8 Reasons Mafia 3 Is One 2016's Most Underrated Gems

7. It Doesn't Have The 'Open-World Narrative Problem'

This is a pitfall far too many games have fallen into; most notably Mass Effect 3 and more recently, Fallout 4.

Where ME3 opened with the destruction of Earth - thereby making you feel as though you had to mount rescue missions ASAP, not disappearing off finding lost items, and Fallout 4 saw you attempting to track down your infant son, not leaving any real room for exploration, they both suffered immeasurably if you stopped to think for a second.

Not in Mafia's case. Lincoln's predicament after the first couple of missions leaves him broken, but with a militant view on how to get what he wants. His plan is to overthrow the villainous Sal Marcano, and he draws up a suitable plan of which targets to hit and how.

That said, there's no immediate threat, Lincoln's "back from the dead" position means Sal barely knows he exists for a good third of the story, and that's before you get to work dismantling as many of Marcano's businesses and rackets as possible. You can happily go off and complete a handful of side missions, set up contextual wire taps to bring in more money or explore the Bayou - the overarching sentiment being that Lincoln's plan makes him New Bordeaux's Gandalf: He'll set everything in motion, exactly when he means to.