N E ED TO K N OW

A gangster epic set in 1930s America

DEVELOPER Hangar 13

PUBLISHER 2K

REVIEWED ON RTX 2080 Super, Intel i7-9700K, 16GB RAM

MULTIPLAYER No

LINK mafiagame.com driving and shooting, but the way it’s packaged is magnificent.

It’s all smoke and mirrors, of course. But when it’s this entertaining, I don’t mind being fooled. Make peace with the fact that Mafia is a heavily scripted, totally linear, story-led shooter and you can just sit back and enjoy the ride. The story isn’t as good as Mafia II’s, but the tale of Tommy Angelo’s rise and fall is very well told.

But it’s worth remembering that the bones of Mafia: Definitive Edition are almost 20 years old. The game has been rebuilt with new technology, but deep down it’s the same game and sticks closely to the source material, especially in how the missions are structured and paced.

Of course, it looks a whole lot better. Lost Heaven is a little emptier than some modern videogame cities, but it’s occasionally incredible to look at – especially at night when it’s raining. The period accurate signage, fashion and vehicles do a good job of making you feel like you’ve stepped back in time, in addition to a nice selection of old timey music on the radio. The sense of place is superb.

And if you really want to get lost in the setting, you can set it so that driving over the speed limit, running red lights, or bumping into other cars will get you in trouble with the cops. This adds a layer of simulation to the city, but you can disable it if you’d rather just gun it to the next location without worrying about the law.

Whether you’re well acquainted with Mafia or a newcomer, this is a solid remake that’s well worth playing. The new tech doesn’t hide the fact that it’s a game built on 18-year-old foundations, but it’s a fun and well-presented gangster epic with a compelling setting.

A decent, if unremarkable, cover shooter, elevated by artful scene-setting and memorable set-pieces.

VERDICT 79