Many will marvel over the game’s visual polish, destructible and interactive environment, and it is indeed impressive. But this is a gangster mafia game. I’m here to steal money and whack people, not flush the john and turn out the lights.
It was the city that drew me in. An amalgamation of New York’s streets and Hollywood’s hills, Empire Bay is as interactively sterile as all other ‘open-world’ game-cities, but it’s been coated in a veneer of dreamy credibility. Each street and hallway has a feature—a man shouting at an open window; a woman pressing her ear to a door; the sound of an argument. It’s easy to see these details written down in a design document, but it gives Empire Bay a genuine rhythm, a pulse that Liberty City lacks.
Again, it’s worth noting that Mafia City’s opening act—a thrilling bank heist sequence—is easily one of its highlights, so bear this in mind if you do feel like opening your wallet once it’s done. If you do, though, all saves are transferable into the full article. To mark the occasion, Yottagame have launched a new trailer:
I would like to emphasize that the game has a very dark humorous side to it. It definitely is not a superficial comedy. The story as such is quite varied so you could look forward also to a true, mafia atmosphere and strong emotions of all kinds. I can’t wait to see the first players actually play it.
Yottagame’s City Mafia may not have lived up to expectations commercially or critically, but the studio has since rallied. We already know that they are currently at work on a brand new AAA game, after having opened up a third outfit, this one in the UK- now, they have also confirmed that they will continue to focus on storytelling for their future games.
Mafia City Dev Opens New UK Office With Split/Second Director
It’s just a shame the game attached to it is so rote, unambitious, and poorly designed. It draws too much water from a very shallow well, repeating the same mission types far too often, and wrapping its story around a territory system that just isn’t deep or entertaining enough to support an entire game. Mafia City was criticised by many for being too linear, but I’d take that over this aimless parade of dull any day.
Mafia City English: https://mafiah5.yottagames.com/play/
Mafia City Chinese Traditional: https://mafiah5.yottagames.com/?language=zh_TW
