The Old Country breathes new life into the classic franchise

When the original teaser trailer for Mafia: The Old Country was released in August 2024, it definitely piqued my interest. It was cool to finally see a new installment in the franchise, which has only seen remasters since Mafia III in 2016. 

My first experience with the Mafia franchise was playing the demo for Mafia II on a hand-me-down Xbox 360 when I was about 12. Driving around the limited open world and causing chaos hooked me on the series.

I didn’t think much about it afterwards, but seeing the Mafia: The Old Country trailer reminded me of those times. The release of a new entry for the series with a fresh story and modern graphics seemed like the perfect opportunity to jump in for my little 12-year-old self, who never got the chance.

Selling the story

Mafia: The Old Country is a prequel to the series set in early 1900s Sicily. The game sells this setting well, from the visuals, environment, and aesthetics to how characters interact and speak. Every part of the experience is designed to help you immerse yourself in the story and its setting.

The Old Country is a single-player linear story game, so immersion is the best part. Although the game features an explorable open world, it’s not there to be explored. It acts more as a backdrop for the main narrative, with the game offering minimal opportunities for you to explore the map freely. Even when given the chance, the only things you’ll find in the open world are collectibles and access to different stores to purchase upgrades or better equipment. If you plan on exploring the open world before completing the game, you should be prepared to be met with a lot of timers telling you to get back to the primary mission area.

Beautifully presented

A game’s visuals are essential to the experience, especially for narrative-based single-player games like The Old Country, which makes it even better to note that The Old Country looks great. The lighting and environment are very good, the aesthetics and feel are amazing. The designs for the main characters are detailed and distinct while also keeping it simple. Another good visual aspect is the user interface, which is simple but effective, telling you everything you need to know without being too distracting.

The level design in The Old Country also stood out. Playing through the game, I noticed that every mission used a unique stage, or at least one unique enough for any reused parts to go unnoticed. This made every gun fight or stealth mission feel fresh and new, even if the mechanics stayed the same.

Not re-inventing the wheel

The game mechanics presented in The Old Country are nothing new, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The game plays like your standard cover shooter, with a third-person camera and a cover mechanic that allows you to hide behind parts of the environment, acting as your main method of avoiding damage in a gunfight, similar to games like Gears of War or Grand Theft Auto. The game also implements stealth elements like silent takedowns, throwing bottles or coins to lure enemies and a listening mode that highlights the location of enemies similar to the one in The Last of Us.

Some mechanics I found cool were the knife variety and having different abilities. This meant the knife you chose could drastically change how you approached missions. The “Scannaturi” knives were able to be thrown to perform silent, ranged takedowns, ‘Rasolu’ knives could perform combat takedowns, and the “Stileto” knives just had increased durability, meaning you could use them a lot more.

Another mechanic I found kind of cool was the “Charms” system, which allowed you to find different collectibles throughout the story and on the map. These could be applied to your character to provide different buffs and effects, like increasing range on knife throws or dampening your footsteps.

The last mechanic worth noting is the knife duels, which are used for all of the major boss fights in the story. These fights will put players into a one-versus-one knife fight to defeat a boss, similar to the duels in Ghost of Tsushima. Throughout these knife fights, players can only slash, thrust, strike, dodge and parry; no other actions can be performed during the duels, making for much more impactful and intense boss fights instead of ending them instantly by shooting them.

Though none of these mechanics are necessarily new or special, The Old Country’s take makes them feel fresh and unique.

Bang for your buck

Mafia: The Old Country is cheaper than most triple-A games at $69.99, but it’s also relatively short, with a full playthrough of the story only taking around 10-13 hours. This is paired up with the fact that it’s a one-and-done game, it doesn’t feature multiple or secret endings, and there are little to no choices that you get to make as the player. 

You can choose to spend some extra time getting all the collectibles, but the story will stay the same. The price might seem a little steep for its length and replay value, but the story is genuinely very good, and if you’re willing to spend a bit to experience a great but short story, Mafia: The Old Country might be just what you’re looking for.

Header image source: 2K/ Hangar 13