Lincoln Clay uses a shotgun with the same unbounded fury and artistry as Jimi Hendrix. Someone once described Jimi Hendrix's music as sounding like heavy metal falling from the sky. When you boot up Mafia III and his rendition of All Along the Watchtower immediately assults you on the title screen, you get a real reminder of provocative and overwhelming his music was/is. It's penetrative. Then you load into the game and Lincoln Clay blasts some racist Mafia goon clear across a table in the same manner of gooey operatic violence often associated in a Tarantino movie, and you're suddenly baring witness to another form of overwhelming penetrative fury, the righteous fury of Lincoln Clay's shotgun.

Nice to see a game tackle American racism so directly and confrontationally as Mafia III. It's a shame it's in such a repetitive game. And in a game that's torn on being a Mafia game with a Mafia system instead of just being a pure story about Lincoln Clay fighting the racism in his city. This should have been more of a game about New Bordeaux with characters who offered more than mobster-isms. I got side tracked on my way to the final quest objective and wound up embroiled in a surreal, horrifying quest about the racist cult of New Bordeaux that offered up some history on the city and widened the perspective of the game just a smidge beyond Lincoln's quest for revenge, and I thought what a shame this game couldn't have been more of this and less fucking up the same enforcers over and over again.

Part of me wishes this could have been a linear chapter-by-chapter game as every questline in Mafia III is leading to these unique setpiece gunfights that could legitimately be their own level, fleshed out in more detail. Part of feels like the actual missed opportunity is not giving you more time and room to explore the city map and experience racism that's there but ultimately winds up feeling more optional than a genuine part of your typical game experience. Instead of driving to a random alley 6 times to shoot up some racists, what if it was one per racket and the only way to recon the area was to explore the city and inhabit it. Early on you have to go to a segregated bar as part of a mission and get told you'll be arrested if you remain. Why was this not explored more, I don't know.

But I enjoyed the game overall for what it offered regardless. It's a bit of a curiosity in modern gaming. Maybe only Red Dead Redemption II comes close, and that still only included racism as more of an easter egg. Lincoln Clay doesn't have the privilege Arthur Morgan in only experiencing racism via some nut handing out racist pamphlets. More games need a Lincoln Clay.

This game very easily has the best story and characters of this series but it's bogged down by how mind numbing the gameplay is.

Also I would like to call out that idiot who has a review of this game on this site calling it "woke" because it literally just depicted what the time frame this game takes place in is like.

Bro you're an idiot lmao.

Played on PS5

The most generous six out of 10 I can possibly give; I never want to play an open world game that is designed like this ever again (Google "Sunk Cost Fallacy"). The whiplash I felt between one of the greatest stories I've experienced in gaming and some of the most repetitive mind numbing tasks ever in an open world game was simultaneously infuriating and confusingly addicting.

The story, writing, and acting/animation is on par with the first two games in that it is fucking stellar! Every actor brings their A-game and the script itself expands upon the first two games' themes while being its own thing completely: taking down the Mafia from the outside as opposed to working your way through the ranks internally (which I thought was a cool way to differentiate itself from the previous games)! The design of the New Borudoux is super authentic to 1968 and the addition of actual Albums, Playboy mags / articles, and paintings from the era gives this game a phenomenal sense of authenticity and attention to time period detail.

When the game first started, I thought the side missions were going to be on par with the likes of Red Dead Redemption 2 and Marvel's Spider-Man 2, but, unfortunately, as the game goes along it is very evident that all of the interesting cut-scenes and dialogues that you have with side NPCs are relegated to the first few missions and the cutscene quality within side missions downgrades exponentially (the cutscenes and their cinematography remain, however, more and more of them begin using the in-game animation, as opposed to the highly realistic pre-rendered cut scenes, which I assume is due to a lack of development time).

Completing a checklist of menial tasks over and over again for every single underboss in every district got tiring after the fourth hour of the game. Once a Racket’s checklist is completed, a main story mission (or two) is unlocked, but this method of dulling out the story was honestly so frustrating. I played for roughly 56 Hours completing all the main DLC story missions prior to the main missions themselves because they don't require nearly as much obnoxious shit to be done in order to progress (not to mention, the individual and partially isolated stories told within the DLC sections are exceptional and on par with the quality of the main story thematically and in presentation).

