Pretty quickly, they just became names in a list, which I'd occasionally click on to upgrade their security or ambience.

Every now and then I found myself needing to spruce a brothel up for a celeb or sacrifice one of my properties for a bigger, riskier payout, with the game remembering that the seductive appeal of a life of crime is more complicated than watching a bank balance increase, but there was nothing making me feel invested in any individual business. The day-to-day management of even the most crooked of casinos is not, unfortunately, as exciting as you'd expect, and while there are a few different ways to ensure your businesses flourish, like matching the booze to the affluence of the area, it mostly amounts to just pouring excess cash into upgrades. The soap opera diversions are a lot more entertaining than sitting at a desk, staring at messy Art Deco menus and stark maps.

The illusion is shattered, unfortunately, when they offer completely random deals with terms that contradict each other, or when you realise that every deal is just a straightforward buff that costs you nothing. Some of the voice performances are great, others are a bit awkward, but they're always enthusiastic and, importantly, offer clues about your rival's temperament. They're hammy and immensely fun conversations, taking advantage of each gangster's personality and history to create memorable verbal sparring matches. While there's still that generic strategy game diplomacy menu that we can't seem to shake, you can also meet rival bosses to shoot the shit and make deals. Sit-downs are where Empire of Sin's criminal cast really gets to shine.

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