I am finally back to streaming. And because I apparently hate myself, I decided to celebrate my return by playing Mafia III: Definitive Edition.
Now, usually, “Definitive Edition” is developer code for “We added some lighting effects and broke the framerate,” so naturally, I tried to mod it first. I installed a few tweaks to make the game look less like it was smeared with Vaseline, and the game responded by simply refusing to launch.
One “Verify Integrity of Game Files” later (which is Steam-speak for “Deleting all your hard work”), I got it running. Well, sort of. Some mods might still be active. Some might be haunting the game code like a ghost in the machine. I don’t know, and frankly, neither does my PC.
Part 1: The 30-Minute Tease
The stream started strong. Lincoln Clay was looking vengeance-y, the 60s soundtrack was slapping, and I was actually enjoying myself.
Then, exactly 29 minutes and 46 seconds in, my PC decided it had seen enough of New Bordeaux and performed a tactical shutdown. No warning, no error message, just the sweet embrace of a hard crash.
Watch Part 1 (The Prequel to the Disaster) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERGqXgdRKCE
Part 2: The Revenge Tour
After explaining to my computer that it is an inanimate object and I am the master, we rebooted for Round 2.
We got back into the action, and surprisingly, the “verified” files held together. We drove cars that handle like boats, we shot bad guys who have the AI intelligence of a potato, and we experienced the true Mafia III loop: drive, shoot, cutscene, repeat.
Despite the jank—and the fact that the sky sometimes flickers like a disco ball—the story is still one of the best in the genre. If you want to see me navigate the glitchy streets of 1968 without my PC exploding a second time, catch the rest of the run below.
Watch Part 2 (Where We Actually Play the Game) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYGTKyL1P9E
Verdict: The mods didn’t work, the PC crashed, and I’m pretty sure the lighting engine is broken. It’s good to be back.
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