Have you ever wondered how cool it would be to get some of the biggest entertainers of the 80’s and 90’s together for massive heists, with banging music hits from the era, over-the-top gunfights, and all the crazy action one-liners you could ever hope for? Well, wonder no longer because Ingame Studios‘ first-person co-op action heist-shooter Crime Boss: Rockay City satisfies that curiosity with a very clear answer to just how cool it might be; Surprise, surprise, IT’S BADASS!
Published by the ever-popular 505 Games, Crime Boss: Rockay City is one of the more varied and, to put it bluntly, most fun online multiplayer shooter games I’ve played in quite some time. Originally releasing back in late March of 2023 to mixed reviews, the game has undergone an unbelievable number of updates, patches, and new content over the last couple of years that have fully transformed the experience into one heck of a great time!
With the addition of some new and exciting game modes, various powerful weapons, intriguing new characters, quick money jobs, large-scale heists, and an insane number of quality-of-life upgrades, the game is better than ever and more fun than the majority of other co-op shooters released in recent years. Are you a fan of roguelite story modes with permanent unlocks and consistently rewarding progression? How about battling possessed enemies in a fast-paced wave mode? Maybe you’re more of a Payday style heist fan, and just want to get in, get the loot, and get out; Or maybe you prefer a deeper narrative that builds out the story of the world and the often-larger-than-life characters found within?
In Crime Boss: Rockay City, players can do all of this and more! There are so many different game modes to match the player’s preferred type of entertainment, loads of variation in the gameplay from critical stealth segments to all-out gun battles and high-stakes heists, and all of this comes brimming with more personality and violence than Vanilla Ice on an MTV set in 1999… if you know, you know.
The game stars a veritable who’s who of who once was, including entertainment legends like Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill‘s Michael Madsen as Travis Baker, a wannabe cowboy ex-drug dealer that’s gunning for the top spot as kingpin (crime boss), of the criminal underworld of Rockay City. Alongside Madsen is I Dreamed of Africa and L.A. Confidential star Kim Basinger as Casey, the femme fatale money manager who coordinates “business” arrangements behind the scenes and handles the finer points of finance in regard to Baker’s criminal enterprise. Payday 2‘s Damion Poitier is back on a heisting team too, this time as Nasara, the man behind the comms and voice of the mission, whether it be through useful tips and guidance, or smartass comments when the player botches a job.
Next up we’ve got the incomparable Michael Rooker who starred in such recent hits as The Walking Dead and Guardians of the Galaxy, who plays “Touchdown,” Baker’s rowdy and rambunctious, but tough and fiercely loyal enforcer. Danny Trejo from Desperado, Machete, and about 300 other films, shows, and video games, plays the role of “Dollar Dragon,” a vicious rival gang leader that serves to either shake things up or smooth things over, depending on if the money’s right. Speaking of rivals, rapper Vanilla Ice of Ice Ice Baby fame plays Hielo, a former DJ and current head of a drug-dealing street gang that often throw a wrench in Baker’ operation.
Lastly are the fuzz! Predator 2 and Lethal Weapon star Danny Glover plays Gloves, a crooked cop who’s on Baker’s payroll as a disgruntled informant and who is most definitely “gettin’ too old for this s**t!” Last but certainly not least, playing the game’s main antagonist is Delta Force and Walker Texas Ranger star and longtime cultural icon Chuck Norris as Sheriff Norris, the righteous, unwavering, and justice-devoted lawman that serves as Baker’s main foil throughout the narrative.
With this absolutely stacked cast of talent, the game is dripping with personality and humor, as well as an unreal number of action-packed experiences that will surely delight anyone who is a fan of the genre. It’s like a cheesy 90’s action movie replete with incredible set pieces, classic hip-hop tunes, unmatched replayability, and an addicting gameplay loop that kept me hooked for days!
I am keenly aware that at launch the game faced harsh criticism in regard to some of its less refined mechanics, but with 16 major updates to the game over the last couple of years, with the most recent only releasing last week, the game is not only in a far more playable state but has perhaps reached its definitive peak. Crime Boss: Rockay City is surprisingly robust in terms of the overall content on offer.
The campaign mode functions as a choice driven rogue-lite that features narrative cutscenes, important player decisions, criminal organization management, hideout customization, weapon and character upgrades, turf wars, robberies, burglaries, and every other form of cash-snatching street crime, all wrapped up in an endlessly replayable and mostly randomized battle to become the crime boss of Rockay City. There are a handful of stealth operations where patience is paramount and strategy is sacrosanct, but those are often outweighed by the wide array of gang wars and police shootouts that are paramount when creating a game of this specific genre and tone.
The “Missions” modes are far more varied in my humble opinion, and I found many of them to be some of the most enjoyable aspects of the game. These modes present players with the freedom to choose from a huge selection of various mission types that best suit their playstyle or particular goals, while allowing for an abundance of co-op gameplay opportunities.
