Crime Boss: Rockay City
Last updated: 2025-04-06
- Fun, engaging heist gameplay experience.
- Campy, B-movie charm adds to the fun.
- Good single-player and co-op options.
- Active updates and good progression system.
- Game plagued with numerous bugs.
- Poor AI hinders the overall gameplay.
Verdict
Mixed
Summary
Positive 64% · Negative 36%. Score: 36 / 100
Positives:
- The game delivers enjoyable, fast-paced heist gameplay with satisfying gunplay, often drawing favorable comparisons to the Payday series while offering improvements in accessibility, mechanics, and overall fun. Many reviewers feel it surpasses recent Payday entries. The game emphasizes action and strategy, with a blend of stealth and loud approaches.
- The game embraces a B-movie aesthetic with a star-studded cast, cheesy dialogue, and over-the-top scenarios. While the voice acting and story may be intentionally bad, they contribute to the game's unique charm and humorous tone. The game is enjoyable for those who appreciate its campy and self-aware nature.
- The game features a progression system with unlockables, ongoing updates, and responsive developers. The developers actively listen to feedback and implement improvements, adding new content and addressing issues. This ongoing support enhances replayability and demonstrates a commitment to the game's quality.
- The game offers a worthwhile single-player experience with a dedicated mode and balanced difficulty. The roguelite elements add replayability and challenge, while the multiplayer mode provides cooperative fun with friends. The game is also suitable for casual play in short bursts.
- The game features a roguelite campaign that adds replayability and unique gameplay elements. The campaign combines different mission types, strategic choices, and resource management, creating a compelling and engaging experience. The roguelite format works surprisingly well, offering a fresh twist on the heist genre.
Negatives:
- The game is plagued with numerous bugs, including game-breaking issues, soft locks, crashes, and progress loss. These bugs occur frequently in both single-player and multiplayer modes, severely impacting gameplay and leading to frustration. Some reviewers noted that the game was borderline unplayable due to the sheer number of bugs.
- Many reviewers found the AI to be poorly designed, with teammates often getting stuck, ignoring commands, or running into enemy fire. This makes missions, especially stealth missions, much more difficult and frustrating. The AI issues are a recurring complaint, significantly impacting the overall gameplay experience.
- The game lacks a mission restart or save function, forcing players to restart from the beginning upon death or failure. This is exacerbated by the roguelike elements, which can lead to significant progress loss and frustration. The absence of these basic features makes the game feel punishing and disrespectful of the player's time.
- The voice acting is often criticized as being of poor quality, with some reviewers describing it as cringeworthy, phoned-in, or even AI-generated. Chuck Norris's performance, in particular, is frequently singled out for being monotone and uninspired. The poor voice acting detracts from the overall immersion and enjoyment of the game.
- Many reviewers compare the game unfavorably to Payday 2 and 3, noting that it lacks the depth, complexity, and polish of those games. The game is often described as a cheap imitation or a simplified version of Payday, failing to capture the same engaging elements. Some reviewers recommend playing Payday instead.
Gameplay:
- The core gameplay loop revolves around completing heists to earn money, manage resources, and expand territory by fighting rival gangs. Missions vary in size and complexity, offering both stealth and loud approaches. The game shares similarities with PAYDAY, but with the addition of territory control and roguelite elements.
- The single-player campaign features roguelite mechanics, where death results in a campaign reset, but players retain permanent upgrades and experience gained across multiple runs. This meta-progression system encourages replayability and allows players to become stronger with each attempt to conquer the city.
- The game features a simple skill system and limited weapon customization, which may appeal to casual players but lack depth for those seeking variety. Stealth gameplay is optional and relatively forgiving, with a 3-strike system before detection.
- Turf wars involve capturing and defending territories to generate income and weaken opponents. Players control soldiers in combat, with the game switching control to another soldier upon death.
- The game features unique characters with their own backstories and missions, but team member equipment cannot be changed. Players can hire new crew members with their own weapons and traits, and these members acquire experience after each mission.
Performance:
- Many reviewers report long loading times that detract from the overall experience. This is further compounded by the game's large file size and demanding hardware requirements, making SSD installation highly recommended.
- Some players have reported issues with matchmaking, including failures to connect to lobbies and long waiting times. Additionally, server optimization may be needed, as many lobbies display yellow or red connection markers, although significant lag issues are not always experienced.
- Some players have reported audio-visual desynchronization issues in the game.
- The game is reported to be playable on Steam Deck without significant battery drain.
- The game features vibrant and stylish graphics.
Recommendations:
- Many reviewers find the game enjoyable and recommend it, especially when on sale. They consider it a good value for the price, citing the amount of content and potential for fun, even with flaws. Some suggest trying it to see if it clicks, while others are already hooked.
- Many reviewers express mixed feelings, offering recommendations with reservations or suggesting to wait for sales/updates. Some are refunding the game, while others are willing to give it another chance after future improvements. Scores are often in the 5-7/10 range, indicating a mediocre experience.
- A recurring theme is the comparison to the Payday series, with many reviewers finding this game a worthwhile alternative, especially compared to Payday 3. Some feel it simplifies the formula in a good way, while others appreciate its unique qualities and recommend approaching it with a fresh mindset.
- The roguelike mode is a standout feature for many reviewers, with some saying it alone is worth the price of the game. They recommend it for fans of the genre and highlight the permadeath system as a key positive.
- Some reviewers recommend purchasing the DLC, especially when on sale, as it enhances the gameplay experience with powerful weapons and characters. Others suggest that the DLC should be included in the base game.
Miscellaneous:
- The game heavily features a B-movie aesthetic with a cast of recognizable actors from 80s and 90s action films. This includes character likenesses, voice acting, and a fitting licensed soundtrack. The quality of the voice acting is inconsistent, ranging from intentionally hammy to just plain bad, which some reviewers find enjoyable in an ironic way.
- The game is frequently compared to the Payday series, with some reviewers considering it a more casual or B-movie version. It blends Payday-style gameplay with roguelike elements and a 90s setting. Some reviewers feel it successfully fills the void left by Payday 3, while others find Payday 2 remains the gold standard.
- The game receives ongoing support from the developers, who are responsive to player feedback and release regular updates. A roadmap extends into 2025, indicating continued content additions and improvements. This active development addresses initial criticisms and overhauls maligned parts of the game.
- The game is often sold with all released DLC included, especially on Steam. Reviewers frequently mention purchasing the game during sales or as part of bundles with all DLC at a discounted price. This makes the complete package relatively inexpensive.
- The game features both single-player and multiplayer modes, but is primarily a single-player focused roguelite. Some reviewers found the multiplayer to be inactive, making the game best approached as a single-player experience. The single-player campaign focuses on the plot and characters.
