Mafia III is one of the few games to tackle racism head-on. The game is set in a fictional New Orleans of 1968 and perfectly nails the tension and atmosphere of the era. Other games usually toe the line to avoid controversy, but 2K games had the guts to tell the story they needed to tell.
The opening warning gives a taste of what's to come. "Mafia III takes place in a fictionalized version of the American South in 1968. We sought to create an authentic and immersive experience that captures this very turbulent time and place, including depictions of racism." The warning continues, "We find the racist beliefs, language, and behaviors of some characters in the game abhorrent, but believe it is vital to include these depictions to tell Lincoln Clay's story. Most importantly, we felt that to not include this very real and shameful part of our past would have been offensive to the millions who faced - and still face - bigotry, discrimination, prejudice, and racism in all its forms."
The game follows Lincoln Clay, a bi-racial Vietnam veteran who returns home to find things in a mess. He agrees to help his surrogate father, Sammy, pull off a heist to pay off a debt to a mob boss. The heist is successful, but the mob boss double-crosses them, killing Sammy and leaving Lincoln for dead. Once Lincoln is back to health, his mission in life is to get revenge and take down the mob's criminal empire.
Lincoln bands together with different factions, including the Haitian crime boss, Cassandra, and Mafia II's Vito Scaletta, to take down the mob. What follows is the usual revenge tale of taking down the enemy piece by piece and claiming their turf. Obviously, Lincoln rises through the ranks to become a boss himself.
The plot sounds like many other GTA-clones out there, but it's the attention to detail and depictions of racism of the era that makes Mafia III stand out. This is one of the few games in which you can actually experience racism, both directly and indirectly. It could even be argued that the overall theme of the game is about how white supremacy can be brought down by a person of color. The fact that this third installment of the franchise did away with the stereotypical white mafia protagonist in favor of a bi-racial one is a testament to this.
The game features both overt and subtle racism. An example is the opening heist scene. A character makes a casually racist remark about how his white friend can't find a job, but a black person can, when referring to Lincoln. There are even certain establishments in the game that discourage Lincoln from entering because of a "whites only" signs. Throughout the game, there are also racist slurs and complaints about affirmative action. Some of these are by everyday people like police officers, while others are by the Klu Klux Klan, who are depicted as terrorists.
Some of the subtler racism in Mafia III is how a white woman will hold her bag tighter when Lincoln approaches, or how the police will question Lincoln when he minds his business. The game mechanics even include the police responding faster to calls in the affluent white suburb, compared to the black area where Lincoln resides. The mob is also continuously amazed that a black person could be taking down their empire.
By the end of the game, the man who made the racist remark about jobs is thrown into the furnace, and many racist characters have been violently killed. One of the more controversial parts of the game is when Lincoln infiltrates a Klan meeting and executes the leader before burning him on a cross. In the end, the man of color prevails, but at an extremely high cost.
Mafia III had the difficult task of depicting intense racism in the game while trying to avoid controversy. The fact that it was set in another era probably made things easier as they could always say that they were using it for "authenticity." Still, they did an excellent job and managed to create an entertaining slice of a different time. Hopefully, more games will be brave enough to tackle this thorny issue head-on in the future.
Sources: Venturebeat, The Verge