People are pretty hard on this game, and not necessarily for the wrong reasons. The game is repetitive and generic in many areas. The game is littered with mundane missions like delivery runs and gang shootouts which is pretty much all you will be doing in the open world; even with all of its DLC's installed you will be hard pressed to find anything to do to break up the monotony of the main games district takeover system which is the same thing over and over again: talk to an informant, interrogate some mobsters, hit a few racket operations and the main base, talk to the operative AGAIN to learn where the boss is, go to the main base AGAIN to kill the boss and repeat 9 times until the last mission. Hardly riveting stuff. However if you're someone who can put up with you're average AAA open world grind then there is a lot to like in this game. Sure it is no Mafia II or even Mafia I when it comes to story telling, in fact I think the greatest crime this game commits is calling itself Mafia III, because it shares so little with the previous instalments in the series, however it does have its own charm and a surprisingly genuine social commentary on the racist and xenophobic culture of the south US in the 1960's. The characters are largely well written, Lincoln Clay most of all and it even brings back some familiar faces from the previous game. The opening and finale in this game is fantastic and there is a surprising amount of choice in how the game progresses thanks to the underboss storylines. The gameplay is solid and the driving appropriately feels like a 60's action film. The visuals are nothing to write home about and the sky box is positively hideous but the world is generously detailed with each district feeling unique and full of character. The game takes many inspirations for its characters, storylines and themes and does not shy away from the harsh reality facing ethnic minorities in that era. The licensed soundtrack is also fantastic so that is a bonus.

Overall this game is a missed opportunity and definitely would be five times as good if it did away with the pointless openworld antics, despite this it remains a good time for those interested in the era, action, or a decent character driven storyline.

People are pretty hard on this game, and not necessarily for the wrong reasons. The game is repetitive and generic in many areas. The game is littered with mundane missions like delivery runs and gang shootouts which is pretty much all you will be doing in the open world; even with all of its DLC's installed you will be hard pressed to find anything to do to break up the monotony of the main games district takeover system which is the same thing over and over again: talk to an informant, interrogate some mobsters, hit a few racket operations and the main base, talk to the operative AGAIN to learn where the boss is, go to the main base AGAIN to kill the boss and repeat 9 times until the last mission. Hardly riveting stuff. However if you're someone who can put up with you're average AAA open world grind then there is a lot to like in this game. Sure it is no Mafia II or even Mafia I when it comes to story telling, in fact I think the greatest crime this game commits is calling itself Mafia III, because it shares so little with the previous instalments in the series, however it does have its own charm and a surprisingly genuine social commentary on the racist and xenophobic culture of the south US in the 1960's. The characters are largely well written, Lincoln Clay most of all and it even brings back some familiar faces from the previous game. The opening and finale in this game is fantastic and there is a surprising amount of choice in how the game progresses thanks to the underboss storylines. The gameplay is solid and the driving appropriately feels like a 60's action film. The visuals are nothing to write home about and the sky box is positively hideous but the world is generously detailed with each district feeling unique and full of character. The game takes many inspirations for its characters, storylines and themes and does not shy away from the harsh reality facing ethnic minorities in that era. The licensed soundtrack is also fantastic so that is a bonus. Overall this game is a missed opportunity and definitely would be five times as good if it did away with the pointless openworld antics, despite this it remains a good time for those interested in the era, action, or a decent character driven storyline.