A plot told in seconds

Arriving for the PC on March 28, the version released for the new console generation on June 15 has some differences, such as improved stability for connecting with other players, the names of the participants of the party appearing correctly, and bug fixes reported by the community, among others. And in fact, the points mentioned by the studio did not present any problems for this analysis. The question remains about how valid it can be to release a game that still needs some polishing to deliver what it promises.

The game is set in the fictional city of Rockay, a vibrant metropolis with the typical hustle and bustle of the 1990s. The plot of the game presents the desired opportunity for the protagonist Travis Baker, played by actor Michael Madsen, and his team of professional smugglers to take control of the city and become the new kings of crime after the death of the previous boss during a party. But don't think that it will be easy, for it is not only you and your team that is fighting for the throne.

For your wish to be realized, you will need to defeat the main rival gangs and always plan your actions well because the town's sheriff, played by Chuck Norris, is always trying to find evidence against you. And believe me when I say that the more clues he collects, the harder it is to avoid confrontations with the police. And this is a very positive aspect of the game.



Despite the cliché plot, you may be wondering if the story has twists, betrayals, and love relationships, among many other typical possibilities that are part of a good 90's action movie. But here I have bad news because the story is very limited and everything happens very fast. And this causes a strange feeling that the stellar cast of actors was not used very well. Of course, the game has moments of acting and personality for the characters; after all, each one is in a specific area. Because the story does not progress, the scenes are summarized in a dialogue that will repeat itself the various times you accomplish a certain objective. 

Gameplay with good intentions

I confess that as Crime Boss: Rockay City was presented to the public without showing the mechanics, I was imagining something more focused on the character and how his cohorts would gradually manage to climb step by step until finally reaching the top. Not that this is not the goal, but the point is that you perform missions to take territory, such as bank robberies, jewelry stores, and invasions of deposits, among other types, and if completed, you are rewarded and can choose a new mission and progress in the domain. There is no continuity, and this particularly bothers me.

The big surprise of the game happens because the missions have the rogue-lite factor, which is nothing more than if you are defeated or the objective is not completed, you go back to the beginning of the game, but counting all the upgrades in your arsenal, you have more elements to overcome the challenge. Speaking specifically of Crime Boss: Rockay City, you, as the team organizer, can choose to select Travis for a certain type of mission or not. If he is part of the team and the objective is achieved, a series of abilities are unlocked, and his firepower becomes more lethal.

But if the mission fails, all progress is lost, but everything that has been gained in level, money, and upgrades is retained, although the state of progress goes back to square one. And the most interesting thing is that the enemies have a new behavior each time you fail, so it is not worth memorizing attack patterns or how many opponents are in the area.

Still, on the subject of mission types, you can take up to three teammates with different skills to help you complete the objective. And although the team has specialists, it lacks a wider range of characters and roles, as if Crime Boss were a tactical game. It certainly would have been a great addition and a great differential, bringing more interesting elements to the completion of the objectives.

The insertion of Rogue-lite was well thought out but not well executed, especially since the missions are extremely short and quick, making you not feel so much the fact that the stages are procedural. Not only that, but the objectives are repeated several times, only changing what you are going to steal or dominate. In the territorial missions, there is still the relief of facing a "boss," but they don't offer much resistance either.



Speaking specifically of combat, the game follows the traditional pattern of any good shooting game with responsive controls, bringing moments of frenetic action, but that could leave more open areas for character movement. It is as if you were entering a dungeon, in which shooting is enough without feeling the need to be protected. Not only that, but the enemies are like bullet sponges, making it necessary to expend a significant amount of your ammunition. But rest assured that this artifact is found all the time in the scenarios.

With friends, everything is more fun

You can play Crime Boss entirely alone, counting on the company of the AIs, which do not play a bad role and are ready for combat. But of course, if you can count on that inseparable co-op friend, everything is much better. Other than that, you are freer and more carefree knowing that if something goes wrong, your friend will be there to help you solve it. Not only that, but it is worth mentioning that the connection was perfect, making communication fluid and dynamic.

Of course, playing with friends is great, but this does not take away the fact that the missions are still repetitive, short, and lacking in charisma. The advantage is that you have someone around to talk to and talk about the game experience or what objective might be more attractive and interesting to accomplish.

Graphically Speaking

Crime Boss presents inconsistent graphics, in which in closed environments such as banks and enemy bases, the locations have rich detailing of objects and incredible lighting. But when we are on the streets, in more open places, the textures do not present the same quality, and the visuals fall considerably. The feeling is that the urban scenes lack inspiration and care because they are all very similar as if you were always visiting the same place, even though you are executing other objectives.

The game has an honest soundtrack, but due to the nineties aesthetic, it could have featured music from the era, because these would certainly bring even more immersion to all moments of gameplay. Here I relieve the studio a little because we know that there are copyright laws, which can raise the cost of the work considerably.



Crime Boss: Rockay City was kindly provided by publisher 505 Games for this review, and it was done on a PS5.