Crime Boss: Rockay City Review

Let’s be honest, Crime Boss: Rockay City had a rough launch. The initial marketing push, all celebrities and 90s action movie vibes didn’t work all that well. But after it hit Steam, I received two codes from the publisher to test and review the game in co-op, and guess what? It’s actually a pretty entertaining game and I had lots of fun playing it.

The biggest improvement since launch is the focus. The story actually makes sense now, even if it’s delivered with some hilariously bad voice acting (though in a good, “so bad it’s good” kind of way). The missions themselves vary widely in quality. The large-scale heists are a pure joy to play, with tons of replayability thanks to procedural generation. They’re these ridiculous, over-the-top affairs, and the cheesy writing just adds to the charm. Smaller jobs and daily tasks feel less inspired, but they’re a decent way to break up the bigger scores.

Crime Boss plays really good in both single-player and co-op. This isn’t another game that’s fun in co-op but boring in SP. The roguelike campaign in single-player keeps things fresh with procedural generation, offering a reason to replay even after you’ve conquered a heist.

But co-op is a little bit more fun. It supports up to 4 players in various missions like turf wars and heists. I played with one friend and the servers worked well and the gameplay felt good for a two, but my guess is that’s even better with more players available. The coop does have crossplay between Steam and Epic Games on PC.

Here’s the catch: the performance isn’t great. I blame Unreal Engine for some of it. Sitting through shader compilation on every launch is a pain, and DX11 crashes whenever the cops show up? Not ideal. I’m running a decent rig, but the game only shines at low settings. It’s a shame, because the potential for visual spectacle is there. This feels like a game that could find a bigger audience on lower-spec machines, but Unreal Engine seems to hold it back.

So, is Crime Boss worth your time? Mostly, yes, especially at the launch price which included all the DLC. Here’s some of pros and cons:

Pros:

• The gunplay is tight and satisfying, a step up from Payday 3 in my opinion.
• Difficulty feels balanced, with a nice escalation throughout missions.
• Co-op works well
• Enemy AI is competent, and the police actually look intimidating!
• Heists can be tackled loud or stealthy, offering flexibility.
• The cheesy charm of the story and voice acting (especially the celebrity cameos – Michael Madsen is a highlight!)
• Devs seem responsive to feedback and are actively adding content.
• It runs well on less powerful machines, including the Steam Deck.

Cons:

• AI teammates can occasionally bug out.
• Performance could be smoother, especially with Unreal Engine quirks.
• Some voice acting, particularly certain celebrities, is a bit phoned-in.
• No character or clothing customization (yet).
• I wish the campaign could be played in co-op