GVMERS

[EARLY ACCESS] The Story of Mafia

Added 2025-05-03 17:00:07 +0000 UTC

Often reduced to another in a long line of Grand Theft Auto clones, the original Mafia actually differentiated itself from the pack upon its August 2002 release on PC, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. Mafia writer and director Daniel Vávra argued in an interview with International Business Times that the sole similarities between the two were their open-world settings and crime-laden narratives. Where 2001’s GTA 3 emphasized over-the-top action, outlandish characters, and excessive violence, Mafia paid homage to The Godfather and Goodfellas through a thoughtful melodrama conveying a sense of “soul, purpose, and meaning.”

This vision of open-world crime adventures remained Mafia’s North Star as the series progressed in sequels that tied up old loose ends. As such, the flawed hero of the first installment reappeared in Mafia 2 to formally sunset a dangling story thread. And the protagonist of the 2010 title returned in the third entry to finally piece together a mystery fans had spent six years agonizing over.

Across three experiences, players were immersed in crime dramas where complex characters regularly faced equally complex dilemmas. Unlike many of its competitors on the market, Mafia stopped short of glamorizing the lives of gangsters. Protagonists Tommy Angelo, Vito Scaletta, and Lincoln Clay engaged in discomforting acts for reasons both right and wrong, their morals waging war with the values—or lack thereof—of the mob families they surrendered their lives to. These stories, their stories, laid strong foundations on which the brand will continue to build as more characters and their respective tales enter into focus.

This is the complete story of Mafia.