Mafia 3 was met with a murderers row of backlash on release and not entirely without merit. The games mixed critical reception from both players and critics stemmed from the games myriad of optimization issues, relentless bugs and glitches, and a mission structure rooted in repetitive content and busy work. My own attitude of the game wasn’t too dissimilar to that of major reviews on my first playthrough. I played Mafia 3 directly after playing Mafia 2 for the first time (a game that grew to become a favorite of mine and i positively hated it. I didn’t like the new setting or any of the characters, the mission structure provided me with constant fatigue, I felt the story was quite boring as it focused more on revenge and less on the details and process of organized crime, and i found myself ultimately leaving the game behind after trudging through it and not bothering with much else. Playing the game over the years however being older, more open minded, and more experienced, i’ve slowly been able to appreciate Mafia 3 more for what it is. I've also come to grips with the clear fact that (quite simply) my blind vitriol and seething anger towards Mafia 3 was largely driven less by my feelings towards the game itself (although that certainly was a factor at play) but more so in my fanboyish attachment to Mafia 2 and my inability to see past it. By that point i had put Mafia 2 on a pedestal that the divisive third installment never had a chance of reaching. Anything short of a sublime masterpiece meant utter failure and whatever positive elements the game had were lost in an entitled sense of the game not being the Mafia 3 i wanted. Mafia 3 (even after all this time) is far from a perfect game (and i still consider it to be a modest disappointment in some regards) but replaying it was also a a reminder that within its faults and imperfections lie streaks of brilliance. To call this game a series of endless repetition and filler content, to dismiss it as another vapid and soulless entry amidst the slew of open world mediocrity, to say it has nothing of richness or depth to offer, is a profound disservice to the game and the story its trying to tell. This game has something sorely lacking in many open world games nowadays. It has heart and personality, a novel and interesting setting thats rarely explored in contemporary games, it has fluid and fun gameplay, a real conviction in how it portrays its themes, and performances and writing that rival that of even the most prestige developers. I really like Mafia 3 and it’s a shame that it could never quite find its audience.