Mafia: Definitive Edition Adds A Black And White Noir Mode With Update 1.03

Mafia: Definitive Edition, the recent PS4/Xbox One/PC remake of Mafia, has received its first major post-launch update, and it includes a new visual mode. Update 1.03 adds Noir Mode, which turns Mafia into a black and white game, complete with film grain. In the words of the press release, this mode aims to "accentuate the game's Prohibition Era aesthetic."

Of course, Mafia is not a particularly "noir" story--and on an aesthetic level, it's borrowing far more from Scorsese's Goodfellas than Scorsese's black-and-white Raging Bull. But if you want to experience Mafia as though it were a period piece from the '30s or '40s, or just pretend that the original game's 2002 release was a much longer time ago, this is a good way to do that.

New HUD options are now available, too. You can now switch the main objective markers on the game world, and the enemy markers on your mini-map, on or off. You can also turn off navigation instructions, and even enable a minimal HUD option to ditch the map, speedometer, and objective text.

New content has been added to Free Ride mode, too, but 2K isn't sharing details, hoping players will discover these additions for themselves. However, some cryptic italics on their update notes indicate that races and taxi fares have been added.

A few fixes have also been applied to the game:

• Addressed a reported issue that sometimes prevented the correct vehicles from unlocking in the player garage upon completion of the optional Lucas Bertone missions. Players who have completed these missions should find the correct vehicles in their garage the next time they start the game.
• Addressed a reported concern that a special assassination animation sometimes wasn't triggering correctly during the mission "The Saint and The Sinner."
• Addressed a reported concern that certain cinematics would occasionally show a black screen.

Mafia: Definitive Edition earned a 6/10 in GameSpot's review. "The archaic and repetitive combat hasn't evolved since Mafia II was released in 2010, and the years since have dated it even more," wrote reviewer Richard Wakeling. "Mafia: Definitive Edition might be an improvement on the original game, but its modernisation stops short of the mark, resulting in an uneven game that squanders its enticing potential."