When you unload a shotgun into an enemy's chest, they clutch in and get thrown back by the kick, which is effortlessly satisfying. Some may find this to be a little clunky-feeling, but I think it gives the gunplay sequences some much-needed differentiation against similar cover-based shooters. The recoil is also considerable, requiring you to really pay attention to your shots, and judge where your crosshairs may land after the recoil ends. The gunplay is steeped in realism, much like the game's story, with fairly hefty sway that gets even more aggressive if you try to move and shoot at the same time. Each of these performs well enough in their own right, but for those wanting a little spice may find Mafia's gameplay systems to be a little on the "safe" side. There's a small set of activities generally, from cover-based shootouts, challenging car chases, and the occasional stealth segment or assassination beat.
The game has a mission-based structure, where you'll cruise from point to point, triggering a set piece mission which often takes place inside unique interior locales. I feel like there must have been some opportunity to branch out from that though, especially after building such a gorgeous open world that really only serves as a (beautiful) backdrop. Most of Mafia's story campaign is a very tight, linear experience, and designed to be as such, as it keeps the story pacing well-served. Mafia: Definitive Edition's strengths certainly aren't with its core gameplay, I would say, although the gunplay is satisfying enough. It's not long before Angelo finds himself surrounded by violence on all sides, with no way out for him, or his young family. As income grows, so do the stakes, and the enemies. Like many other crime thrillers, though, the risks being taken by the characters have a tendency to multiply, rather than dissipate. The prohibition era of the 1930s created a perfect atmosphere for organized crime, and like many others, the Salieri family jumped at the opportunity. A romanticized vision of noble thieves, brothers in arms, subverting the system for a chance at a better, more hedonistic lifestyle. Mafia's overarching plot is fairly familiar to anyone who's ever seen a gangster flick. Angelo gets very rapidly acquainted with big money, and even bigger violence. The allure of a better, higher-paid high-life seduces Tommy fast, who quickly accepts the Salieri crime family's invitation to join them as a driver, fixer, and eventually capo.
Mafia follows Tommy Angelo, a Lost Heaven cab driver who, by chance, winds up helping the mob make a speedy getaway. Mafia sits up there with the best Hollywood crime thrillers. Without going into spoilers (which is tough, given that the story is really the top selling point of this game), Mafia really is one of the better story-focused games I've played this entire gen, due to the effectiveness of its character acting, even if some of the tropes are a little familiar. Mafia: Definitive Edition Story (Spoiler-Free) Often, in Mafia, it's what characters don't say that really makes the moment, letting the visuals do the talking instead. The graphics refresh extends well to the game's character models too, which are expressive in their delivery of the game's truly great script.
I had the occasional frame rate dip during some car chase scenes, but there is a day one patch on the way, promising to bring further optimizations. The game runs at dynamic 4K with 30 frames-per-second (FPS) on the Xbox One X, and holds that target pretty well over all. My only other regret is that there's not much of a reason to explore the game's detailed world, since the story pushes you in a very specific direction throughout.
If you're sitting far from the TV you probably won't catch it, but once you notice, it's hard to ignore. It seems to kick in when the game is struggling, performance-wise, along with dynamic resolution scaling. The only issue I really had with the visuals on the Xbox One X was the odd shimmering technique they use for anti-aliasing in some scenes.