PlayStation 4 Critic Reviews

It’s refreshing to see a game tackle hard issues so earnestly, and I can honestly say this is a story which will stay with me long after playing.

Mafia 3 will divide the audience; it's forced to live halfway between the technical problems and the excellence of a truly overwhelming narrative.

When Mafia III gets things right, it really gets things right. It has the kind of soundtrack and vibe that most other games would kill to have, and it's built around an incredibly compelling protagonist. It's nowhere close to being perfect, but there's enough good stuff here that, ultimately, it's hard to stay too mad at Mafia III.

Mafia III is a game full of contrasts. It has some issues, but its vision of the gang world makes it very attractive as a sandbox. The narrative, the historical context and the music are just amazing. If you can forgive its technical troubles, you will see that Lincoln Clay has the strength of a hurricane.

It wouldn’t be surprising for Mafia III to emerge as the AAA game with the best story of 2016 as Lincoln Clay’s revenge tale, and its wonderful documentary-style presentation, are engrossing from beginning to end, with a host of unique characters that make New Bordeaux feel unlike anywhere else in video games. You’d be hard pressed to find a game that presents some of the most shameful times in our nation’s history in a more elegant way, though the realism that comes from being so on the nose is shocking.

Mafia III has so many technical issues that it's really hard to ignore them. But the game is something you should try because of the way Hangar 13 has dealt with the racism issue. Everyone should play this game and learn the hard way how terrible racism can be.

Mafia III took me through a grand tale of loss and, in the end, after all of my macho escapades, I was left more empty, realizing no amount of killing could change what was done. For that reason, Mafia III is not a game to be missed by anyone.

Hangar 13 has done a great job with the setting and building an atmospheric world, but some visual issues and repetitive tasks make it less enjoyable than it could've been. Still, it's a game that fans of open-world action will like.

Mafia's return is a bittersweet one. On one hand, there are several visual issues that burden the game, and the feeling of being an errand boy completing repetitive missions is always there. On the other hand, Hangar 13 ha created a world with its own personality, a really interesting city and the soundtrack selection is superb. The adult, violent and vengeance-themed plot is another remarkable point.

It’s a diamond in the rough, though, and this jankiness is a mild distraction at worst. The appeal of Mafia III is the stories it tells – both the textual narrative, and the multitude of emergent ones that come from simply existing in a place as rich and complex as New Bordeaux. It certainly has its flaws, but in balancing the over-the-top action of a crime game with a pointed look at real-life racism, and in its fantastic re-creation of the ‘60s American South, Mafia III has achieved something special.