The main problem lies in the fact that the game tries to be more like an Ubisoft open world while maintaining the linear and exceptionally well done story of the first two Mafia games, and the balancing act completely fails because the same tasks are repeated at nauseam throughout the entire game besides a few street races or Rescue missions here and there. The fact that the game is no longer linear means that the lack of fast travel in the open world drags on as many tasks have you driving from one end of the map to the other and it's tedious as all hell. A balance could have worked, but thanks to this new skewed design, the cops and their interaction with the player has been significantly simplified from the previous games which is a shame; traffic laws hardly matter anymore as long as you don't hit anybody which takes away from the more realistic feeling world compared to GTA that this series was known for up until this point.

Driving itself is still fun and the gun-play is serviceable but the only reason I stuck with the game for so long is because the story gripped me from the start (the first 3 hours felt like a traditional Mafia game before the bloated and repetitive mission structure began to take over). I liked the ending I got...
...with Lincoln leaving town & Vito ruling the city.

The game, for the most part looks beautiful, but runs sloppily even on PlayStation 5. The Weather changes are sporadic and very glitchy, and a lot of the time reflections don't work properly coupled with a draw distance that clips environments/models in and out (while I got used to it, it was very distracting for the first dozen or so hours).

If you can get this game on sale and really liked the first two games, I would definitely say try it out and make up your own opinion. By the end I was rushing through some of the tasks on an easier difficulty to experience the story, because completing everything to 100% completion is mind numbing and in my opinion not very fun. With all that said, however, the game was very ambitious and my final score reflects the craft in the art direction, period detail, and how much I enjoyed the story.

P.S. I loved the radio stations, but the songs repeated themselves waaaaay too often, but I do understand licensing popular Classic Rock & Blues from the 60's is probably a lot more expensive than the jazz and early rock 'n' roll of the 40s and 50s from the previous two games.

DLCs included? i think this game is a goddamn riot.
I honestly don't think this game deserves to get as much hate as it did. I definitely vibed with the vibe they was going with. including the DLCs aswell.

However i ALSO admit that this shouldn't stand as a sequel to the Mafia games. more like a spin-off to be honest. but they had to give it the title so it sells so it is what it is.

I liked the game. but i definitely disliked the repetitive bullshit missions. so i kicked back with my personal playlist and made something out of it and it worked. like a f**ked up recipe baked well enough.

Juro que tentei ao máximo jogar, ainda mais pelo fato de que eu amo demais essa franquia, mas...

O jogo tem um início forte com personagens fortes e reviravoltas intensas, mas é só isso. Depois disso é uma repetição eterna em um mundo sem vida e com uma quantidade de bugs tão absurda e uma falta de polimento que chega a ser desrespeitoso com o consumidor.

Lincoln Clay é um protagonista incrível em um jogo que poderia ter sido uma continuação digna de um dos melhores jogos "GTA-like" já feitos, porém só cai no esquecimento com uma fórmula pior do que os jogos da Ubisoft e uma falta de polimento tão absurda que na maioria das vezes parece até aqueles jogos em Early Development feito por 2 pessoas na Unity.

Por mais que a jogabilidade seja divertida e ele tem sim alguns pontos positivos, eles nunca vão sobrepor o tanto de negativos que esse jogo tem e o quão desrespeitoso isso é com o consumidor que paga preço cheio pra receber um produto meia-boca.

Played from – to: (2020-11-04 – 2020-12-13)
‣ 8/10 – An underrated gem in the trilogy.
‣ Game Audio / Soundtrack - 10/10
‣ Graphics – 9/10
‣ Atmosphere – 8/10
‣ Main Story / Characters – 8/10
‣ Side Activities / Exploration – 6/10
‣ AI – 5/10
‣ Ragdolls / Physics – 9/10
‣ Movement – 10/10
‣ Voice acting – 10/10
‣ Combat – 7/10
‣ DLC – 9/10
‣ Final notes: Ironically this game is the best out of the trilogy for me. Yes many say it’s the worst, however for me that is not the case. I felt the most enjoyment playing this game and had the most amount of interest to finish it through-out the whole story. Indeed the gameplay is very boring and repetitive most of the time, but the story and its characters kept me interested how all of this will turn out. I should mention that the dlcs are so different compared to the base game. Not only do they offer a very different quest package but their characters are great and those little stories really stand out. With all that they also add new gameplay features mostly used only in those dlcs but some stay and support your gameplay through the main story line. Overall I felt the most enjoyment and interest paying this game out of the whole trilogy and I think the repetitive gameplay does not kill the game because the story keeps you engaged. P.S what the fuck is wrong with this games AI? The NPCS are suicidal maniacs who jump right in the middle of the road and try to role play road kill. I must’ve killed over 100 people just by simply driving. But I have to say driving in this game is one of the smoothest shit I’ve ever seen in such open world games.

