Mafia 3: first hands-on impressions roll in

Following the announcement of Mafia 3’s release date, some international publications have had the chance to go hands-on with the upcoming crime drama, and the critics are loving what they’ve seen so far.

After some time with the game, Trusted Reviews described Mafia 3 as “raw and sensitive”, adding that “it rips the pinstriped suits, wing tipped shoes, and slicked back hair from the romanticised image of organised crime, and takes it somewhere new with the new protagonist, Clay.”

Trusted Reviews said that “calling Mafia 3’s combat gruesome would be an understatement. It’s some of the goriest hand-to-hand combat we’ve seen, but it’s done with a slick elegance that you can’t help but be impressed by.”

“And choosing to set the game in such a period of change, where racism hangs in the air like smog, will make for an intense atmosphere, while the music of the time sets off the uniqueness of New Orleans.”

IGN also got an opportunity to play a bit of Mafia 3, and the response was as positive as you’d expect.

“With six months to go before release, Mafia 3 already has a lot going for it. The geographical setting, the chronological setting (wait until you hear the soundtrack!) and the promise of loading the game with open-world activities that matter have me very optimistic that this will finally be the first Mafia to fulfill its immense potential.”

GamesRadar agreed, saying that Mafia 3 has a strong undercurrent of social commentary and historical relevance – something that the franchise has always prided itself on delivering.

“For all of the expansions, and upgrades, the wildly spiralling possibilities, this is still a Mafia game. It’s still an intelligent, mature, staunchly character-driven tale, grounded in real-world grit and very human emotion,” said Gamesradar.

“It’s still focused on delivering a startlingly evocative sense of time and place, its city every bit as intoxicating an expression of the troubled late-’60s south as its predecessor’s was of ‘50s New York and Chicago.”

“And it will still put you through the moral and emotional wringer every chance it gets. Mafia 3’s criminal open-world is classier, cleverer, and entirely more calculated.”

Mafia 3 launches on Xbox One, PS4, and PC on 7 October 2016, and we can’t wait to see what it has in store for gamers.

You can check out IGN’s full preview and Mafia 3 in action below.