Mafia III Day 1 PC Performance Review
Conclusion
To put things simply Mafia III’s PC version could have used some extra polish, a delay for a little as a week for the developers to fix some of the game’s issues on the platform and provide PC gamers with a much better gameplay experience. Â
Today the main topic of discussion is the Mafia III’s locked 30FPS limit on PC, which is a shame as there is quite a lot to like about the game. Â
After a few hours of play, I found that I enjoyed the game’s soundtrack, gameplay style and even its story, but sadly this game has been released with an unnecessary FPS lock and a graphical options menu that leaves a lot to be desired. Â Â Â
When Hangar 13 releases Mafia 3’s framerate unlocking patch, we will give this game a second look, but for now, it is a game that we just cannot recommend to PC gamers, especially those who are framerate junkies. Â Â Â
Graphically Mafia III is pretty but not exactly a graphical showcase for the PC platform, leaving us confused as to why GPUs like the GTX 1060 and RX 480 struggle to achieve a steady framerate of 30FPS at 1440p. This also leaves us concerned that we may struggle to get this game to run at 60+FPS when the game’s first PC patch releases. Â Â Â
Mafia III’s aesthetic is somewhat ruined by how blurred or muddy the visuals can be, lacking the usual sharpness that a resolution of 1440p or 4K can provide. The game is using heavy Anti-Aliasing techniques like FXAA and TAA that limits aliasing at the expense of visual sharpness. This is a huge problem as the game has no way of turning AA off entirely or switching to a more demanding, less blur-inducing AA variant. This lack of choice will no doubt annoy a lot of PC gamers.   Â
What should be learnt from Mafia III is that not all PC games have a solid launch and like No Man’s Sky is a lesson that gamers should wait for reviews and other forms of critique before purchasing a game. Hanger 13 is currently working to address a lot of the issues with the PC version of Mafia III, though sadly this incident will no doubt turn PC gamers off this title for quite some time. Â
We will be reaccessing this game when the upcoming framerate unlocking patch releases, testing our usual suite of GPUs and conducting more in-depth analysis of this title. Â For now Mafia III is not a game that PC gamers should be in a hurry to buy, as no doubt the game will give PC players a much better experience in the future.Â
Â
You can join the discussion on Mafia III’s PC version on the OC3D Forums.Â
Â
Let’s have a look at the PC version of Mafia III. Should any modern PC game be released with a capped framerate?https://t.co/Lo3J4jl4qg pic.twitter.com/99hAxaKUhd
â OC3D (@OC3D) October 7, 2016