The base story is a documentary type video that goes over what Lincoln Clay did, and I did like it, seeing all these people try to make the most of a world that creates monsters, both how the US government and the Mafia played a role in the creation of what Lincoln becomes. While the Hatian Mob, and the IRA were neat starting out they did not get much characterization that wasn't locked behind a tedious grind. Vito though, while I do think him meeting a grizzly end is better, Lincoln is not that guy to give it to him, so him giving Vito hope works better. It was also neat seeing the bad guys and how they develop as Lincoln slowly destroys their empire. Where it falls apart is the gameplay loop, shit is just so annoying to deal with, "do x and go to x until reach number" is just so soul sucking and you have to drive from one end of the map to the other god fuck. The cover shooting is at its best but everything else, from variety to fucking melee is take to pre Mafia 1 levels. If this was all streamlined I could easily have put this up there with Mafia 2, maybe even above it.

This is a very buggy, repetitive, and at times just ugly game. Making the player complete the same tasks over and over again for around 30 hours is a decision that shouldn’t have been made in any world. I had so many loading screens hang on black and had a 60% chance after finishing every mission of the camera being stuck somewhere while I can still move Lincoln around. At night, the city comes alive but during the day it doesn’t look great at all, especially when it’s raining.

Now, why would I give it four stars even after all that bitching? Because the gameplay loop is incredibly addictive, it’s better written than most games I’ve played including it’s obvious inspiration of GTA, the soundtracks both licensed and original are stellar, and it nailed its setting perfectly.

The guns pack a punch and feel incredible. The violence is blunt and brutal in a way that most games shy away from. It’s stylized like the mafia movies it’s paying homage to, nailing it in the same way GTA IV did.

It feels nails the driving feeling better than 90% of games with almost every vehicle riding the line perfectly of feeling like you’re barely in control of this giant hunk of metal speeding down the road while simultaneously never feeling entirely too out of control.

Hanger 13 could have easily shied away from the harder to stomach parts of the civil rights era American South, but the honesty in which they portrayed the fucking evil of the time (which sadly has never really gone away), is hard to stomach, but commendable. The amount of slurs you hear per minute of game is shocking but for the time I’d imagine fairly accurate, and in my opinion would probably have taken away from the authenticity they were going for if they pulled those punches.

The writing is incredible and the amount of care they put into every one of the characters, even the evil ones, don’t ever too far into the cartoony.

It’s also worth mentioning how the DLCs are just incredibly well done mini campaigns that each have a new side activity to sink money into.

I can perfectly understand why people don’t like this game, but I enjoyed it quite a lot. I’m glad I gave it a shot despite all the negativity I’ve heard about it over the years.

After finally playing the game I definitely understand the issues people had with this game. It's ... unnecessarily drawn out. There is so much good stuff in there, both gameplay- and story-wise but most of your playtime is spent doing repetitive open world stuff.

However, I was prepared for that. I kept hearing about it and decided to just take my time with the game and while it definitely dragged the experience down, I just listened to some YT videos on the side and had fun sneaking through enemy territory and conquering the city. The stealth system is actually quite fun and the animations of the executions are brutal and cathartic.

The storyline has a fantastic beginning and while it's mostly pretty tame over the course of the game it still offers some real highlights and character moments. I'm particularly fond of the documentation style they went for to tell the narrative.

The ending I chose also really worked for me and I liked that they gave me this choice.

Would've been a 3/5 if the DLCs weren't bundled with the Definitive Edition because those are a real treat and some of the best content of the game.

