Rise of the Crime Lord Walkthrough – Best Choices, Routes & Endings

This Rise of the Crime Lord walkthrough covers the most important choices, relationship paths, commitment points, crime routes and story decisions that affect Rick’s progress toward becoming a mafia boss.

Rise of the Crime Lord uses a hidden relationship system. Choices can change Friendship, Romance, Professional, Jealous and other relationship values, while major decisions can permanently open or close character routes. Poor relationships can also cause characters to leave Rick and may contribute to bad outcomes later in the story.

This guide focuses on preserving important allies, avoiding unnecessary bad endings and explaining the major branches that influence the best possible outcome. For general game information, supported platforms and download resources, visit the Rise of the Crime Lord download page.

Rise of the Crime Lord tracks relationship values in the background. These values are not always displayed directly, but they determine how Rick and Cora interact with other characters and which scenes become available.

Common relationship states include:

• Friend
• Romance
• Professional Relationship
• Jealous
• Hate
• Lover

Not every romantic or unfriendly decision permanently locks a path immediately. Many characters have a later commitment point where the game decides whether that relationship remains romantic, becomes platonic or closes permanently.

Rick and Cora’s relationship can develop in three major directions.

Spouse Route

If you want Rick and Cora to remain faithful, consistently select Spouse choices and keep other Lover routes closed.

Friendship with other characters is generally safe. A threesome can still remain possible under some conditions without converting the entire relationship into an Open Marriage.

Open Marriage Route

The Open Marriage route allows Rick and Cora to remain together while one or both pursue other romantic relationships.

You do not need to follow every NTR-related choice to reach this route. According to the walkthrough, infidelity from only one partner can be enough to move the relationship toward an Open Marriage as long as the Divorce route is avoided.

Divorce Route

Divorce points accumulate through specific decisions involving secrecy, cheating and damaged trust. Rick and Cora do not necessarily separate immediately after one bad decision, but repeated Divorce choices can make separation optional or eventually unavoidable.

The source walkthrough is designed around achieving the best ending, with Rick ultimately becoming a mafia boss.

Several principles are especially important:

• Preserve Rick’s relationships with family and useful allies.
• Avoid unnecessary Hate routes.
• Do not allow important characters to die.
• Maintain enough criminal reputation to progress Rick’s underworld career.
• Keep useful allies available for later chapters.
• Do not accidentally close the Porn Producer route if pursuing the best-ending path.
• Watch for commitment points in Rick and Cora’s marriage.
• Avoid decisions explicitly identified as leading to Game Over or bad endings.

Judit’s Home

Your first important relationship choice affects Crowe:

• “It’s shit show, but I pretend to believe it.” – Crowe Friend
• “Of course… Oooh sure…” – Crowe Professional Relationship

The walkthrough recommends prioritizing friendly relationships with important male characters because loyalty can provide more opportunities later.

Ruined Room

Choose “That’s enough.” if you want to prevent Gabe from shooting Clu. Allowing the shooting can create problems later.

Ashley or Miranda

• Safe homework with Ash – closes the Miri Ex-Girlfriend route.
• Peeping with Miri – opens the Miri Ex-Girlfriend route.

Closing the Miri Ex-Girlfriend route makes reconciling Ashley and Miranda easier. Opening it creates more complicated relationship content later.

Ashley Choice

If you chose Ashley:

• “I think honesty will be the best.” – Ashley Friend
• “A little lie can’t hurt.” – Ashley Romance

Judit Route

At Judit’s home:

• “I’m going to hug her.” – Judit Romance
• “I kiss her cheek.” – Judit Friend

Asking about Crowe reveals more background information. If you continue the conversation, additional Judit Romance or Friend choices become available.

Terence and Kendra

At Terence’s home:

• “I knock once more.” – Terence Friend and Kendra Friend
• “Maybe the door is open…” – Kendra Romance

Violent Crime vs Smart Crime

During the bar confrontation:

• “I break his arm.” – Violent Crime route
• “That’s enough lessons.” – Smart Crime route

The Violent Crime route makes some later situations easier, but it also prevents certain events in Chapters 5 and 7.

Judit Commitment Point

If Judit’s Romance value is high enough, you reach an important commitment point.

