Mafia III is not your usual game. People may think that it features generic game characteristics such as an open world, has a vast urban area with cars that can be stolen, and features armored citizens. However, this is not simply the case for Mafia 3. It may look like the game contain the abovementioned characteristics, but after six hours of playing the game, the player will discover something more than that.

According to Gamespot, Mafia III is set at New Bordeaux. This is the Hanger 13's version of New Orleans. The game is situated in the deep south during the year 1968. The place is characterized by tension and obvious racism. The main character is Lincoln Clay, an orphan with a mixed race who found a family within the Black Mob. He was sent abroad to become a fighter in the Vietnam War. When he came back, he wants to be a legal citizen. However, he experienced betrayal which led him to a life full of crime. He started off the interlinking events within Mafia 3.

According to IGN, this might be a reasonable scenario for the development of an unremorseful killer. However, it is not just simply a story about the usual form of revenge. It has a lot of stories to tell - a heavy load of emotional experiences can be noticed. The first few minutes of Mafia 3 will send its audiences into an emphatic journey with Lincoln.

The story shares a non-traditional approach wherein it was delivered through scenarios involving one-on-one interviews, recordings from previous government hearings, flashbacks, and reliving the events that happened through the point of view of the other characters in the story. Mafia III shows the brutality and horrendousness of a particular moment in the American history.