I’ve only finished Better get used to it last night, continuing tonight. But for now this seems to be a beautiful recreation of the original Mafia.
The cars and driving are gorgeously done, and the city feels very much alive. This is the first game where I can say that it looks exactly like in the trailers. The streets are always busy and full, there are newspapers being loudly sold on corners, people are chatting on the streets which are full of carts, stands etc, trams, ferries and trains whistling away, ahooga horns tooting, cars’ suspensions creaking, even cobbled streets have a cool noise when driving over them. The map is absolutely beautiful.
Some things from the original are so hardwired into my brain though, that it’s hard to get used to the small changes - I keep getting disorientated after leaving Salieri’s bar, looking for that alley - and then realizing that it’s a few blocks down lol. I also find it hard to get used to the new faces as well, but the acting is very well done so I will hold my judgement on that one. The mo-cap is justified in this - all the subtle facial expressions genuinely add to the dialogue. The motorcycles are new - clunky at first but sooo much fun once you figure out how to slide. the rear end out.
The original Mafia is such a huge part of my life that it’s very important to me and I feel very strong nostalgia. For now I think this remake is exactly what I wanted - minus the original voices and faces.
Anyone else playing this?
If you are at all interested in this game, be it for the time period, story or just the cool cars - I’m pretty sure I can already recommend it even after just a few hours in. I would definitely recommend playing the original first - but since it’s such an old and outdated game (in some ways, at least), I cannot judge people for not wanting to give the original a go. This is the next best thing, though!