• “I’m not going to think about it all my life.” – opens Judit Lover
• “It’s good if I never get an answer to this question.” – closes Judit Lover

If you want to preserve a good friendship with Judit without pursuing her romance, keeping the Lover route closed can be safer.

Terence Hate Route

The next morning:

• “I keep what I promised myself.” – Terence Professional Relationship, closes Terence Hate
• “I’ll be a good man tomorrow.” – opens Terence Hate

Rachel

At the SSG:

• “I’ll be a gentleman.” – Spouse route
• “A little flirting can’t hurt.” – Rachel Romance

If you are deliberately pursuing Open Marriage, Romance choices can be used while still avoiding Divorce decisions.

Diesel vs Overtime

Choosing to relax opens:

• Diesel route
• Porn Producer route access

If you skip Diesel and work overtime instead, several later options may remain unavailable.

Cora’s Faithful or NTR Route

At Cora’s office:

• “No!” – Faithful route
• “Yes!” – NTR route

Later, during the NTR branch:

• “OK.” – Divorce route
• “Me too.” – Spouse route

Blackmail Choice

On the Diesel routes, evidence matters. The walkthrough warns that choosing the wrong blackmail option without strong evidence can cause Game Over.

Date with Judit or Sam

At Rick’s office:

• Listening to Judit’s request opens the Date with Judit route.
• Other options can open the Date with Sam route.

If maintaining a strong relationship with Judit is important, the walkthrough prefers her date route.

Sam

• “But Rach can’t expect more because of Cora.” – Sam Friend
• “Here’s the chance, Rick. Do it!” – Sam Romance

Ashley

If the Miri Ex-Girlfriend route is closed:

• Romantic observation choices increase Ashley Romance.
• More restrained choices increase Ashley Friend.

A later decision can open Ashley Lover.

Ashley and Miranda Relationship

This chapter contains several important choices affecting the sisters.

• “I just got tired of both of them.” – Good Sisters
• “Ashley is right.” – Bad Sisters, Ashley side
• “Ashley is unfair to Miranda.” – Bad Sisters, Miranda side

Breakfast Routes

You can choose:

• Trio route
• Rick Alone
• Rick & Ashley
• Rick & Miranda

Choosing only one sister can worsen the relationship with the other and damage their relationship with each other.

Cora Message

• Reply quickly – Spouse route
• Call later – Divorce route

Madison Bribe Route

If Madison sees Rick and Ashley together, several responses are possible.

The stronger criminal options only become available after Rick’s criminal activity reaches sufficient levels.

Miranda Lover Route

If Miri Ex-Girlfriend is open:

• “Let’s be just friends.” – closes Miranda Lover
• “I like the friends with benefits option.” – opens Miranda Lover

Porn Producer Route

At Jake’s home, if you previously followed Overtime:

• “I offer my help.” – opens Porn Producer

Call Cora Before the Date

Calling Cora favors the Spouse route. If you call her, the walkthrough recommends discussing important subjects in this order when available:

1. Judit
2. Jake and Beth
3. Blackmail
4. Miranda

Sam Date

Honesty is recommended. Lying damages Rick’s relationship with Sam, although a later confession can partially repair it.

Judit Date and Hayden

Provoking Hayden makes the game more dangerous because he can later kill Rick. However, successfully standing against him can improve Rick’s future underworld status.

Promenade Commitment Point

This is one of the most important marriage decisions in the walkthrough.

• “I’ll tell her everything.” – Spouse route
• “I won’t tell her more.” – Divorce route

Miranda

If the Miranda Lover route is available, several Romance/Friend decisions appear at Rick’s home.

Repeatedly rejecting Miranda while her Lover route is open can eventually cause the route to close and damage her relationship with Rick.

Argay

Cora can begin developing a relationship with Argay.

• Reject – Argay Jealous
• Agree to another meeting – Argay Romance

Rachel

If Rick already flirted with Rachel in Chapter 2, continue consistently if pursuing her Romance route. Otherwise, avoid suddenly changing direction.

Jess

• Flirty dialogue increases Jess Romance.
• Restrained dialogue increases Jess Friend.

Jess responds positively to some flirting but dislikes infidelity, so her route requires balancing attraction with Rick’s relationship status.

Malcolm Problem Route

• Avoid mentioning the past – opens Malcolm Problem
• Remind him – closes Malcolm Problem

The Malcolm Problem route can significantly increase criminal reputation, but it also introduces dangerous situations later.

