I wouldn’t say it’s a case of style over substance, since there’s really quite a bit of substance here to sink your teeth into, but it nonetheless feels like the game needs a few tweaks here and there in order to live up to its ample potential.

Empire of Sin is a most unusual game. If I wanted to summarize in its premise it would be to say that it is a turn-based strategy game but it is also a management game. All with the theme of Gangsters from the 1920s in Chicago. It would be like a kind of XCOM with elements of Civilization. As an idea, Empire of Sin is a unique game. But in its realization, some of the promises it makes remain half fulfilled.

As an unique blend of role-playing game and strategy in a 1920s prohibition setting, Empire of Sin is most definitely an ambitious title. Sadly, some balancing issues, a very poor tutorial and a spreadsheet-nightmare of a user interface are holding the game back from ever being as fun as it wants to be. Empire of Sin is by no means beyond redemption, but it is also a far cry from an offer that we can’t refuse. Strategy veterans will easily exploit the poor AI, while more casual players will hit a brick wall trying to solve the obtuse economic puzzle that the game so poorly explains.

As inspired as it is irredeemably middling, Empire of Sin has the style and the moxie to put on a gangster-like epic, but the overblown micromanagement aspects, repetitive and unrewarding strategy mechanics and its half-baked presentation do much to sully the game’s promise and dim the lights on its bright spots. You may summon some enjoyment from Empire of Sin if you fancy taking on the role of a gangster kingpin and managing all the busywork that comes with it – it’s just a shame that this mobster gets too bogged down with its own systems to truly make an impact.

Unfortunately, despite all of its ambition, it feels like some areas still need work. I hope the developers keep polishing this title or at least carry some of these learnings into a sequel — despite the problems, it’s often as intoxicating as the bootleg hooch the characters sell.

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 has a lot going for it: a jazzy soundtrack, a lovely idea and a nice map. But at present, it is far less than the sum of its ambitious parts and falls short in a highly frustrating fashion.