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The Mafia series is easily one of the most beloved action-adventure franchises in gaming. Hangar 13's noir-inspired open-world series is known for its strong narrative, well-written characters and fun gameplay systems.
While the series stumbled a bit in the gameplay department with the third mainline entry, the phenomenal remake of the original title more than made up for its shortcomings.
Hangar 13 is reportedly working on the next mainline entry of the series, which has fans really excited. The Mafia franchise very recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, and in a special interview with the developers at Hangar 13 during the event, the team confirmed that the next entry in the franchise is in the early stages of development.
However, apart from the vague confirmation by the developers, there are almost no details regarding the series' next entry that are known at this point. There are a number of ways Hangar 13 can reinvent the series' gameplay and open-world aspects, while also delivering a compelling narrative with equally riveting characters.
Here are five ways Hangar 13 can steer the series towards a new direction.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the author's opinions.
From gameplay improvements to changes in open-world structure, here are five ways Hangar 13 can take the series to a new direction with Mafia 4
1) More engaging open-world
The Mafia games are known for their authentic open-world design, which exudes the atmosphere of the era the game's are set in. From NPC clothing and accents to vehicle and character interactions, everything feels truly authentic and immersive in games of the series.
However, apart from the visual flair, the open-world of the Mafia titles are quite generic, with copy-paste activities littered across the map.
For the next game in the series, Hangar 13 should focus on delivering a good open-world experience, akin to Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption 2 or the classic Grand Theft Auto games.
The bar for open-world in video games has been raised substatially with some stellar titles such as the aforementioned games from Rockstar and the recently released open-world RPG, Elden Ring.
Although Hangar 13 nails the authentic feel of their games' worlds, they never truly deliver when it comes to giving players enough reason to explore them besides the main story campaign. Having a good open-world that is exciting and fun to explore and engage with can truly revolutionize the series.
Having emergent gameplay scenarios littered across the map that dictate the morality of the protagonist and affect the narrative, akin to the Red Dead Redemption titles, can elavate the immersive experience of the Mafia games tenfold.
2) A new setting
The Mafia series has predominantly always been based on different eras of American history. From early 1930s in the original game to late 1960s in the third, final and latest entry in the series. However, a setting, preferably in a different country, can breathe new life into the series.
With the next game in the series, Hangar 13 can take a look at other parts of the world with a thriving criminal underbelly to weave a compelling narrative. Games like SEGA's Yakuza series can be taken as inspiration. The Yakuza series is essentially similar to Hangar 13's Mafia games, but set in the land of the rising sun, aka Japan.
3) Improved combat system
The Mafia games have a rather cumbersome gameplay, which can often times feel restricted during hectic shootouts or chase sequences.
Much like Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption games, the Mafia series aims for a more realistic approach to most of its gameplay and combat, which can feel a tad weighed down due to the lengthy animations that follow every action in the game.
Although realism and grounded mechanics are a staple of the series, it can get in the way of players fully enjoying the engaging gameplay of these titles. Mafia 3 took a few steps towards improving the series' cumbersome gameplay.
However, it was still weighed down by the game's overreliance on realism. For the upcoming title, Hangar 13 can make improvements to the overall combat and gameplay system to make it a much more enjoyable and fun experience for players.
4) Better driving mechanics
Much like combat, the driving mechanics in the Mafia series is another aspect that can be improved upon.
Although driving in the noir-inspired open-world series is not a bad experience by any metric, there are still a few rough edges that developer Hangar 13 should consider ironing out for the next title.
Contrary to the combat system, which feels quite grounded, driving in the series is very arcade-like, akin to most action-adventure open-world games that include driving.
Arcade-like driving mechanics are objectively not a bad thing, especially in narrative-driven open-world action games, however, the handling model for cars in the Mafia titles feels a tad off, with vehicles either oversteering or drifting at the slight nudge of the stick.
While it is understandable that a game that revels in delivering a strong and compelling narrative experience cannot have driving mechanics rivaling that of racing simulation games, it should not be a detriment to players' enjoyment of the moment-to-moment gameplay, especially when most missions include driving from one location to another.
Similar issues used to be present in the classic Grand Theft Auto games, where the driving felt really rough.
However, over time, Rockstar Games fixed vehicular handling model and physics for their games, so much so that driving in the most recent title in the series, Grand Theft Auto V, is considered among one of the finest arcade-like driving experiences to date.
5) More engaging and varied missions
Although the Mafia games delivers a strong and compelling narrative with some really interesting characters, it fumbles a bit when it comes to mission design and quests. Most missions in these titles are relegated to driving between destinations, taking part in a shootout or a mix of both of these activities.
The third main installment in the series tried to break away from the usual gameplay formula of the series. However, it too was devoid of any significant variety between missions. Having a diverse set of missions, especially in the game's main campaign, can truly help make the next title in the series a standout experience.
The upcoming Mafia title is reportedly being developed using Epic Games' newest iteration of the Unreal Engine, the Unreal Engine 5, instead of Hangar 13's proprietary engine, the Illusion engine (also known as the Mafia engine).
Although the developers are yet to officially announce a new game in the series, with the only confirmation being the vague acknowledgement by the developers on the development of a new title in the noir-inspired crime-thriller series, fans are more than excited to finally receive a new Mafia title after more than half a decade.
It remains to be seen what changes and improvements developer Hangar 13 will bring to the series.