Nicole

Nicole’s available choices depend on whether the Terence Hate route is open.

Several decisions can move Rick toward either:

• Spouse
• Open Marriage

Crime Route Decision

After the robbery:

• Handle the problem personally – Violent Crime
• Leave Tim alone – Smart Crime

Chapter 6 begins differently depending on the state of Rick and Cora’s marriage.

Marriage Still Healthy

If the marriage is good or still repairable, choices can continue supporting:

• Spouse
• Open Marriage
• Miranda-Cora Romance

Marriage Almost Irredeemable

If Divorce has accumulated heavily, Rick and Cora’s relationship follows a much more damaged version of the chapter.

Madison Consequences

If Madison previously witnessed Rick and Ashley and was not successfully silenced, she can reveal what she saw to Cora and push the marriage further toward Divorce.

Cora and Miranda

Several interactions can move Cora toward either Miranda-Cora Friend or Miranda-Cora Romance and can also influence Spouse/Open Marriage.

Rachel

Rick can continue Rachel Romance through several office interactions.

Lunch choices also affect jealousy:

• Jake – generally safest if avoiding Rachel jealousy
• Sam – can create Rachel jealousy
• Rachel – strengthens Rachel Romance
• Alone – neutral

Kelly

The walkthrough recommends interrogating Kelly because the information becomes important later.

• Help Kelly – Kelly Romance and potentially a useful SSG ally
• Do not help – Kelly Hate and continued blackmail opportunities

Sam, Kendra and Malcolm Order

The order of these optional visits is important.

If available:

1. Meet Sam if desired.
2. Visit Kendra.
3. Deal with Malcolm.

Kendra

• Leaving maintains Friend/Hate values.
• Staying longer increases Kendra Romance.

Evening Route Choice

Rick can choose among:

• Family Time
• Date with Ashley
• Party with Miranda

Family Time improves several family relationships and can help repair Ashley and Miranda’s relationship.

Ashley

At the parking scene:

• Wait longer – Ashley Romance
• Make the move – Ashley Romance + Open Marriage

Moving forward with Ashley can affect later Miranda content, so consider which route you want before committing.

Miranda

Miranda dislikes aggressive or overly tough behavior. Choosing calmer responses generally supports her Romance path.

Carla

• Decline – Carla Friend, Spouse
• Accept – Carla Romance, Open Marriage

Malcolm Money

If Malcolm is dead, Rick can decide how to handle the money:

• Keep it – more money and Crowe Respect
• Split it – less money and Crowe Friend
• Handle Jess’s money – potential Jess relationship benefit

Cora Investment Decision

Rick can decide whether to involve Cora financially.

• “No, the risk is too high.” – damages the marriage
• “But it can even pay off.” – strongly improves the marriage

If Rick already hid information from Cora in Chapter 4, rejecting her here can make the marriage extremely difficult to save.

Nurse Winters

• Use the opportunity – opens Winters Spy
• Do not endanger her – closes Winters Spy

Winters can affect later events and potentially the survival of an important character.

Kendra Laptop

Investigating Terence’s laptop raises Crime Rate but can uncover useful secrets.

The walkthrough recommends saving compromising evidence because it may become useful against multiple characters later.

Argay

Cora can either move toward Argay Friend or Argay Romance depending on her earlier choices.

Cora’s Reaction to Cheating

At Gamer’s Heaven:

• “I would be angry with Cora.” – can force future Divorce
• “I might forgive her.” – makes separation optional
• “I wouldn’t care as long as she loves me.” – avoids immediate separation

Rachel

Walking home instead of taking a taxi increases Rachel Romance more strongly, and a kiss can open or reinforce Open Marriage.

Miranda at Home

Late Chapter 8 can open or continue Miranda Lover depending on previous kissing and relationship choices.

Rachel Lover Route

If Rick kissed Rachel previously, Chapter 9 lets you decide whether to continue the relationship.

• “I’m in.” – Rachel Lover remains open
• “Better to have no hope.” – closes Rachel Lover

Trip With Cora

This decision heavily affects Chapter 10:

• Go with Cora – Rick joins the trip
• Stay home – creates parallel storylines

If Rick previously failed to tell Cora everything or did not support her financially, staying home also adds some Divorce pressure.

