The Mafia action-adventure franchise has been well received by critics, commercially successful, and has something of a cult following among its fans. It offers a similar experience to the immensely popular Grand Theft Auto franchise, but with a more mature vibe, offering greater storytelling depth and richer characters.
In August 2022, 2K Games’ studio, Hangar 13, revealed that Mafia 4 was in development. With the game being “years away,” according to developers, details of the new project are scarce. Rumors indicate that the game will be built in the Unreal Engine 5, unlike the previous incarnations which used a proprietary engine. As per the previous games, the era in which it is set is likely to change. Some suggest the game will in fact be a prequel, set earlier than the original Mafia and perhaps outside the US. There's a lot that fans of the series want to see, which will hopefully be incorporated in the new game.
8 Side Quests With Practical Rewards
When users continue to play a game once they have completed it, that is a huge pat on the back for the developers and a testament to a job well done. Not all games get this right, and it could be argued that herein lies one of Mafia’s weaknesses.
A good way to keep bums in seats is to offer a variety of side quests (or other incentives for exploring the world) which offer practical rewards. Collectibles which offer no tangible benefits are widely shrugged off by many players. But weapon modifications, or items which improve player stats (think Bobbleheads in Fallout 4), make all that hunting worthwhile.
7 A Solid, Engaging Storyline
Great storytelling has always been at the forefront of the Mafia franchise. The plot lines of the previous incarnations of the game were so good that fans would happily watch someone else play the game, just to see how the story pans out.
This is something which needs to be nailed in the new game. It won't be an easy feat given the high bar the game developers have set themselves. Any degradation in storytelling will be felt keenly by the fans.
6 Quest Variety
The first two Mafia games were rightly praised for their gameplay. Mafia III, however, was not so enthusiastically received. At best, it was described as being a decent game with a few issues. But by many, it was despised.
Widely cited as the main issue of Mafia III was the grinding gameplay loop. As a result of the shift from a semi-linear environment to an open-world one, players were required to weaken various factions by taking on quests which would undermine their operations. While initially exciting, this quickly became an arduous and seemingly never-ending loop of similar missions. To remedy this, the developers should look to games like Red Dead Redemption2, where the variety of quests was truly astonishing and never allowed the player to feel bored.
5 To Be Free From Bugs & Glitches
If a game excels in all other departments, users will forgive the occasional bug or glitch. But, as with frequent typos or grammatical errors in a written document, the compound effect of numerous glitches is a detachment from the game and a shattering of the illusion.
While not totally free from gremlins, Mafia and Mafia II largely got away with it because the games were so good. Mafia III contained so many bugs that users couldn’t help but feel the project was rushed. With errors in subtitles, a multitude of graphical and environmental issues, as well as poor frame rates (particularly on the PC version), fans of the franchise really hope that Mafia 4 gets the time and care it requires.
4 Satisfying Character Arcs
When barely-scraping-by cab driver, Tommy Angelo, finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, and has a brush with two rival gangs, he cannot resist the rewards the Italian Mafia lifestyle offers, and embarks upon a journey deep inside the criminal underworld. This is a great premise, which leads to an even more satisfying character arc.
The same is true of Mafia II, where hero Vito Scaletta, returns home injured from World War II and finds himself rising through the ranks of the Falcone family. In Mafia III, the scene is set well with thenew hero, Vietnam veteran Lincoln Clay, who is forced into a life of crime upon his return. The problem with the latest installment of the franchise is that the circular nature of the gameplay means that the storyline gets diluted the longer one plays, and ends up diminishing the character arc. It's a great shame, because the scene for the character transformation is set so well.
3 Improved Enemy AI
A criticism often leveled at the Mafia games is the lack of enemy AI. Quite often, upon responding to the player's opening kill, all enemies in the area will flock out of cover, allowing the player to take them down. In Mafia III, the ‘hide and whistle’ stealth technique worked on opponents every single time. As a result, taking down bad guys became procedural, rather than an intense fighting experience.
Fans would like to see improved AI in the next game to keep fight sequences varied and engaging. After all, these are seasoned Mafia henchmen who have seen a fight or two in their lifetime. They shouldn’t be so easy to fool!
2 A Semi-Linear (Or At Least A Better Open World) Environment
Perhaps the greatest failure of Mafia III was the understandable, yet bold, decision to move from a semi-linear sandbox environment to a vast open world. This is perhaps where the aforementioned ‘gameplay loop’ aspect initially emerged in Mafia III, as it wasn’t present in the previous games.
For the new game to work, the developers should go back to the semi-linear environment. If they persist with the transition to an open-world game, they must find a way to diversify the user experience using some of the methods outlined above.
1 A Classic Mafia Feel
People have always been fascinated by the Mafia lifestyle. The conflicting ethical propositions of an honorable, family-driven code, versus cold-blooded killing and breaking the law, make for an interesting dynamic. At the heart of this is the time-honored, fiercely guarded Sicilian tradition, dating back centuries. The further forward in time the Mafia series goes, the weaker the history feels.
If Mafia 4 does indeed jump to another era, then the developers have two choices: go forwards in time (from the 1960s) or go back in time, as rumors suggest. A perfect solution would be to not only go back in time, but go back to the Mafia’s roots, setting the game in Sicily.