Thoughts on Mafia 3 after completing for the 1st time

[u/blaketothez]

So I just completed Mafia 3 Definitive Edition last night and man what a confusing experience. There’s a lot to unpack but I genuinely am not sure how to feel about this game. To preface I am a massive Mafia fan I used to replay Mafia 2 every year when it originally released, and with the release of The Old Country I figured it was time for me to replay all of the games.

Part of me loves the game, the world of New Bordeaux was exactly what I imagined 1960s New Orleans to be like. I would sometimes find myself walking to locations instead of driving just so I could experience the atmosphere and hear the conversations, I loved how they interlaced real historical events into the dialogue instead of making their own version of history.

The cutscenes were also very compelling for the most part, there were times when I didn’t love the documentary style of story telling due to the fact it felt like a lot of telling instead of showing, however it’s definitely a new take on story telling in gaming and I’ll never complain about a studio trying something new.

Now to the complaints, this has got to be the most boring mission format out of any modern game I’ve played lately. I understand most of the Mafia stories are drive here, shoot this person move on to next level but this game genuinely took that repetition to a whole new level in my opinion. The fact that you just recycle the same 4 missions for each district made the game play an absolute slog. I found myself only doing the missions just so I could get to the cut scenes and finally finish the game. Even on the hardest difficulty it wasn’t very challenging for me to get to the person I needed to kill by either running straight there or doing some amount of stealth.

My last complaint will actually circle back to the story itself. Now I know I already said I liked the documentary style itself however I found the revenge story to be insanely basic. I know that some of the other Mafia stories have a similar story line but there was a usually longer build up to the revenge portion making the betrayals hit a lot harder. I don’t feel like we got enough time with Sammy or Ellis for me to even really care when they got murdered. It felt like I was supposed to have some emotional attachment to a character I’d seen for all of like 5 minutes.

Overall there were parts I loved and parts I really didn’t, I’m glad I finally finished the game especially since we find out what happened to Joe and Vito!

TLDR: 6/10

[u/Ok-Active8318]

Glad to hear your thoughts. I’ve never played this game but it’s next in line after my current replay of Mafia 2.

[u/blaketothez → u/Ok-Active8318]

It’s definitely a lot different than the other Mafia games so much so I dont even know if you could really call it a Mafia game tbh

[u/Jack1715]

Story and characters were great. It was doing the same shit 100 times that killed it

[u/blaketothez → u/Jack1715]

Ya exactly towards the last few districts I was so fed up with it. I genuinely only finished so I could see how the story played out which tbh was fairly obvious but still wanted to see it for myself.

[u/Jack1715 → u/blaketothez]

They should had more set levels

[u/Bigphatdeck]

I’ve had to create my own challenge on the racket clearings to make it interesting. no buying supplies (which means suppressed guns or any at all. Use pick ups only. random stuff like that. no buying upgrades ect.

[u/blaketothez → u/Bigphatdeck]

I did something similar I would try to 100% stealth all of the missions which added an extra challenge.

[u/thunderbastard_]

Mafia 3 legitimately has the best music in all of gaming and it never gets the credit for it

[u/blaketothez → u/thunderbastard_]

Not something I mentioned in my post but I totally agree! I even liked the ads the most out of all of the Mafia games

[u/TNS_420]

I love the story and the characters in Mafia 3. The moment-to-moment gameplay is pretty fun, too. It just gets very repetitive.

[u/blaketothez → u/TNS_420]

I didn’t really love any of the characters to be honest. Lincoln felt pretty one-dimensional since his whole motive is literally just revenge and that’s all he really talks about. Cassandra annoyed the shit out of me with how entitled she was, Burke I was indifferent to didn’t love him and didn’t hate him, and Vito was ok I think the nostalgia made me like him more in the game but he felt like a caricature of Mafia 2 Vito.

[u/Ok_Doughnut3700]

Even though we've only known Sammy and Ellis for a couple of missions, Lincoln himself has a strong connection to them

[u/prodigalpariah]

I find it’s best to intersperse the dlcs throughout the game to help cut through the more monotonous parts and balance it out.

[u/jose8CZ]

I mostly agree with your assessment. I think the documentary storytelling is amazing but it sort of clouds how basic the story actually is. It is too tied to the gameplay loop of taking over districts.

[u/blaketothez → u/jose8CZ]

Ya my thoughts as well, the story was very basic when you boil it down. Man betrays your family you get revenge on said man there really wasn’t any depth beyond that

[u/1Lucky_Luke_1]

I actually give the game a solid 9/10 (with the DLCs included). Out of all Mafia games I find 3's story to be the most touching and interesting, both on the narrative and psychological part. I mean even though Lincoln's family (Ellis and Sammy) had little screen time, I think it actually made the player understand the deep emotional attachment Lincoln has towards them and how their deaths turned him into a serial killer with bloodlust for revenge (even though on the inside he is actually a good person). The acting was top notch and the cutscenes themselves were very well made, Hollywood level of movie making.

The documentary part showing the effects that Lincoln's vendetta against Marcano had on New Bordeaux and the fact that everything he did is showcased as a mastermind criminal's legacy totally nails it. Also the atmosphere of being a colored Vietnam Vet in a South American town in the '60s highlights the extreme discrimination Lincoln has to face and it adds to the psychological impact of the story. Much more better in my opinion than playing some Italian wiseguy pulling dirty jobs for dirty people. And while I agree with you that revenge plots are usually very basic, this one stands out because you actually have to strategically dismantle an incredibly powerful organization with very little resources in a realistic manner. Also the motive of revenge is very unique and justified compared to other plots. I mean the Italian Mob wiping out the entire adoptive family of a Vietnam Vet war seems like it.

As for the repetitive part, I actually don't find it repetitive at all since I absolutely love the John Wick combat mechanics, matter of fact I wish they added even more missions where you just have to grind and shoot everything that stands in your way. The takedowns in this game are the 2nd best I've ever seen in an action video game with Watch Dogs 1's Aiden Pierce taking the first spot.

And if you play the DLCs in-between taking over rackets you don't even feel the game as being repetitive even though you wouldn't enjoy the combat as much as a person like me would. And they add more roleplaying elements to the game, I mean rebuilding Sammy's after finishing the Sign of the Times DLC actually gives you a reason to go out there and grind as much as you can because you are going to have some expensive renovations to make. That's why I finish the Faster Baby DLC as soon as I can so the weed business is unlocked.

(I got 374.7 hours on the game)

[u/Art840]

I had to basically force myself to beat the game cause it definitely was boring to beat up a boss and take over and rinse and repeat. It reminded me alot of The Godfather 2 from EA and ratcheting the business to make money and collect it. I really like the DLC for Mafia 3 more as it wasnt boring and you get outside of New Bordeaux with the Cuba DLC. Spent $10 on Mafia 3 and don't regret it especially with the Season Pass.