Players can team up to do various story-focused missions that delve into the backstories of many of the game’s fascinating yet otherwise mysterious characters, featuring predetermined teams and a ranking system based on overall mission success. They can also undertake a great deal of jobs, heists, gunfights, and more to bolster their funds and level up their chosen boss’ skills, stats, weapons, and even unlock some unique weapon skins and new boss appearances. Players can also use the “shuffle” feature
Perhaps our personal favorite mode here at Everything Nerd is the demonically possessed enemy horde mode called “Rockay Rumble,” which plays like a more randomized and frenetic Call of Duty Zombies, but with a much more chaotic arcade-style that made for some hilarious moments, a couple of horrifyingly overwhelming encounters, and some serious mayhem all in the name of earning fat stacks of cash while saving Rockay City from a legion of evil gangbangers and S.W.A.T. teams. One of my favorite elements of the Rockay Rumble mode is that after earning money from kills, bonuses, and multipliers, players can use that newfound wealth to shop at the heist van for randomized weapons and upgrades, or should I say “VAN-domized,” yeah… I would hate me too.
Regardless of how you feel about my puns, we’re moving past that and on to what’s important! No matter what mode you select or whether or not you decide to play solo or cooperatively with friends or other heisters, Crime Boss: Rockay City consistently delivers smooth and responsive movement and gunplay, visually stunning and densely packed urban environments to run around in, more player customization and cosmetic options than most shooter games of this sort, and all of this having been scored with a truly brilliant yet understated soundtrack featuring a blend of well-suited golden-era hip-hop and pop-rock.
After hours of cooperative calamity, my buddy, and Everything Nerd CEO Ultan Kenny had this to say:
“As a fan of over-the-top action, I was aware of Crime Boss: Rockay City‘s rockay launch (forgive the pun), but never played it until recently, and let me tell ya, I’m hooked! It’s bloody good fun. This game is a blast with its megaton of modes, from the thrilling [Rockay Rumble] Nightmare City (my absolute favourite) to co-op heists and roguelite campaign.
The AI partners are surprisingly solid, always having my back during intense shootouts when I didn’t have someone to play with. It’s unapologetically cheesy, packed with Easter eggs and callbacks like Call of Duty‘s “Fetch me their souls” and Mortal Kombat‘s iconic “Fight” at the beginning of a round in Nightmare City, which had me grinning from ear to ear.
The gunplay is buttery smooth, which genuinely surprised and delighted me. Huge props to the devs for their consistent updates, adding new content and keeping the vibe fresh. I’d love to see more maps for Rockay Rumble to keep the chaos going. It’s pure, cheesy action goodness that I can’t get enough of! Thankful I gave it a chance, truly. My biggest gripe is the menu; it’s kind of all over the place and could do with some tightening. It took me ages to figure out where the campaign was.
It’s been mentioned, but I feel I really need to drive the point home as it was one of the main gripes of previous players. I was thoroughly impressed by the enemy AI during heists but most particularly [Rockay Rumble] ‘Nightmare City’. Using the upgrade van, we were able to purchase additional AI squad mates, and boy, oh boy, did they bring the heat. Taking cover, laying suppression, and even taking the bulk of enemies out during later rounds.
9/10 for me. Complete and utter joy! Best had with a friend or friends. Rockay Rumble is a COD zombie contender!”
Despite all of our positive opinions and experiences, the game was not without its flaws. What could have been a genre-defining crime drama/comedy (dramedy?) ended up presenting a somewhat scattered and underwhelming narrative, mostly due in-part to the campaign’s roguelite nature, but it can’t all be blamed on that. Some of the performances felt uninspired and left much to be desired from the once great actors, of whom a few felt as though they were phoning it in a bit.
The dialogue relied far too heavily on swearing and immature humor, chock-full of “F this” and “F that,” though I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t part of its charm. With that said, the plot isn’t what’s important in this game and I think the devs knew that when they were creating it. It’s like picking a diner burger over a flame grilled steak; Yes, the steak may be a little classier and serve a more refined palate, but we all know that a cheesy, greasy burger really hits the spot more often than not; Crime Boss: Rockay City is the cheesiest of burgers.
Even though there is such a kaleidoscopic blend of flamboyant and madcap characters, eclectic and referential environments, a slew of narrative-focused story beats, and a diverse assortment of weapons, gear, skills, upgrades, and unlockables, when the credits roll, none of that really matters. What matters most to me, to the majority of fans still playing the title, to all the new players who will boot the game up after reading this review, and presumably to the developers and publisher, is the question of whether or not the game is fun; Is it worth buying and playing? Was it even worth my time? I will answer all of those questions honestly, with a resounding and emphatic, ABSO-FRIGGIN-LUTELY!
Crime Boss: Rockay City may have not been a masterpiece of storytelling or creative innovations, but it’s a damn good time. Whether you’re playing with friends, strangers, or taking on the underworld of crime all on your own, you’re likely going to find yourself, perhaps surprisingly, entertained, impressed, and smiling within minutes. If you like heist games like Payday, films and other projects featuring the actors I mentioned before, popular music from the 90’s, and good old fashioned first-person gunfights, then I really think you should give this game a shot!
Crime Boss: Rockay City is currently available on Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, Steam, and Epic Games Store, and with its newest additions from Title Update 16 bringing fresh missions including the new Art Gallery heist, vastly improved bot AI that makes non-human teammates so much more capable and intelligent across all game modes, and a handful of meaningful quality-of-life tweaks and much appreciated bug fixes, now’s the time to jump in! Check it out the next time you get that craving for one of those greasy burgers we talked about earlier. Trust me when I say, it’ll leave you full, satisfied, and only a little ashamed of how happy it made you feel.
Final score 9/10
