The management aspect of the game rarely elevates itself above tracking your businesses on a list and pumping money into them to improve them. Meanwhile combat is just...fine? It works, but it’s also way too easy, and the lack of variety in locations or opponents quickly gets repetitive.

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Even the way these elements are tied together is pretty rough; everything you can manage, from businesses to the weapons your character is carrying, are all accessed from the same big menu screen, and I found myself spending too much of my time bogged down in this doing mundane spreadsheet work rather than out enjoying the sights.

It also struggles to convey any real sense of standing or progress. You’re dropped in the city and left to do your thing, with the overall goal of taking the place over, but the missions and interface do a poor job of reflecting how this is all going relative to your opponents, which sucks a lot of the life out of your advances and makes it feel like a bit of a grind.

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There are some cool ideas here, and it has plenty of heart, but my time with Empire of Sin left me feeling more like a bookkeeper with a tabletop wargaming hobby than a gangster.

The RPG-like sitdowns, where you can threaten or bluff your way into (or out of!) deals and combat are one of the games highlights.
The RPG-like sitdowns, where you can threaten or bluff your way into (or out of!) deals and combat are one of the games highlights.
Screenshot: Empire of Sin