Developer: Hangar 13
Publisher: 2K
Reviewed On: PC
Available On: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
Release Date: August 14, 2026 (part of Mafia: The Omertà Collection)
Review Copy Provided By: 2K
I have a very strained relationship with Mafia 3. It is not that I have a dislike for the characters or the setting. Far from it. I think that Lincoln Clay is the most successful protagonist in the series. New Bordeaux is one of the most raw and unfiltered settings ever found in a Mafia game. And despite all that, Mafia 3 is the weakest game in the series to date, and it’s because the gameplay loop remains the most soul-crushing part of the experience. An experience I am about to go through again a third time.
Mafia III: Definitive Edition is a compilation title that includes the base Mafia III game, all story DLC (Faster, Baby!, Stones Unturned, Sign of the Times), and bonus content including the Family Kick-Back Pack and Judge, Jury & Executioner Weapons Pack. The game tells the story of Lincoln Clay, a rising crime boss and former CIA operative returning home from the Vietnam War. What was supposed to be one last favor turned into a massacre as his adopted family was betrayed by the Marcano family after a huge score. Clay survived the ambush and now utilizes the methods he learned in Laos and Vietnam to dismantle the Mafia’s criminal empire brick by brick and eventually enact maximum revenge on the Marcano family.
The game is part of Mafia: The Omertà Collection, which also includes Mafia: Definitive Edition, Mafia II: Definitive Edition, and Mafia: The Old Country Definitive Edition. This review will be focused less on the gameplay details and more on its place within the collection and how the game performs on PC. As well as a little bit of self-reflection.
Mafia III plays exactly like the other games in the series. It is a third-person cover shooter with open-world driving on both land and water. What sets the game apart is an emphasis on Lincoln’s brutality, which he picked up after years of fighting the Vietcong. He is more aggressive compared to other protagonists. His takedowns and stealth finishers are gruesome and fitting for someone trained in jungle warfare. His senses have been sharpened to the point that he enters “bullet time” while on foot and while driving.
Scarier still is Clay’s methodical destruction of the Marcano family, one business at a time. It all starts with gathering information from fellow CIA operative John Donovan. John identifies the business, lieutenants, and the underboss who controls the area. Clay, for his part, does all the dirty work. He moves directly to disrupt the business, removes the lieutenants, and that forces the underboss out of hiding for one final confrontation. This process repeats ad nauseam until the entire Marcano family is dead.
To help run his criminal empire, Clay recruits the remnants of the Haitian, Irish, and Italian mafia. They help him secure the districts and provide safe haven whenever he comes around. After taking over a district, he decides which underboss controls that part of town. Clay’s choices of who gets what determine which perks he gets, as well as which ending is ultimately shown.
I distinctly remember buying Mafia III the day it first released on PS4. I have always loved the Mafia series since the first Mafia released all those years ago, and I wanted to see what this entry had in store. Unfortunately, it was a buggy mess that ran poorly on the console. I didn’t think I was able to finish it, but I felt as if I needed to see it through. All I remember was feeling drained and numb after seizing the entire city and finishing the story. I picked up the game again as part of the Mafia Trilogy on PS4. The game was better optimized, and the additional DLC contributed much to elevating the experience. And yet again, the empire-building was just as tiresome as ever. This time around, I am playing the game on PC as part of Mafia: The Omertà Collection. It’s been good so far. I suspect that’ll change once the interactions inevitably run out.
They say that Hightsight is 20/20. I often consider whether I was being too harsh on Mafia III. It was more or less a turf war simulator. But remove all that, and it had a good story, by Mafia standards, along with a documentary-style presentation. Also, Lincoln Clay is the only main character with an ending where he walks away from “the life” and is allowed to live. (Jury’s still out if that’s going to be the canon ending.) No other protagonist has done it. Tommy Angelo got whacked. Vito probably ends up being the next Leo Galante. And Enzo, the youngest among them, ends up in the place where it all started. What I’m probably getting at is I should’ve focused more on the story instead of losing my sanity playing the same mission types over and over and over again.
Mafia III received 3 post-launch DLCs over a few years. All three provided relief, as they all played out as far better than the empire-building of the base game. This is especially true for ‘Sign of the Times’ and ‘Stones Unturned’. The act of driving was greatly improved with the introduction of ‘Faster, Baby!’. I think this was around the time simulation mode was first introduced. The difference from the first release was night and day. This addition is what made driving the best part of the experience.
The true advantage of getting the Mafia: The Omertà Collection is the fact that you’re getting all the games from the Mafia Trilogy plus Mafia: The Old Country Definitive Edition, which includes the Man of Honor DLC. As for Mafia III specifically, by virtue of being a definitive edition, you get one suit from Mafia and Mafia II. Meanwhile, Mafia and Mafia II players gain access to Lincoln’s jacket.
Mafia III on PC has never looked this good before, even with all the patches during my time playing it on PS4. Don’t get me wrong, there are still some graphical glitches from the base game and the 3D models were so-so, but New Bordeaux, the city, has never looked better. All thanks to custom graphics settings, unlimited frames, and a 90-degree field of view. It took a while for me to appreciate how great the voice-over work was. It’s some of the best the series has to offer, and that’s a very high bar to clear. The soundtrack’s alright, if you don’t mind listening to the greatest hits of the 1960s.
Performance-wise, it ran great on my mid-range PC. I just had to tinker around the settings and lower the resolution a little bit to get consistent frames. Other than that, I am weirded out at how the cars are so reflective; they might as well be painted mirrors. Probably my biggest complaint with the game is that it doesn’t have a streamer mode option to replace the soundtrack with something more platform-friendly. Second, I couldn’t get my PS5 controller to be recognized by the game. My Xbox controller worked fine, but I wonder why my PS5 controller didn’t.
Mafia III will always be the black sheep of the series. And that’s not entirely a bad thing. Sure, it’s always going to have the soul-crushing gameplay that leaves nothingness in its wake. Still, I’ve since accepted that part of the game and even found a greater appreciation for the characters and voice acting, something that only happens in hindsight. Mafia III: Definitive Edition is the most complete version of the third game in the series. Fans of the series will find it deserving of a place in their collection, regardless of how they feel about it.
Mafia III: Definitive Edition Review (PC)
Mafia III: Definitive Edition is the most complete version of the third game in the series. Fans of the series will find it deserving of a place in their collection, regardless of how they feel about it.
The Good
- Still a Mafia game at the core
- Amazing cast of characters
- Stellar voice acting
- Setting reflects the values of the times
The Bad
- Building a criminal empire is soul-crushing work
- Objectives are bland and repeat ad nauseam
- It doesn't matter how you go about it; it all plays out the same way
- Many bugs left over since the first release
