The gangster and crew system is one of the things I most enjoy about Empire of Sin. Through a dedicated menu screen, you’re able to hire gangsters for your crew. Each one has unique skills and personality traits as well as a unique backstory, and often they have pre-existing relationships with other hireable gangsters. One gangster might be in love with another one, another might see a certain gangster as their nemesis, and another one might get on with a range of different gangsters. You’ll have to take these things into account when assembling your party, and if you end up with a gangster who is in love with a crew member on the other side of the battlefield, it will affect their performance in combat.
An empire of found family
As you progress through the game, several gangsters in your party can also approach you with personal missions and requests or make their own independent decisions in the middle of combat. During my first playthrough, I had one of my crew members ask me to track down an old lover of hers so she could get revenge. Another character had a reputation for getting spooked in combat, and as a result, ran out on me in the middle of a boss battle. Your crew members also get nicknames depending on the choices you make for them; if you kill a lot of enemies with one crew member, they might get a reputation for being a good shot with an accompanying nickname. If they manage to not get hit multiple times during an attack, they might get the nickname ‘Lucky’. The boss characters you can play as all have a unique story mission as well, which you can explore at your own pace during a playthrough.