An improvement over the second game. The graphics are better, and the gameplay is more crisp. The story is better too. But like every godforsaken game where you have to conquer zone by zone, the gameplay can get very, very repetitive. Playing through the DLCs was the only time it felt like there was any content.

Another thing that pisses me off is there are a lot of game-breaking bugs. It forces you to reload a checkpoint, which ruins the immersion.

In terms of characters, Lincoln is definitely the most beastly of the three protagonists so far. The way he brutally deals with his enemies prove he's a force to be reckoned with, and that's something I really like about him.

a narrative whose political boldness in the AAA space is only matched by the machinegames wolfensteins that you might not wanna see all of if the safest of checklist gameplay loops gets on your nerves

i dropped this game the first time i tried it
i had played through the reimagining of the first and the definitive release of the second mafia games before giving this a proper shot back when they were all put out
i was hooked by the narrative and how focused it was for the first few hours or so, but once what you're actually gonna be doing for the majority of your playthrough revealed itself to me
combined with it running like shit on my system of the time
i bid farewell to this and figured i'd finish it later when i had a better machine and some mods that helped the game out

fast forward three years and i did just that
the mods were very basic and i only implemented them after giving the vanilla experience another shot
things like improving the crosshair and adding a few more immersive elements (that i later began to dislike but i will not blame the game for that or account for it here, this game isn't built to play with rules that the other mafia games have and that's what i was trying to go for)
and hey, the game was butter smooth on my current system which is relatively mid range these days
but what wasn't smooth was the game's general technical polish
because there were enough times that i had to reload checkpoints or reset the game entirely (when the game wasn't doing it for me - this thankfully didn't happen often but it was more than a couple) that i felt like even noting it here
the game generally doesn't look very good for the time it came out either and i don't mean the graphical fidelity itself
the anti aliasing solution is incredibly frustrating and as a fan of the newer resident evil games that's saying something
the colors are also very washed out, an issue that the definitive edition made worse
thankfully, one of the mods i implemented was a reshade that is the most downloaded mod for this game on nexusmods
this is as someone who normally doesn't like most reshade presets you'll find online

but that really isn't the core issue with this game - i have played and greatly enjoyed games with far worse technical issues
this game is a fucking slog to get through
the moment to moment gameplay is great, i do not have an issue with any of the actual gunplay
the driving is so-so, it's vastly improved when you have access to better vehicles and it doesn't take long to get there
the actual blueprint for what you do makes sense, this game would not have been as effective if it was linear in the same way the other games were considering what it is trying to go for
no, what sucks is that there's so fucking much of it to do and it's all the same simple bullshit
talk to a dude who knows something about a district's racket, go around the district and hit up locations to fuck shit up and cause a lot of damage
get the runners of these rackets pissed so they show up at a place that you've probably already been to
and go end their shit (or not, you can spare people in this game but i can't comment on whether it's worth it or not because i killed all these dudes)
assign the racket to your chosen buddy and move on
do that twice in a district, get the story missions that actually have effort put into their structure
and move on until you've cleared the map
then end the game
it's really that simple
there is no big mechanical twist, there is no massive upgrade to your arsenal that makes the gameplay suddenly exciting
you just get incrementally better at doing what was already pretty easy to do in the first place
it's barebones as hell and by god is that a shame

this is some of my favorite writing in AAA gaming and its solely because of its bluntness
america being a racist shithole that will chew up and spit out every black body it can is a given
there is no question, no counter point to rebuke the evil that is the american empire
lincoln clay is a monster of america's creation
a black boy shipped out to vietnam and taught to do far worse than kill who comes back and is immediately taken advantage of by a white man that sees an opportunity
a man motivated by his deep pockets that sees clay and his family as nothing more than slurs to be used
a crime boss, a businessman, an owner of capital that fails to tie up that one loose end
and every bit of pain, rage and cunning that the state gave clay is what that man will get in return
and new bordeaux becomes yet another battlefield where non combatants are hurt the most

