Open world games don’t always have to be 100 hours long. Best example: Mafia 1, one of the best story games ever. The game is available in the Game Pass from today
It’s hard to imagine, but in the gray days of the early 2000s, open-world games were very, very rare. Here and there a role-playing game of the Daggerfall brand ventured into large worlds, but apart from that? Then GTA 3 appeared and changed everything with its big city chaos, the dark gangster story, the mix of shooting, driving and running around
But a second masterpiece was released at the same time, somewhat under the radar: The first Mafia, an equally dark gangster open-world in a quasi-Chicago of the 1930s, in which you start out as a cab driver but then lose yourself more and more in a world of organized crime, violence and betrayal.
Mafia was groundbreaking back then, but …back then
it’s been quite a while. Fortunately, an official remake of the first Mafia was released at the end of 2020, reviving the story and charm of the original
And this remake will land in Microsoft’s Game Pass from August 13, 2024!The Game Passin its current 400 different versionsis made precisely for this type of game.
(Here you can find Mafia in the Game Pass)
What do I get in Mafia: Definitive Edition?
With the Definitive Edition you get the complete story of the old Mafia 1 in a completely newly developed technical framework. This includes:
- A 15- to 20-hour single-player campaign in which you, as cab driver Tommy, fall into the clutches of the Mafia.
- Cinematically staged, varied locations and missions. Sometimes you shoot your way through a cafe, sometimes you take part in a car race with ancient cars, sometimes you infiltrate a hotel to kill an enemy mafioso, and so on and so forth.
- Thanks to a new gameplay framework, shootouts and driving passages play much smoother than in the early 2000s.
- You’ll get speeding or jaywalking tickets. Just like in real life.
- The story is still one of the best open-world stories and will tear your heart out.
- The soundtrack is fantastic.
Compared to Ubisoft and co., Mafia is extremely stingy with open-world surroundings. You don’t farm icons, collect experience points or have to fill percentage bars – instead, you simply complete the main missions and can explore the city on your own. No more, no less
If you’re looking for the full 200-hour drone, you might be a little disappointed for the 40 euro purchase price, but conversely, Mafia is exactly the kind of game for a short Game Pass subscription. You can – if you want to – play through it in a weekend and have an incredibly good time. Alternatively, the Definitive Edition is also heavily discounted in every major Steam sale. So if you don’t fancy the Game Pass, it’s worth the wait: In the sale, you can usually get the game with a 60 percent discount for under 20 euros. For a one-time playthrough, however, you can get away with a month of Game Pass for less on average.
