I really feel we should have more games from these time periods. Combined, the Mafia Trilogy spans four decades - from the 30s to the 60s - that we don’t often see depicted in the industry. If well executed, these games showcase a particular tumultuous time in the world, where sensibilities and what was deemed normal was starkly in contrast to what we have today. And the realisation they bring of how much certain aspects of society have evolved, in such a short amount of time, is often staggering.

The Mafia Trilogy does precisely that. It does it, of course, within the confines of a set of games who still set out to exaggerate, entertain and amuse, but on the whole, the topics it broaches - from simple societal misperceptions around the ‘joys’ of tobacco to the devastating dangers of racial tensions - are given a veneer of believability and intensity that is hard to remain indifferent to. The punches thrown by the Mafia games don’t always land, but when they do, they really hit, forcing you to pause and consider how it must’ve been like to experience such realities.

All three titles do things differently, and I have my personal preferences and distastes when it comes to each one. I don’t like them all equally, and I’ll try to explain why in a concise manner. But by driving down new avenues, they each offer unique aspects to be appreciated by a wide array of players.

Mafia Remake

The thing that strikes you immediately about the Mafia Remake are its cinematics. There are big LA Noire vibes all around - of course further highlighted by a similar time period -, with a stylish presentation and a stellar polish job across the board when compared to the original. This serves its solid story particularly well. Nothing about the narrative reinvents the wheel (and there are even some inconsistencies at play), but the great character writing, impressive cutscenes, excellent voice acting and punch-in-the-gut ending do a fantastic job in keeping you engaged from start to finish. Obvious differences aside, if you like films like Goodfellas you’re probably bound to enjoy both the Mafia Remake and its sequel. The gameplay, while simplistic, is actually more fun than I had anticipated. There’s a typical Rockstar feel to its world and mechanics, but everything from driving, shooting and fighting is perfectly serviceable, and the option to turn directional signs on, thus allowing you to turn off the mini-map and still be perfectly able to find your bearings, is an awesome, immersive addition that I wish more games would incorporate. And this is probably Mafia’s best calling card: how effectively it is able to immerse you into its world, its story and its characters.

There are some issues at play here - the most egregious one is random cars and NPCs simply disappearing every now and then -, but I really enjoyed my time with it. A very easy game to recommend if any of its strong aspects appeal to you. 8.5/10

Mafia II

The game starts in a completely uncharacteristic and, at first, even confusing fashion by immediately throwing you into the woes of war, but you soon understand it to be a larger plot set piece. One thing that also felt a bit jarring was the fact that Mafia II is, very clearly, a product of its time. Because of that, gameplay is noticeably clunkier than in the Mafia Remake. Bug wise, this is also a worse release, with things like getting stuck in missions, NPCs not spawning when they should, crashes, bizarre lighting, and dialogue overlap issues being somewhat irritatingly frequent. Although this is obviously understandable and to be expected - the remake came out a full decade after the sequel -, it is always a weird feeling when the number 2 in a series plays and feels so different from what replaces the first game. Another point of contention for me is how Mafia II approaches its open world. There’s a clear philosophical contrast at play: while in the first game the sprawling setting clearly and unapologetically exists to serve the main story, the sequel almost feels at times like a GTA clone, abandoning its contained narrative structure to focus a lot more on side quests, activities and exploration in a world that, let’s face it, doesn’t have all that much to explore. This design choice was a bit of a bummer for me, since I dove into these games for their crime drama period narratives. If I wanted to play a GTA-style game I’d play GTA, and this realisation about the game made it lose quite a bit of charm in my eyes. Also, the checkpoint system is terrible. Just terrible.

That aside, you can still find quite a bit of enjoyment here if you manage to look past the game’s problems. There’s nothing wholly original about Mafia II, but the game emanates a charm that is hard to describe or put your finger on, yet keeps making you want to play it. It’s the little touches, I suppose, that give it character: a couple of surprising story beats; some tonally aggressive and /or hilarious moments that likely wouldn’t dare to exist in today’s gaming climate; the bigger focus on melee, which far from being anything other than simplistic, still manages to be enjoyable; the changing of seasons to perfectly illustrate the passing of time; the destructible environments, which were a really nice surprise; the mundane tasks that, despite its mundane nature, somehow manage to remain engaging; the great radio soundtrack; the way damage in cars clearly impacts driving; the banter between Vito and Joe; the awesome tie in with the first game; the bittersweet ending, painfully hinting at a sequel. All of this is utilised as part of a story that, although suffering from a somewhat uncharismatic and vocally emotionless main character, still manages to engage and entertain.

So with all that, I liked Mafia II. I didn’t like everything it did, but I liked it enough to appreciate it as a package and be happy enough that I had decided to see it through. 7.5/10

Mafia III

If Mafia II stood out for giving off a GTA clone vibe, Mafia III went full-on Ubisoft. In fact, the game that it kept reminding me of in design philosophy was Ghost Recon: Wildlands. It is not as egregious, but the busy work you need to do in order to progress the story, just like in Wildlands, is kind of, well, wild: you need to take out sub-bosses to take out the boss, but before you can do that, you need to uproot their specific rackets (drugs, weapons, whatever the case may be), each with their own mini-boss. It’s an interesting concept but a crazy grind, area through area, just to get through the main quest. This, I feel, will filter off a ton of players out of sheer frustration with or annoyance at the implementation.

Does this mean the game is bad? No. Just like Wildlands, I had a good time with Mafia III. I wouldn’t say I had a great time with it, but even if it wasn’t the more straightforward, contained story I was looking for, just like Mafia II there’s also fun here if you manage to look past its issues. One could even argue that the racket dismantling system, while a nuisance to some, can be seen by others as a very welcome way to add extra content, and again, just like in Ubisoft’s modern military shooter, it’s easy to become somewhat mindlessly addicted to its gameplay loop. Other aspects however, such as a more cluttered HUD and gunplay possibly feeling a bit floaty at first, might also need to be overlooked in order to reap the game’s goodness.

Which in Mafia III’s case, to me, is the story. Underneath all those layers of fluff there’s a very compelling tale being told, at times surprising, at times emotional, at times shocking, at times verbally and physically aggressive. The game’s narrative is presented mainly through documentary-type cutscenes that jump between protagonists and timelines, giving it a curious stylised approach the series hadn’t seen before. And even though there are still direct ties to the previous stories, Mafia III clearly traces its own path by detaching itself from the more traditional mobster representation that came before it. America’s depiction of its 60s tensions is particularly pungent, with the game often making use of narrative exaggeration to highlight real cultural and racial fractures whilst pulling no punches doing so - I’m not sure many devs would dare to tackle some of its themes in such an in-your-face way these days.

This, anchored in some pretty simple but satisfying stealth mechanics, brutal kill animations, the absolute best soundtrack of the trilogy (radio station wise) and some enjoyable DLC, was enough to justify the grind for me. I would be lying if I didn’t say I was expecting a punchier finale to the series, but I still have no regrets about finishing it. It could’ve been better, yet at the same time, it was more than enough. 7/10

So after all this, my thoughts on the whole trilogy are pretty positive. Looking at my ‘scores’, it might be tempting to think the first game (which is, admittedly, greatly aided by its remake nature) is the clear highlight of the series. But I think that’s mostly a reflection of how much better it was able to match my expectations going in. The fact that I’ve continued on a somewhat lengthy journey to see the franchise through is a testament to how the sequels were able to grab me despite not being what I had hoped they would’ve been. As a package this is a cool, sometimes vastly different, often engaging experience to go through, though if you’re like me, one that might need you to adapt to what it’s giving you by setting aside what you initially wanted from it. 8/10