I'm probably kinder to this game than the rest of the world but I really do think it's great. Hangar 13 may not be great at filling their worlds with interesting gameplay content but they sure do know how to set a scene. The opening sequence is fantastic which transports you to this fictionalized New Orleans in the 60's and gives you a firm understanding of the characters and their motivations. The story being through a documentary structure with interviews and old footage is an inspired choice that works really well. Lincoln Clay is a great protaganist and the supporting cast is also wonderful with the cynical and hilarious CIA agent, John Donovan, and the the relucatantly supportive priest, Father James.The game is absolutely not afraid to shy away from the horrors of the setting with Lincoln Clay frequently encountering racism. This is used well in the story but is also woven into the gameplay as Lincoln can't enter certain stores without the cops being called and the cops being less responsive in poorer areas in New Bordeaux. With so many games being terrified of taking a side or being "too political", it's refreshing to see a game present this stuff for what it is.
For the gameplay, there is a very obvious point of criticism and it is the repetition. I actually don't dislike the loop but it is undeniably repetitive. You're taksed with taking down the various rackets throughout New Bordeaux. First you have to cause a certain amount of damage to the racket such as killing enforcers or destroying assets. This then draws out the rackets boss who you have to go kill or turn over to your side. Doing this twice in one district then allows you to go after the lieutenant or capo of that district which are essentially the main story missions. There is 18 rackets to take over so you'll be doing a lot asset destroying. The racket business is different for each one to create an air of variety but you'll be doing mostly the same stuff every time. You sneak into an area to kill someone or blow stuff up. The gunplay is really solid though and I felt the need to use different guns for different scenarios. The stealth is fairly simple but mostly satisfying. There's often vehicles you can randonly encounter driving around that your can blow up or tail. As bad as tailing missions are in games, I give Mafia 3 some credit for having probably the best tailing system in games ever as you're actually penalized for having a giant gap between you and the vehicle your tailing with no cars in between you. For some reason, that was always the thing that annoyed me the most about tailing missions rather than the tedium. Anyway, the worst part of the repitition is when a racket boss is in an area that you already cleared out in the asset destruction part. This can mostly be avoided if you know what assets to focus on but it is pretty annoying when it happens. I did quite enjoy sneaking into the areas as there are usually a few entrances and ways to tackle them.
When you actually get take down the lieutenant and capos in the main story missions, they are pretty good. You don't see a lot of these characters for very long but they leave an impression in their cutscenes with some very strong performances. As repetitive as taking down the rackets can be, these missions are pretty distinctive and memorable. They are also often enhanced by a fantastic selection of licensed music. These songs can also be listened to on the radio while in cars but they are used very well throughout the story.
When you claim a district, you can assign it to one of your three underbosses. They offer different services and a set of upgrades depending on how many districts you're willing to assign to them. They can ever turn against you if you don't give them any districts. It's not a particularly deep system but it gives a fun sense of progression and some decisions to make if you would rather have more health or more ammo capacity.
The DLC included in the Definitive Edition is pretty good. It doesn't have any rackets to take over so it strictly sticks to the more linear story missions which are mostly good. I liked having a weed business even if cash mostly becomes useless by the end of the game. Rebuilding Sammy's Bar was also a nice satisfying side activity.
I do really enjoy the game even if I am very understanding of why people got sick of the gameplay loop pretty quickly. The main reason I'm not rating it higher is the unfortunate amount of bugs. The game was famously buggy on release and there's still quite a few here in this so-called "Definitive Edition", some of which are actually new for this release. I really do think Hangar 13 have some talent and I'm not sure if the team still exists as it was so I don't know what the future holds for this series but I like what they managed to produce, warts and all.
For the gameplay, there is a very obvious point of criticism and it is the repetition. I actually don't dislike the loop but it is undeniably repetitive. You're taksed with taking down the various rackets throughout New Bordeaux. First you have to cause a certain amount of damage to the racket such as killing enforcers or destroying assets. This then draws out the rackets boss who you have to go kill or turn over to your side. Doing this twice in one district then allows you to go after the lieutenant or capo of that district which are essentially the main story missions. There is 18 rackets to take over so you'll be doing a lot asset destroying. The racket business is different for each one to create an air of variety but you'll be doing mostly the same stuff every time. You sneak into an area to kill someone or blow stuff up. The gunplay is really solid though and I felt the need to use different guns for different scenarios. The stealth is fairly simple but mostly satisfying. There's often vehicles you can randonly encounter driving around that your can blow up or tail. As bad as tailing missions are in games, I give Mafia 3 some credit for having probably the best tailing system in games ever as you're actually penalized for having a giant gap between you and the vehicle your tailing with no cars in between you. For some reason, that was always the thing that annoyed me the most about tailing missions rather than the tedium. Anyway, the worst part of the repitition is when a racket boss is in an area that you already cleared out in the asset destruction part. This can mostly be avoided if you know what assets to focus on but it is pretty annoying when it happens. I did quite enjoy sneaking into the areas as there are usually a few entrances and ways to tackle them.
When you actually get take down the lieutenant and capos in the main story missions, they are pretty good. You don't see a lot of these characters for very long but they leave an impression in their cutscenes with some very strong performances. As repetitive as taking down the rackets can be, these missions are pretty distinctive and memorable. They are also often enhanced by a fantastic selection of licensed music. These songs can also be listened to on the radio while in cars but they are used very well throughout the story.
When you claim a district, you can assign it to one of your three underbosses. They offer different services and a set of upgrades depending on how many districts you're willing to assign to them. They can ever turn against you if you don't give them any districts. It's not a particularly deep system but it gives a fun sense of progression and some decisions to make if you would rather have more health or more ammo capacity.
The DLC included in the Definitive Edition is pretty good. It doesn't have any rackets to take over so it strictly sticks to the more linear story missions which are mostly good. I liked having a weed business even if cash mostly becomes useless by the end of the game. Rebuilding Sammy's Bar was also a nice satisfying side activity.
I do really enjoy the game even if I am very understanding of why people got sick of the gameplay loop pretty quickly. The main reason I'm not rating it higher is the unfortunate amount of bugs. The game was famously buggy on release and there's still quite a few here in this so-called "Definitive Edition", some of which are actually new for this release. I really do think Hangar 13 have some talent and I'm not sure if the team still exists as it was so I don't know what the future holds for this series but I like what they managed to produce, warts and all.