“Mafia: Definitive Edition” is such an overhaul that it’s sometimes even being referred to as the fourth game in this series. It’s that new. Set in the city of Lost Heaven in the 1930s, this is one of those mafia-based experiences that owes a great deal to movies that shaped these narratives like “The Godfather” and “Once Upon a Time in America.” It is the story of Tommy Angelo, an average guy who becomes a driver for the Salieri crime family, rising up the ladder within it. The structure of the storytelling here is deeply cinematic with numerous cut scenes depicting the violent betrayals that happen as someone takes more and more power within a violent organization.
Much like films about men who almost accidentally find themselves drawn into violent lives, “Mafia” is the story of a cab driver who gets caught in a turf war after he helps a couple members of the Salieri family escape an ambush. Coming in handy during the getaway, Tommy is given more and more to do, and the game unfolds in a relatively straightforward mission structure. Go here, do this, beat somebody up, come back. The routine nature of the gameplay can be a little exhausting. It could more accurately be called “Driving the Mafia” given how many hours you spend literally taking one of your fellow mobsters from point A to point B. While the game often looks 2020, nothing released recently relies quite so much on such a simple structure, and that’s where its age shows the most.
Having said that, it’s still a surprisingly robust game to play at times, particularly in its world-building. Lost Heaven in the 1930s, based on Chicago, is a vibrant, lively setting for a game like this, and the game’s entire structure feels like it owes a debt to the critically acclaimed way that “Mafia III” unfolds. It’s fascinating that developers saw the success of that game and used it to overhaul the first installment. Imagine a sequel sending a filmmaker back to the movie that started it all to remake it in the same fashion. That’s kind of what’s happening here, a “Mafia” that plays more like a “Mafia III.” One other thing worth noting is that the entire trilogy is priced like a regular game. If “Mafia: Definitive Edition” were a standalone, $60 experience than it might feel more shallow, but it’s basically $20 and provides enough escapist entertainment at that price point.