Set in the 1920s in Chicago during the Prohibition, your job is to create a gang and become the number one criminal empire around. The game begins with players choosing from a range of characters, each with their own story, traits and abilities. Straight from here, you’re thrown into the game’s lengthy tutorial which is really well-designed and absolutely essential.
The gameplay is a unique blend of resource management and grid-based combat. You take over different buildings within a city by battling the folk inside and then turning it into either a base or a source of income for your empire. The combat is along the lines of XCOM, with areas filled with things to hide behind and plenty of abilities, henchmen and weapons to keep things feeling fresh. There are tonnes of screens to micromanage, allowing you to assign new abilities, purchase weapons and hire new henchmen, as well control the business side of things such as supplying the alcohol that’s in demand and negotiating and trading with rival gangs.
Visually, the game is fairly low-res and doesn’t look that great, but this is most likely down to the large scale of the areas and being able to zoom in and out of them. The voicework is decent throughout, with lots of amusing pieces of dialogue; combined with the music, the audio does an excellent job at recreating the ambience of the era.
Initially, EoS launched with a lot of bugs. However, numerous patches have been released since, which seem to have dealt with the more serious offenders. There are still some issues with animations not always working and sound effects that kick in at the wrong time, but at least they’re just aesthetic problems and hopefully they’ll be fixed in future updates.
Empire of Sin is a fun strategy game with a lot of depth. It’s charming, violent, and maybe a little on the easy side while sometimes seeming over-complicated but, if you like management and strategy games, this will keep you occupied for a long time to come.
