As someone who throughly enjoyed the original Mafia and Mafia II, I was really excited about this one. I love what the devs tried to do here with the characters and story, but there's just so much wasted potential, especially when it comes to the open world and mechanics that I can't help but feel kinda bothered.

Once you finish the story, there is a free mode for you to walk around Lost Heaven, but despite being a beautifully crafted city, even with all those cars and npcs wandering around, it feels rather empty. There's literally nothing to do, besides searching for collectibles. I loved the Pulp Literature ones, but the mystery foxes are a chore and there's no reward whatsoever for taking the time to find them. There is no side missions, gunplay is fun but limited which doesn't differ very much from the old game, the gas stations scattered around the map are useless because at no point in the game they tell you that you can use them, but even if they did I don't think it matters much because even on classic difficulty I never found myself in the need to use any.

I was also bothered at the fact that they cut out good mission content and rushed a couple stuff, like Paulie and Tommy meeting to take the train and having a mini-tour around the city, the ability to use the train in general would have been a nice way for this Lost Heaven, which is beautiful, to have a purpose beyond the main story, but there is none. If you like collectibles, that's something to look forward to, but not much else.

Cool game, it really is. Incredible graphics, beautiful city, fun story, in-depth realistic characters, which are the main reason I'm recommending this. But there's just so much more they could have done with it that once you realize that there's nothing beyond the city streets, it is kind of disappointing.

Wonderful and immersive walking simulator that puts you in the life of Henry, a man with a lot of trouble in his life who just got a job as a fire lookout in the Wyoming wilderness. You get to spend days alone in the forest, with your only company being Delilah, the supervisor whose cabin you can see in the far distance. As you progress, you get to explore the insanely beautiful forests surrounding Henry's cabin, get to know Delilah a little better and unravel a mystery that only escalates from the first time you come across it. This game is beautiful and it gives you plenty freedom to explore your surroundings which are honestly astounding and I spent more time than necessary just walking around and snapping pictures, which you should do too, if you're playing this game. Lovely experience, from beginning to end.

Turnip Boy is an incredible game overall, but this installment is a very noticeable improvement on the last. A genuinely fun game that although longer than CTE, can easily be finished in an afternoon. Is that a bad thing? Not at all, this game makes masterful use of the time at your disposal, taking you through interesting locations and secrets to discover, missions to complete, and a lot of interesting npcs to meet with the ridiculous humor that characterizes them (which I love). I loved the upgrade system for weapons and Turnip Boy, being able to use the dark web to access certain items, and the opportunity to return to the bank again and again for heists. I had the time of my life, and I really appreciate that the Turnip Boy lore has expanded to this point.