10 Reasons Mafia 3 Is The Best Open-World Game In Years

4. Story Is Uniquely (And Brilliantly) Told

Remember when L.A. Noire came out, and we were being told about how it was going to 'revolutionise the way game stories are told'?

Team Bondi's spectacular facial tech was impressive, sure, but since then I can only think of a handful of games that prioritise real facial expressions. To that end, although you wouldn't expect something like an open-world crime game with a focus on action to have exemplary dialogue exchanges, Mafia uses them to tell its story in retrospect.

We actually see a bunch of key characters discussing the events of the game as they're being interviewed for a documentary, or through archive footage of things like the Vietnam war, police brutality etc. It is a very effective technique, and the game even cuts away during some missions to elaborate on a particular character you're chasing, or the weight of what you're playing through in regards to the overall story.

By doing this, you're always up to date on who's who, which characters are moving around and how Lincoln is the major cog turning everything around him. It also allows for some very Punisher-esque lines where characters describe Clay's actions as "inflicting more damage than [all] wars and hurricanes combined" - a perfect motivator to get out there and just destroy whatever's in your way.