Mafia: Definitive Edition
While I assumed this might be a bit GTA-like, it's actually a linear story game that just happens to be in a city with cars you can steal. I didn't have high hopes for it given that most "remasters" are just new textures and milking the brand name for more money. However, this is effectively a new game; new voice cast, slightly different story, overhauled mechanics - they've really done a great job. While it still feels like a 2010s chest-high-wall shooter and it's rough around the edges, the story and the voice acting carry it and make a great experience worth playing. That being said, it's only 10 hours long - so wait for a sale.
Pros
- I originally didn't have high hopes for the game, but after less than an hour I was hooked on the story because of the excellent acting
- There's a Wilhelm scream in the first car chase
- GPS directions are unobtrusive, and show in the form of road signs
- You can limit your speed, and cops will chase you for breaking the limit
- Fantastic 30s music
- The cinematics are really impressive. Voice acting and facial animations are genuinely convincing (even if it looks a little dated in 2020)
- You can skip all driving sections just to see the story
- Beautiful car models
Cons
- Car handling is pretty bad. Even once you get access to better cars, they all feel like you're driving on ice
- On-foot movement is also bit clunky
- The controls feel like they were made for console. There should be one button to interact, but instead there's a button for cover, another button for crouch, another button to break into car, another button to get into the car...
- At one point I saw a tutorial that said "Press 'Page Down' to quickly switch guns" - seriously?
- The FPS counter is inaccurate somehow. Both Nvidia and Steam report 100fps at 2560x1440, or 70fps at 5120x1440. However, it feels more like 40 in both cases
- There are occasional micro-freezes that make you miss shots or over-steer
- Even with my ultrawide set to 2560x1440, the game fails to start in the correct resolution, or to show borderless mode properly. I have to fiddle with it for 10 minutes every time I play to get it to work properly
- The shooting is pretty loose. Several times I was killed because someone shot me through a solid wall
- Had to reload from checkpoint 3 times because a quest objective couldn't be interacted with