IGN: You wouldn't describe it as an open-world game then?
Alex Cox: No. Not to use that in the strictest sense.
Nick Baynes: The way I describe it is you're not going to be playing Mafia: The Old Country and going off and doing endless side quests and doing activities in the world. We want players to go through and experience a story, but set in this beautiful world. And if you are going along a path and you want to go over here and explore, in many cases you can do that because the world exists around you. But we're encouraging you to go through the story.
One of the things I love about these games is people tend to complete them because they want to find out what happens. And again, this is a trend with this game as well. We want people to go through and experience the whole story. But if we're going to say it's not open-world, it's purely linear, that sounds too tight. But if you're going to say it's an open-world game, that's too broad. That's why we're trying to lead you back to Mafia 1 and 2.
Open-world is a very loaded term and it's a conversation we have had many times in terms of, should we use this word or not? And the answer is kind of yes and no. I hope that helps you!
IGN: I'll try imagine what it is! I think it's just because there is a bit in the trailer where there is driving and I think that automatically makes me think it is an open-world game where you can drive around a big map.
Nick Baynes: And you can!
Alex Cox: You can traverse the world in a car, on foot, or on horseback. It's just a rural environment. As with Mafia 1 and 2, it's a linear story. You travel around the world, some of the missions are set in the world, in an open environment. There is a continuous map. There's a world to explore. But as with Mafia 1 and 2 the focus is very, very firmly on the main story.
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