Summary
- Mafia games are known for character-driven stories set in historical backdrops, striking a balance between length and detail.
- Mafia: The Old Country returns to linear gameplay, offering a condensed experience with cinematic storytelling and minimal side content.
- Mafia 3 offers the longest gameplay due to its true open-world structure with side quests and optional activities.
The Mafia series has been on the market for over two decades now, with each new installment taking quite a while to arrive. While the first two games were rather similar in terms of their stories and settings, clearly inspired by classic gangster movies like The Godfather and Once Upon a Time in America, Mafia 3 and Mafia: The Old Country take different approaches, albeit with varied results.
Every Story In The Mafia Franchise, Ranked
The Mafia games are renowned for their cinematic and dramatic storytelling, but which game stands out the most for its plot, characters, and themes?
Although considered open-world action-adventure titles, Mafia games are primarily known for their character-driven stories and unique historical backdrops, immersing players in past eras and the shady world of criminal organizations fighting for power and control. That said, Mafia games were never too short or too long, consistently striking an almost perfect balance that allowed them to tell their stories in full detail without unnecessary filler. Below, let's take a look at every Mafia game released so far, including Mafia: The Old Country, to compare how long each game takes to beat.
To keep things fair, only base games are included in the comparison, so any separate story DLC, like Mafia 2: Joe's Adventures or Mafia 3: Stones Unturned, won't be counted.
Mafia: Definitive Edition
11-13 Hours
Mafia: Definitive Edition
- Released
- September 25, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
Mafia: Definitive Edition isn't just a cosmetic update of the original Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven, as some may assume, but rather a full-fledged remake with visuals and gameplay rebuilt from the ground up. Despite being expanded in many areas, such as additional cutscenes, character interactions, and minor plot alterations, Mafia: Definitive Edition ended up being shorter than the original, and there are several reasons for that.
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The next Mafia game, Mafia: The Old Country, takes the series back to early-1900s Italy, but these locations would also make for interesting settings.
First, vehicles in the game move faster and are less painful to control than in the original, resulting in shorter driving sections when comparing the two titles. In addition, some especially hard and unforgiving segments of the first game have been altered, not to mention that some optional delivery missions were entirely scrapped. As a result, Mafia: Definitive Edition emerged as an endlessly cinematic story with no filler, one that can be completed over the course of two or three evenings and stands as one of the shortest in the franchise to date, comparable to The Old Country.
Mafia: The Old Country
12-14 Hours
Mafia: The Old Country
- Released
- August 8, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
Returning to the series' traditional formula of a linear game set in an open-world-like historical backdrop, Mafia: The Old Country is a tight, story-driven experience, taking its place as one of the shortest and most condensed entries in the franchise to date. Most players can expect to roll the credits in about 12 hours (assuming they don't die or get stuck too often), making The Old Country almost comparable to Mafia: Definitive Edition. The game consists of 15 chapters, each taking around 30 to 60 minutes to complete, giving a clearer idea of its overall length.
After Hangar 13's experiment with an open world in Mafia 3 was deemed unsuccessful, it was somewhat expected that Mafia: Definitive Edition would serve as a new blueprint for the series moving forward. Thus, the short length of The Old Country was anticipated, especially after Take-Two announced the game's price. With that in mind, cinematic storytelling is at the core of Mafia: The Old Country, which includes almost no side content for players looking to explore its beautiful and unique depiction of 1900s Sicily.
Mafia 2
12-16 Hours
Mafia 2
- Released
- August 24, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
Mafia 2 mostly adopted the formula of the original, ignoring the trends set by other open-world games of its time and offering little to no side quests or optional activities across Empire Bay, aside from some apparel shops and occasional vehicle deliveries. One of the standout features of Mafia 2 is its shift in era and environment, as players start the game in the winter of 1945 and finish it in the summer of 1951, following a notable time gap.
With the story once again at the helm of the entire experience, the game took a major step up in cinematic quality without stretching the runtime too much. However, as is often the case with sequels, it felt somewhat overshadowed by the original and largely inferior to the majority of iconic gangster films, too often relying on recognizable tropes in its structure. Unlike Mafia: Definitive Edition, Mafia 2: Definitive Edition is almost the exact same game with comparable length, offering nothing more than a minor facelift for modern platforms.
Mafia: The City Of Lost Heaven
16-18 Hours
Mafia (2002)
- Released
- August 28, 2002
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Third-Person Shooter
The game that started it all over 20 years ago, Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven, is hard to do justice to today. Back in the day, it was almost the opposite of the GTA series, aiming for a cinematic approach to narrative above all else, constantly punishing players for messing with its world too much. Instead, the game focuses on Tommy Angelo's story, with gameplay mostly consisting of driving the utterly slow and clumsy vehicles of the 1930s era and participating in gangster shootouts, with narrative cutscenes sprinkled throughout.
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While the overall experience is medium-sized, especially by modern standards, Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven is also known for some nail-bitingly challenging sections, both in driving (the notorious race mission probably took dozens of attempts for many) and shooting (the lengthy and difficult prison section). The Definitive Edition aimed to smooth out the core experience, infusing more nuance into the game's narrative while keeping the classic appeal intact.
Mafia 3
23-35 Hours
Mafia III
- Released
- October 7, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Game Experience May Change During Online Play, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
The only true open-world game in the series, Mafia 3 was met with a lukewarm reception, prompting Hangar 13 to abandon the idea of a full-fledged open world for Mafia: The Old Country. Nevertheless, Mafia 3's world of 1968's New Bordeaux, an open-world city inspired by New Orleans, isn't just an empty backdrop for driving between missions like in previous games, but actually offers side quests and optional activities for players, as well as some unnecessary grind to reach the next crime boss.
This approach in Mafia 3 definitely has its fans and skeptics, depending on how players appreciate the game's driving, stealth, and combat mechanics, as well as whether the overall vibe makes them want to stay in these stylish environments. Thanks to the much grander scope, with players having to gradually take control over the city's territories, Mafia 3 is undoubtedly the longest game in the franchise, even if players skip the majority of optional content.
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