Mafia: The Old Country Review

You might remember Mafia as the show that told you dark, slow-moving crime stories with a lot of atmosphere and blood-soaked brotherhood. Hangar 13 has hit the rewind button after the controversial Mafia III and the well-received Mafia: Definitive Edition.

Mafia: The Old Country doesn't happen in the crazy cities of the United States. Instead, it goes back to Sicily in the early 1900s, when the rules on the streets were family, honor, and keeping quiet. This isn't a crime spree in a sandbox; it's made with Unreal Engine 5 and comes in a more focused, linear form.

It's a planned turn. A story that comes first. A memory from long ago. It doesn't change the franchise, but it sure knows how to make the underworld look romantic. But how far can a story go just because it happens in a particular place?

In Mafia: The Old Country, you put on Enzo Fava's old boots. He was a boy whose bones always hurt. For more than ten years, you worked in the sulfur mines, breaking your back while Il Merlo, the head of the Spadaro crime family, looked on. At first, it's a story about staying alive, but it quickly turns into a dangerous journey up the criminal food chain.

Enzo hurts his boss and falls into the lap of Don Bernardo Torres, the head of a rival family. This happens after a gas explosion almost kills him. Luca, one of the Don's most trusted lieutenants, takes you under his wing, and that's when the real story begins. This is a classic tale of how someone rises to the top. It's violent, slow-burning, and full of betrayal and loyalty.

Mafia: It's strange that you care about the Old Country. You will care because Luca's harsh advice, Cesare's bratty charm, and Isabella's quiet but strong presence as the Don's daughter will all make you care. Their talks sound real, like they've been going on for a while, and the tension is just correct. There are mafia dinners, stares, and quiet warnings in every cutscene, reminiscent of a scene from a high-class drama.

There are a lot of things here, but the story is very predictable. Yes, you will be able to see some "twists" coming from a long way off. Yes, it does play it safe too often. But you'll still feel the heat when everyone is watching, especially when Enzo gets stronger and gets closer to Isabella.

Mafia III has a more open world. This is a well-planned experience with parts. It was supposed to be straight along the main path. You can eventually unlock an "explore" mode that lets you walk around the beautiful Valet Dorata and pick up things.

You will have to sneak around, shoot guns, set up movie-like scenes, carry crates, or listen in on conversations. Some missions don't have different designs, but they do feel different. One minute you're galloping through cobblestone streets on a horse, and the next you're quietly following a traitor through the moonlit vineyards.

There are a lot of different kinds, but the mechanics work well. Gunplay is fun, with big guns and enemies that throw grenades, sneak up on you, and even follow you around. But it can be hard to aim, especially in the first few chapters, even with charms that you can unlock to help.

You can kill someone without them knowing, distract them, or strangle them without being seen. You can change it, but Mafia: The Old Country remains the same. Knives, button-mash sequences, and the rare times when AI doesn't play fair all last a long time. The tone still works with stealth, though; it makes you feel like a shadow in the vines.

But driving it is a lot of fun. They are the right weight for cars and horses from the early 1900s. People who like cars will be happy to see that the game brings back the encyclopedia from earlier entries. You can drive these cars outside of the main story in explore mode, which is excellent for people who like classic cars.

There are also knife fights in Mafia: The Old Country. It feels like a movie and is very intense, but it also goes around in circles. Things that seem like fun at first get boring. The fights are the beginning and end of the story, but they don't change much, so you don't want to see swords hitting each other up close.

There aren't any regular puzzles, but the fighting gets harder as you go. It's not about pressing buttons; it's about where you are and how long you have to wait. A lot of the time, you should pay attention to things like narrow alleys, barrels that could explode, and places where people can get stuck. Enemies are smart, but not always in the same way.

When the weapons fit the scene, things get interesting. You can't use AKs here. You have used the rifles, shotguns, and revolvers a lot before. The fighting is slower, but that makes sense for the story. You are not a hero. You are a man who lives in a world full of guns, silence, and lies.

You can earn more XP by exploring and doing well. You can get money, gear, beads, or medallions that make you stronger and change how you do missions. The RPG system isn't too hard to figure out, but it does let you do things you wouldn't normally be able to do.

This is where Mafia: The Old Country really shines, like a rich person in a white suit. The countryside around San Celestee and the area around it are both very pretty. It looks like every inch of it was painted with care, from the old ruins to the big vineyards. Because of the light, the fog in the morning and the haze in the golden hour look so real. A lot of people live in villages. Mountains are very big. Nature speaks in a quiet voice. Someone put the rocks there by hand.

There is a lot of information in the cutscenes. Facial expressions, glances, and even eye movements all help to set the mood. What is the only bad thing? You can't change the fact that they can only go up to 30 frames per second with motion blur.

Some people might like it because it makes the movie feel more real, while others might want to turn it off. Still, the best part is how the art is done. This world has been around for a long time, has a lot of money, and is full of life. You want to move around in it more than the game lets you.

The sound design is great; the gravel crunching underfoot and the loud bang of old guns are both very realistic. San Celestee is a lively place. The story changes how NPCs talk to one another. In taverns, radios are on. The wind makes the vines rustle like secrets being shared. The horses neigh and the birds sing.

The orchestral score gets louder when it needs to, but it never gets too noisy. It keeps the tension in check without making you feel like you're going to blow up. The voice acting is always great. The actors make even the most well-known mafia stereotypes come to life, like Luca's wise voice and Enzo's calm anger. The actors are all in, so every betrayal and every last conversation with a cigarette is real.

Mafia: The Old Country is a love letter to old gangster stories and a missed chance. When it works, it looks great, feels like a movie, and makes you feel something. Enzo's rise from being an abused miner to a respected mobster is believable and grounded, with a lot of dramatic tension, mainly because the characters are well-written and well-acted.

But it's not very safe. The story doesn't give a lot of choices. The mechanics work, but they don't always surprise you. Repetition sneaks in at the edges, like knife fights, plot twists that are too easy to see coming, or not being able to move around freely outside of cutscenes. This game makes one of the most beautiful and atmospheric worlds in a long time, but it mostly ignores it in favor of hallways and triggers. That's the main problem.

The magic of the Mafia comes back in Mafia: The Old Country when you drive a classic car down a dusty road at sunset or make plans in a villa's back room by candlelight. It may not change the franchise, but it knows what made it great in the first place.