Cultural references can be seen and heard throughout Mafia: Definitive Edition.
Cultural references are ideas that relate to specific pop culture, music, television shows, movies, or video games that are mentioned or inserted into the game by its developers as a reference for fans of those genres to notice. This article lists various references found within Mafia and Mafia: Definitive Edition.
Pop Culture References[]
Movies[]
- Chapter 1 called An Offer You Can't Refuse, which is a reference to a popular line from the 1972 Francis Ford Coppola film The Godfather.
- The name of the Corleone Hotel is a reference to The Godfather, in which the name of the main mafia family is Corleone.
- The plot of the Moderate Velocity mission in Free Ride is reminiscent of the 1994 movie Speed.
- The ending cutscene of the Alien Infiltration mission in Free Ride is a reference to the Men in Black movies.
Television[]
- The phrase at the end of every phone booth mission in Free Ride, "This message will self-destruct in 5 seconds", is a reference to the Mission: Impossible television franchise.
Historical Figures[]
- There was an actual Morello crime family based out of New York City that was active from the 1890s until 1931.
News References[]
- A news report about the search for the USS Akron airship after it went down off the New Jersey coast on 4 April, 1933 airs on the radio. The report mentions survivor and ship commander Herbert V. Wiley, as well as U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- Graffiti in the prison reads "Lost Heaven typewriter is our lullaby." This is a reference to the Thompson submachine gun, called the "Chicago typewriter" in real life slang, as Lost Heaven is an analogue for the city of Chicago.