This is a generic film but with a lot of potential, the engine, the fighting, the shooting even the side characters have a lot of qualities, the city is amazing, the cars, the radio.

But the main character doesn't make any sense, it's so out of the place, this doesn't not look like any of the first 2 games, this looks like a Die Hard game or a generic Steven Seagal vengeance flick and when they try to implement Mafia things into it, it feels odd because it's ridiculous.

The beautiful thing about the first two games is that you are always reminded that you are a nobody, to be someone would be impossible because you are not made, you are not part of a family, you have no money, you work and do everything that someone asks, you can be someone, but you would never be the top guy.

While the two games have different lessons, the first is about family and redemption and the second is about friendship and loyalty, this one is about killing and only killing, the thing is, killing is nothing and soulless without feeling.

There's an incredible foundation here and even then they needed a much, a much better screenplay to pull this off.

Finally, base game and DLCs are done.

Base Game - 6 - Had great potential but main mission design was just awful.
Faster, Baby! - 5 - I can live with this. Short but you grow weed so... win?
Stones Unturned - 8 - I wish this was the main game.
Sign of the Times - 3 - Stay away from me

Overall Score: 6 - I had fun with this game, even with all these flaws. But can't recommend to everyone.

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.

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.

the story is cool but the documentary segments I felt like was just an excuse for them to tell the events that were about to unfold rather than show them through the gameplay. I would've liked it more if they combined all of those little cutscenes together and made it one actual documentary about Lincoln Clay that you unlocked post-game.

the gunplay is the best in the series. the gameplay loop for taking every district was very interesting but it lost it's luster after the second district I had taken over and it just got extremely repetitive.

the police in this game are a literal joke and were much more threatening in Mafia 2 as they had the ability to remember your outfit/physical appearance and license plate. getting every collectible was not worth it and there was no tommy inspired outfit.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Now this is an interesting one!

There's a lot more to do in the open world of Mafia 3 than the previous instalments but unfortunately it is far more generic and full of far more open world game bloat as a consequence. Every area has you doing the same repetitive mission types - steal the car, kill the man, blow up the thing etc - until you've done enough damage to operations to access the sub-boss encounter. Best a couple of them and you'll unlock the area boss, which is usually where Mafia 3's best interactions lie, with cool, bespoke environments for the battles and they're full of action-packed set pieces. In the previous two games, you just moved from mission to mission and a much more linear approach here would've made for a much more enjoyable game. It's those endless
repetitive missions... they pad out a top drawer 10-12 hour game into something nearer to 30.

What keeps Mafia 3 compelling throughout is the narrative. Expanding on the ideas touched upon in the first two games, Mafia 3 is a really well-written and really brave look at a particular time period, not only capturing the atmosphere and vibe effortlessly but refusing to shy away from the gigantic shadow of racism that loomed (and to be fair, still looms) over parts of the USA. It tackles the subject head-on, with unflinching use of racist slurs and iconography throughout the game to leave you with a constant feeling of unease around many of the characters, even those who are supposedly on your side. It captures the tension, the disgust and the anger through a good story, a great script and some incredible performances.

There's a few slightly half-baked attempts at incorporating racism into in-game elements, such as police response time varying and certain areas being no-go zones but those are all found quite quickly to be a bit unimportant in the overall experience.

The game is still pretty buggy, despite this 'Definitive Edition' having a bunch of patches and extra content and there's a lot of time spent with Mafia 3 doing a lot of things I've binned many an open world game off for doing but the story told here of Lincoln Clay's one-man revenge mission against a backdrop of racism in a fictionalised New Orleans was interesting enough to keep me on board until the credits rolled.

A rare, genuinely well-written videogame.

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.