the characters are fairly consistent in that nuance, though it falls short of the highs that previous titles could hit
i think it makes up for that in its boldness and frame - taking down the racist cunts that think spewing slurs is a personality is very cathartic
rarely is this challenged - it's often egged on, and one can't really blame anybody for wanting this
but the game's best character comes in the form of the sole voice of dissent
watching a few clips of father james is all you really need to see what i'm getting at when i say just how utterly disappointing it is to play through all this slop
because the folks over at hangar 13 were capable of creating a character whose emotional ressonance alone completely makes this game
he is one of the reasons to go through this - i love every scene this man is in (in the main game - the dlcs suck and you should only do faster baby, that is my review of the dlcs)
he completely grounds the games events, primarily through the game's novel framing of being a documentary about the events that take place within the game itself
it's him talking about lincoln, expressing all of his sadness and regret of enabling lincoln to do what he does
shit like that, the nuance in what is on the surface pretty straight forward writing is what elevates the mafia games and seperates them from the muck that this game specifically would otherwise be

i think you should definitely play this, there's a LOT of stuff that i did not talk about because of that, but install mods that either half the racket damage or completely disable it (do the former, it's the main way you get a decent chunk of your money in the game but you also really don't need it if you just rush faster baby and get the silenced mac 10 lol)
because this game is, again, a slog and it's very frustrating given how excellent this game's writing tends to be

this is the rebuttal to every shit head that said mafia should be an open world game first and foremost

started this around the time when it first released and finally got around to booting it back up and playing it through to the end. remembered pretty early on why i first abandoned it years ago but this time around i was able to look past its repetition because the themes of America's deep-rooted racism and appropriation are portrayed brilliantly and it pulls zero punches in making the player feel the immense weight of every moment. the game certainly isn't without its fair share of flaws but i found this somewhat unfairly maligned. every complaint regarding the structural gameplay loop is valid and it did begin to feel grating after a while but in every other respect this checked all my boxes. the shift from its predecessors focusing on the mafia's interior while this follows a protagonist committed to tearing it down is an extremely bold direction, and the superb writing and character development really elevate this past its hiccups. would put the soundtrack up with Vice City as one of the best in gaming as well.

I'm probably kinder to this game than the rest of the world but I really do think it's great. Hangar 13 may not be great at filling their worlds with interesting gameplay content but they sure do know how to set a scene. The opening sequence is fantastic which transports you to this fictionalized New Orleans in the 60's and gives you a firm understanding of the characters and their motivations. The story being through a documentary structure with interviews and old footage is an inspired choice that works really well. Lincoln Clay is a great protaganist and the supporting cast is also wonderful with the cynical and hilarious CIA agent, John Donovan, and the the relucatantly supportive priest, Father James.The game is absolutely not afraid to shy away from the horrors of the setting with Lincoln Clay frequently encountering racism. This is used well in the story but is also woven into the gameplay as Lincoln can't enter certain stores without the cops being called and the cops being less responsive in poorer areas in New Bordeaux. With so many games being terrified of taking a side or being "too political", it's refreshing to see a game present this stuff for what it is.

For the gameplay, there is a very obvious point of criticism and it is the repetition. I actually don't dislike the loop but it is undeniably repetitive. You're taksed with taking down the various rackets throughout New Bordeaux. First you have to cause a certain amount of damage to the racket such as killing enforcers or destroying assets. This then draws out the rackets boss who you have to go kill or turn over to your side. Doing this twice in one district then allows you to go after the lieutenant or capo of that district which are essentially the main story missions. There is 18 rackets to take over so you'll be doing a lot asset destroying. The racket business is different for each one to create an air of variety but you'll be doing mostly the same stuff every time. You sneak into an area to kill someone or blow stuff up. The gunplay is really solid though and I felt the need to use different guns for different scenarios. The stealth is fairly simple but mostly satisfying. There's often vehicles you can randonly encounter driving around that your can blow up or tail. As bad as tailing missions are in games, I give Mafia 3 some credit for having probably the best tailing system in games ever as you're actually penalized for having a giant gap between you and the vehicle your tailing with no cars in between you. For some reason, that was always the thing that annoyed me the most about tailing missions rather than the tedium. Anyway, the worst part of the repitition is when a racket boss is in an area that you already cleared out in the asset destruction part. This can mostly be avoided if you know what assets to focus on but it is pretty annoying when it happens. I did quite enjoy sneaking into the areas as there are usually a few entrances and ways to tackle them.

