Mafia III Reviews

Republished on Tuesday, 19th May, 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of Mafia III: Definitive Edition. The original text follows.

With a great narrative and intelligent writing Mafia III’s story holds up great but the fact that players have to deal with a repetitive mission structure while facing off against poor AI with easy to use but unimaginative mechanics means that it will often feel like work to actually see the gem of a story hidden beneath the dated gameplay.

While it could have used some better side quests and maybe a bit more graphical polish, Mafia III's narratives is one of my favorites in 2016 so far.

Mafia 3 is the latest installment in the Mafia series from Hangar 13, published by 2K games. Set in 1968 in the fictional adaptation of New Orleans, New Bordeaux, it follows the story of Lincoln Clay. Returning from Vietnam and re-engaging with the black mafia, Lincoln’s world is thrown upside down when his mob family is brutally murdered around him.  After “recovering”, his sole purpose is revenge. No one is safe from Lincoln’s dream of becoming the new top dog.

Like the era it paints, Mafia III feels like a relic. It’s dated, has obvious flaws, and doesn’t hold up particularly well when compared to a lot of modern works. Most damning, it’s rarely in tune with itself, often contradicting itself in big ways. It’s tough to not feel like Lincoln Clay deserved better than this.

Mafia 3 might have been born on the bayou, but once you’ve taken in its sights, sounds and society, the gameplay feels a bit like waking up with a horse’s head in your bed.

Mafia III is the debut title of Take-Two owned, Hangar 13, and it has some lofty expectations to meet. The title had a huge amount of hype behind it, and we at COGConnected were very impressed last month when we had some hands-on time with the game. Now armed with the full version of the game, where we witness a brilliant opening sequence, does the game hold up under prolonged exposure? Read on.

Bored on the bayou.

It’s an enjoyable experience all throughout but that “experience” gets disrupted with sudden game breaking bugs and graphical glitches that ruin the whole bunch. Even if the enemy A.Is are not smart as I thought they would be, the story and great supporting characters has kept me pushing forward towards the end. Mafia III is still a good starter for newcomers into the franchise but that’s until Hangar 13 fixes those annoying bugs and visual hiccups.

No summary available

An enthralling open-world crime drama tarnished only by a few largely inoffensive bugs, Mafia 3 succeeds in delivering an involving story with great shooting and stealth gameplay. Repetitive missions and a lack of polish mar the experience, but you'll still have a ton of fun playing Mafia 3.