BrightFlame Mafia: Definitive Edition Review

When it comes to Mafia: Definitive Edition, the first thing you want to say is forget about GTA comparisons. This isn't a sandbox where the open world is the main attraction. Here, Lost Heaven (though it's a visually diverse city) serves more as a gorgeous but static backdrop for the unfolding drama. And you don't shoot nearly as often as you might expect – you'll spend almost as much time behind the wheel. Speaking of shooting – unlike the second and third numbered entries in the series, this is definitely not an arcade shooter. Health only regenerates to a laughable minimum, forcing you to frantically search for medkits. Ammo is worth its weight in gold, and your portable arsenal is limited to one long gun and one pistol/sawed-off (weapon selection is also modest – about five options in each category plus a few melee weapons). Enemies, even on medium difficulty, don't forgive mistakes, and while there aren't many of them, each one can cause problems. This forces you to act more carefully and think tactically rather than just spraying lead everywhere. The melee combat feels weak though. It's too primitive – punch, dodge, counter-attack, finish. Even Mafia II had more complex and definitely more fun fighting. It's not a huge problem since there aren't many fistfights in the game, but they're sometimes mandatory, and the combat system makes them feel rough. As for driving, it's definitely more arcade-like than the original Mafia from twenty years ago, but it's still far from carefree cruising GTA-style. Cars feel weighty and temperamental in their own way, and that infamous race can fray your nerves even on medium difficulty if your racing sim experience is limited to a couple of GTA sessions. Beyond that race, you'll find a few chases where you'll need to work hard not to crash and keep your target in sight (especially with motorcycles and their terrible handling). Still, both the race and chases are fairly difficult – you can learn to drive better in a couple of hours or just memorize the track/city route. But there's one moment in the game that personally filled me with rage – the turret sequence in the "A Trip to the Country" mission. Reviews vary, but many who played with keyboard and mouse will confirm: it's some ridiculous difficulty spike that breaks the game's rhythm and causes pure frustration (seriously, check the Steam discussions – it's a widespread problem). I had to struggle with it considerably, and it wasn't enjoyable. The game's heart – the story – is carefully carried over from the original. It's the same powerful gangster saga about rise and fall, but with completely rewritten dialogue and newly staged cutscenes. Thanks to this, the story feels fresher and perhaps even more realistic: characters became more three-dimensional, and their motivations clearer. Visually, the game looks solid. The city is beautiful, detailed, and the era is captured with attention to detail. But you can tell the budget wasn't sky-high: facial animations didn't blow minds even at release, and character movements outside cutscenes and tightly scripted gameplay moments are sometimes frankly wooden. Despite all the beauty, the atmosphere falls slightly short of Mafia II in my opinion. The color palette feels somewhat pastel, and characters seem slightly stylized, making the picture lose some of that grim, "dirty" realism that hooked you in the second game. The musical score is new, quite quality and atmospheric, but no melody gets permanently stuck in your head like the Mafia II soundtrack did. Sound is also at a good level, but nothing revelatory. What deserves praise are the modern conveniences (quality of life improvements). You can change difficulty at any moment, mini-map navigation is excellently supplemented with hints in the form of road signs right on the streets, and optional drives between missions can be skipped. Though if you have companions in the car, you shouldn't skip – you risk missing interesting dialogue that develops the characters. Bottom line: Mafia: Definitive Edition is genuinely a good story-driven game. It's a good gangster drama. It's a great, if not hardcore, driving simulator set in 1930s America. It's a tense shooter that demands precision. Yes, the game isn't the most expensive, has an uneven difficulty curve, and lacks revolutionary ideas. But this is one of those cases where a time-tested story, presented with respect and proper effort, can still captivate. It's definitely worth playing at least once – the game has been selling for well below full price on sales for a long time now. 8 out of 10