City of Gangsters, published by Kasedo Games and developed by SomaSim, is a family management game. You will have to manage to survive and prosper in the time of prohibition. Prohibition is a period between 1920 and 1933 when the manufacture, transport, sale, import and export of alcoholic beverages were prohibited. You will therefore have understood: you will have to succeed in growing your business while managing not to get caught by the police. City of Gangsters is, as indicated above, a management game. I particularly like this kind of game. But is it a good strategy game? We will see that in this review.
So first of all, I'm going to invite you to read the article that has already been written on the site. Because this article is here to talk in particular about the new Shadow Government extension. But, since this is the first time I've played this game, I'm still going to go back a bit to how it works and how I felt.
At the beginning of the game you must create your character. You won't be able to change everything, anyway it's not the primary goal of the game. However, you must choose two character traits that will affect the characteristics of your character. Because yes, your character will level up, but I'll tell you about it a little later. So here I am ready to face the tutorial. It is very well done and tells you how to make your clan prosper.
Each character you have will have a number of move points and actions. When they drop to zero, you'll have to end your turn to collect them. During your turn, many actions can be performed by your character(s). You can trade with local merchants, sell or buy items to them, or go to your hideout to improve it. Every building you own can be used to create a sub-trade like craft beer making. I talked about your characters because, yes, you won't be able to control the city alone. You will need to recruit minions to be able to grow easily and, for that, to meet people who will tell you who is likely to be recruited!
Of course you won't conquer the city just by selling prohibited products. You will have to get your hands dirty, for example by attacking clans that control other districts. For this, you will need to equip your minions with weapons. Which will add extra damage. This is also where leveling up will help you. At each level, you will have the choice between 3 increases available. I was talking to you at the start of the new Shadow Government expansion. This extension, precisely, makes it possible to use the policy to grow. You can fund politicians' campaigns and then force them to pass laws that will help you. This brings a new dimension to the game which already has many ways to succeed.
Conclusion
So what about this game? I'll stop you right away. If you want a chill management game this isn't for you. You really have to put in the effort to be successful. Otherwise you will only pass the rounds and you will never progress. It is a demanding game. You're really going to have to invest in it. The artistic direction, as well as the music, supports the action well. As for the new expansion, quite nice, it adds a new dimension to the game. In short, and I'm going to repeat myself, I think the game is not made for neophytes who want to discover management games. On the other hand, if you are thoroughly into management games and therefore already a connoisseur, do not hesitate!
- City of Gangsters
- Shadow Government