Kelly

Kelly’s Chapter 9 content depends on earlier decisions involving Jake, her job and evidence.

If Rick has evidence, several routes become available including continuing the relationship, preserving leverage or rejecting her.

Helping Kelly earlier can make her a potential ally, while exploiting her can preserve blackmail leverage but changes her relationship with Rick.

Chapter 9 Part II – Ashley and Miranda

If Ashley Lover is open and Rick stays home:

• Hike alone with Ashley – Ashley Romance
• Invite Miranda too – helps reconcile the sisters and supports the shared route

Cora’s Companion

Depending on earlier choices, Cora may travel in Chapter 10 with:

• Argay
• Daniel
• Miranda
• Beth
• No companion

Rachel Furniture Store

If Rick helped earlier and Rachel Lover is active, additional relationship content becomes available. The exact scene depends on the amount of Rachel Romance accumulated in earlier chapters.

Ashley Route

Ashley’s route is closely connected to Miranda’s relationship with Rick. Supporting Good Sisters makes it easier to preserve both characters in Rick’s life.

Important Ashley milestones include:

• Prologue Romance/Friend choice
• Ash Lover opening
• Chapter 3 breakfast and Madison consequences
• Chapter 7 date commitment
• Chapter 9 hiking choice

Miranda Route

Miranda’s route can begin as early as the Prologue through the Miri Ex-Girlfriend branch.

Her major milestones include:

• Miri Ex-Girlfriend route
• Friends with Benefits / Lover decision
• Chapter 4 relationship escalation
• Chapter 7 Party with Miranda
• Chapter 8 Lover continuation

Judit Route

Judit’s route contains an early Lover commitment point and a later optional Date route. Keeping the Lover route closed is safer if your goal is friendship rather than Romance.

Sam Route

Sam values honesty. Consistent honest answers generally preserve both Friendship and Romance better than deception.

Rachel Route

Rachel’s Romance develops gradually from Chapter 2 onward. Later choices involve jealousy, lunch decisions, physical commitment and whether the Rachel Lover route remains open.

Kendra Route

Kendra’s content depends heavily on keeping the Terence Hate route closed. Opening Terence Hate can permanently remove important Kendra opportunities.

Kelly Route

Kelly can become either a valuable ally or a blackmail target. The route depends on whether Rick:

• Collects evidence
• Helps her keep her job
• Uses or preserves blackmail material
• Chooses Romance or Hate responses

Argay Route

Argay is both a possible future partner for Cora and a potentially important ally for Rick. Manage Cora’s relationship with him carefully if you are pursuing the best ending.

Violent Crime

Violent Crime can make some confrontations easier but can also remove later events.

Smart Crime

Smart Crime tends to preserve more alternative events and routes, though some direct confrontations may be harder.

Criminal Reputation

Several decisions increase Rick’s criminal reputation. Higher criminal activity can unlock options such as intimidating Madison or asking her for favors.

Porn Producer Route

This route begins through Jake-related choices. If Rick follows Overtime rather than Diesel, he must explicitly offer to help Jake in Chapter 3.

If your main goal is the best possible outcome rather than seeing every romantic branch in one playthrough, use this general strategy:

1. Prioritize friendly relationships with important allies.
2. Keep Terence Hate closed.
3. Choose Smart Crime when you want to preserve the widest range of later content.
4. Keep Ashley and Miranda on good terms.
5. Decide early whether Rick and Cora will follow Spouse or Open Marriage.
6. Avoid unnecessary Divorce choices.
7. Tell Cora important information instead of repeatedly hiding it.
8. Open and preserve the Porn Producer route.
9. Build Rick’s criminal reputation without sacrificing critical allies.
10. Interrogate Kelly and preserve useful information.
11. Handle Malcolm carefully in Chapter 7.
12. Avoid Hate routes for important family members and allies.
13. Prevent deaths whenever possible.
14. Review commitment points before choosing Romance or Lover options.

Rise of the Crime Lord contains many interconnected variables, so the same choice can have different consequences depending on earlier relationship values and route states. If a choice does not appear, it usually means an earlier requirement was not met.

Where can I find the main Rise of the Crime Lord game page?

Visit the Rise of the Crime Lord page on GameCax for the game overview, supported platforms and available download information.