When you actually get take down the lieutenant and capos in the main story missions, they are pretty good. You don't see a lot of these characters for very long but they leave an impression in their cutscenes with some very strong performances. As repetitive as taking down the rackets can be, these missions are pretty distinctive and memorable. They are also often enhanced by a fantastic selection of licensed music. These songs can also be listened to on the radio while in cars but they are used very well throughout the story.

When you claim a district, you can assign it to one of your three underbosses. They offer different services and a set of upgrades depending on how many districts you're willing to assign to them. They can ever turn against you if you don't give them any districts. It's not a particularly deep system but it gives a fun sense of progression and some decisions to make if you would rather have more health or more ammo capacity.

The DLC included in the Definitive Edition is pretty good. It doesn't have any rackets to take over so it strictly sticks to the more linear story missions which are mostly good. I liked having a weed business even if cash mostly becomes useless by the end of the game. Rebuilding Sammy's Bar was also a nice satisfying side activity.

I do really enjoy the game even if I am very understanding of why people got sick of the gameplay loop pretty quickly. The main reason I'm not rating it higher is the unfortunate amount of bugs. The game was famously buggy on release and there's still quite a few here in this so-called "Definitive Edition", some of which are actually new for this release. I really do think Hangar 13 have some talent and I'm not sure if the team still exists as it was so I don't know what the future holds for this series but I like what they managed to produce, warts and all.

Mafia III is a very intriguing game. On one hand, it is an incredible tale about revenge and the criminal underworld filled with amazing characters and awesome story moments. On the other, it's an overly bloated game that is a slog to get through that makes you wonder if it's worth completing.

When the game decides to move the plot along, this is easily the best story in the series to date. Lincoln had his entire family killed by a figurehead of the Italian mafia, so it's up to him to avenge them. Everything about it was amazing and I couldn't wait to see what would happen next.

The characters in this game were amazing as well. By the end of this, Lincoln ended up being my favorite protagonist in the series. I especially loved him and his friendship with Donovan. The two had great chemistry together and I would love to see more of them. The rest of the cast was great in their own right, but those two stood out to me the most.

Once again, this series continues to nail the aesthetic of the time period it takes place. This game takes place in 1960s America, a very hectic time to say the least. They nailed the look, the sound, the atmosphere, and of course the music during that time.

The world map is once again great. Past entries have taken place in locations inspired by Chicago and New York City. This time, the city's inspiration was New Orleans. Driving around the city was fun and I enjoyed seeing all the different locations on the map.

The gameplay was okay at best. The guns handled fine and driving felt good. The melee combat system was nothing amazing, but it played well enough. It's nothing too noteworthy.

After reading all that praise, one would wonder why I gave this game such a low score. One word: racketeers. To progress through the story, the player must complete these missions. There are two located in every district and you must complete all of them. But what are these racketeer missions and why are they so bad?

After talking to someone at a specific location, Lincoln must go around town taking away a certain amount of money in order to draw out a mob boss to kill them. There are multiple ways to do this: killing someone, stealing money, damaging property, etc. This seems like a fine idea on paper, but the execution was horrible for multiple reasons.

The main reason why these missions are unbearable is that they take way too long. As mentioned before, there are a variety of ways to complete the mission, however, the locations are so spread out. You could be at the farthest end of the city and have to drive to another section entirely. Not only that, some locations are locked behind an informant Lincoln must interrogate to continue with the mission. After you reach the goal, you must head back to your contact and they tell you that the mob boss is in panic mode and gives you their location. The catch is, there is a chance that their location could be a place you just left so that means you have to drive right back to it. That is a complete waste of time.

It's because of the lengths of these missions I started sending mob squads in before me to wipe out most of the enemies. Is it cheating? Yes. Do I care? No. At that point, I was done messing with those missions and wanted to move on with the game.

Another reason why the racketeer missions aren't the best is their inconsistent difficulty. Some of them are fairly simple to complete. You'll barely run into any problems. Other times they are very difficult. There is no in-between.

I didn't bother with DLC for this game. As I said, I reached a point where I just wanted to finish the game and move on. Maybe someday I'll go back to finish it.

It's a shame this game had to be bogged down by racketeer missions. Underneath it is a great game that has some of the best writing in the series to date. Instead, it's a chore to get through and a relief when you finally do manage to finish it.