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Mafia 3 got a bit of a bad rap when it was released, and (at the time of writing) still has 'Mixed' reviews. This is a little unfair, while the criticisms levelled at the game at launch (buggy, samey combat, poor performance) may be true to some degree, the Definitive edition, with all the extra DLC it brings, means that the game is rarely boring.
Mechanically, the game is much like any other GTA-clone - more open world than Mafia 2 (and much more than the original), but still without an excess of side missions (indeed most combat encounters are either story missions, or in order to unlock the next story mission). The game has a clearly defined story, but each region of the city must be 'worked' to force the capo of the region to come into the open. That is typically achieved by finding and disrupting the street level crimes in the racket (the gun runners, the drug dealers etc.) and interrogating low level enforcers until you have forced the head of the racket into the open. Dispose of both rackets in a region, and the capo is exposed for a mission.
The missions themselves are often great, some intelligent set-pieces, and pretty good gun-play. The grind work however is a little more boring (hence the initial complaints). All the mechanics are fine, it's just annoying going around the city's whorehouses to gun down pimps, only to be sent back to one of those same whorehouses to dispose of the racket boss.
Fortunately, those locations are great, and no two regions share the same rackets (though there are similarities of course), and the formal game missions are top notch. The game actually starts with a stand-out mission - a bank robbery gone wrong, which climaxes in a boat race under the city to the thundering theme of 'Born to be wild'. However, the games first mis-step for me, was at the end of this escape, as we ploughed the boat up and over a ramp the camera pulled away and I roared 'Born to be Wi-i-i-ild'... The game did not however force the climax of the music here (whether by accident or by design). It's a silly thing, and yet rather than an epic (if cliché) end to the chase, instead the main flow of the song continued and i felt deflated. The game never again manages to blend the music and stylings so well, and since i heard the song multiple times in the future, maybe it was purely coincidence, but what an opportunity was missed.
The soundtrack overall is great, there's some obvious classics missing, but the period accurate music selection is wide enough, and good enough, that it is highly reminiscent of GTA Vice City before they started dicking around to avoid renewing the licensing - I fear that when Mafia 3 inevitably gets the same treatment, it will steal much of the games charm (but fortunately that is not true yet). The remaining sound design, particularly voice acting, is excellent, and really sets the tone for the 70's in the deep south of America. Racism is on display nearly everywhere through the game (though oddly not too much from pedestrians), and is obviously a central tenet of the story and dialogue, but it's played well, enough to make you uncomfortable, and remain sympathetic to the protagonist.
Mafia 3 stands out from others in the genre, by making you give the regions you liberate to allies, who in turn grant bonuses to you - a gunshop, extra health, someone to collect money from you (when you die, you respawn at a safe house but lose half the cash you have in your pocket - so this is a huge perk) etc. There's also 2 distinct car upgrade routes. Firstly, for completing side missions for your allies, and secondly at the garage. The game explains this terribly, but the garage upgrades are purely cosmetic and utterly pointless, while the ones from your allies are worthwhile. There is a racing series (which i suspect is from a DLC) which this becomes critical for, but these upgrades can also be useful for just generally getting around the city.
The city itself is a wonderful place, a huge bayou area, and then 7 or 8 distinct city areas, each with clear architectural styles, and unique feels. It's definitely one of the best cities I've seen in an open world game like this, and while it's not so fun to just drive around once you've done the story, it's definitely part of the character of the game itself (and surprisingly memorable to navigate too).
Overall, I do recommend Mafia 3. While the first game holds a special place in my heart (how many other games have the cops pull you over for doing 35 in a 30...), and I felt more comfortable in the world of the second game, it's a testament to the world building of 3 that while it's not a comfortable world to inhabit, particularly as Lincoln Clay, but that I wanted to see what would happen, both to the city, and to Lincoln. For the other launch criticisms of poor performance and crashes, I had no such issues, the game was routinely locked at my screen refresh of 120fps except for brief moments maybe 2 or 3 times a playsession when the game was buffering in another part of the city. Perhaps with less RAM, or a slower GPU it might struggle, but I suspect it's been heavily optimised since launch.