Lincoln Clay may not be Joe Barbaro's illegitimate child?
In the "In Loving Memory of Francesco Potenza", we see Joe conversing with an African American stripper. And while that may be the reason everybody thinks Joe and Lincoln are related, there is one thing (besides the developers' say) that might disappoint everyone's hopes. The year of that mission was 1951 and Mafia III is set in 1968. If Lincoln was born in 1951, he'd be 17 in 1968. When you see Lincoln's physical stature, there's no way he can pass off as an vengeful seventeen year-old bi-racial Vietnam War veteran. Unless Joe and that African-American stripper were seeing each other years prior (or maybe during the early years of Vito's prison time)- Made into more of a Mind Screw as Joe might still be alive and working as Leo's driver. Maybe. Not that it gets Lincoln more than a few strange glances from a guy he's never met.
- It's confirmed that Lincoln was born in 1945, which is somewhere during the time Joe fled "down south" (i.e. around New Bordeux) to escape getting whacked by his old mob back in Empire Bay, before moving back in 1951. To go back to the African-American stripper with Joe possibly being Lincoln's mother, it's also stated she abandoned Lincoln, so it's possible she went with Joe back to Empire Bay.
Lincoln Clay will go insane by the end of the game.
This rampage cannot be mentally healthy for a man with existing skull damage. More importantly, the insanity will give the player an excuse to REALLY go all-out in a grand finale GTA-esque rampage before the very end.- Considering the developers plan to touch on some dicey issues in this game, there may be allusions to Lincoln having PTSD and him trying his best not to succumb to it.
- Inconclusive: Lincoln doesn't go into a rampage after the final mission (unless the player makes him), but the Rule Alone ending involves killing all your underbosses - how the fuck is Lincoln going to keep his own mob from murdering him when he's gone that far?! Pretty insane, in retrospect.
- It is shown that Lincoln has some mental problems, such as a flashback to/hallucination of Sal Marcano massacring the Black Mob when he revisits the bar, and he also has a few emotional breakdowns in the story, often when reminded of Sammy and Ellis' deaths. Although the massacre of his underbosses in Rule Alone was a brutally Machiavellian suggestion by John Donovan, rather than an insanity-induced Rage Breaking Point, it would show Clay has chosen to fully become The Sociopath, no better than Sal Marcano.
If Mafia 4 ever comes around, it'll be during the 70s or 80s
The first game was set in the 30s, second in the 40s-50s and now this one is set in the 60s.- Alternatively, to keep that classic feel and avoid retreading ground (i.e. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City), the next game will be a prequel set in The Roaring '20s.
Donovan will still be alive in the next game
And he'll still be hunting those responsible for the JFK assassination. Sign of the Times will have something to do with the Charles Manson murders.
Given that it features a satanic cult, it's going to be alluded to somewhat.- Oh so confirmed!
Gina Kowalski is Haitian
Kowalski is a Polish last name, which would be unusual for a black person in the 60s to have. However in Haiti there are a number of people with distant Polish ancestry who are descendants of Polish mercenaries who fought in the Haitian Revolution. Some Haitians still have Polish last names. John Donovan has a more personal reason for hunting those responsible for the JFK assassination.
Donovan is an Irish name. Kennedy was the first Irish-American president (The Scots-Irish ones don't count. They never did count.). Long story short, perhaps he's doing it out race related grief in addition to all his other reasons. Mafia 4 could involve the Yakuza in the 1980s
Regardless of which branch is cut off, if at all, one group that would appear either as an ally or enemy is the Yakuza. The 1980s was a huge economic boom for both the US and Japan as well as legitimate and illegal businesses. Lincoln is indeed half-Italian, as Father James theorizes.
Every single Mafia protagonist up to this point has been Italian-American. It wouldn't be too far-fetched to guess that Lincoln has Italian heritage in him going by consistency. Remy Duvall is a member of the Ensanglante
Remy Duvall is shown in game as being a member of the New Bordeaux upper crust with his family's wealth and history in the region being rooted in the early settlers of the region. Likewise, the Ensanglante was founded by confederate general Braxton Harless. Remy Duvall is also shown to harbor extremely racist views he tones down for the public eye, alongside secretly already being the leader of the Southern Union Who is to say he wasn't among the many who are secretly involved in the cult? Although he professes to be a devout Christian on Native Son, this could all just be part of the act he puts on in public