Mafia The Old Country Review, Gameplay Impressions, Videos and Top Features

Mafia The Old Country from developer Hangar 13 is an atmospheric romp of a return for a beloved series. 

As the name implies, though, Old Country goes backward a bit…not that such a description needs to be a bad thing.

The fourth main entry in the Mafia series goes backward in time for its setting and narrative. Along the way, it dials back the overall third-person experience a bit to focus on a more linear journey through a gritty world. 

There are hiccups that come with scaling down like so, as expected, but a unique setting for the video game space in good hands through this series has made Old Country one of the more hyped games of the year for a reason. 

Graphics and Gameplay

Early 1900s Sicily, Italy, is gorgeous. 

There’s the obvious stuff powering the experience through next-generation hardware, such as impressive physics, reflective water, and lighting and shadow work that makes seedy bars and architecturally impressive tiled backrooms all the more pleasing to look at. Character models are quality and varied, too. 

But it’s the attention to detail within each space and the sound design that really push things over the edge on the immersion front. There are some incredible voice-acting performances across the board here that fit the era. And just walking through spaces gives off what must be the same feeling as walking through a big-budget Hollywood set. 

Sound design flexes the little attention to detail more than anything, though. Whether it’s different rumblings of engines or horses to radios fuzzing in and out, to name just a few examples, there’s always something to appreciate. 

Old Country dials down the experience compared to the bloated open world of Mafia III and goes for something much more linear, but exploration remains a treat as a result. It does, however, clash with video game must-haves such as the player’s “Instincts” that let them highlight stuff in the environment. 

Combat-wise, Old Country attempts to match the setting with a more lethal set of encounters. Ammo scarcity in the limited number of weapons, such as revolvers, is a very real thing, and more often than not, a stealthy, intimate approach with knives is a better option. 

On paper, Old Country going for a much stealthier approach to combat sounds great. The main character is sneaky and something of an expert with knives. They can even move bodies to avoid detection. Onlookers can see where this is going. 

Unfortunately, much of the stealth is bogged down by simplistic AI that players can manipulate. Meaning, toss something to distract one of the two baddies in an area, get the takedown on the guy not awkwardly wandering off to look at where the noise came from, then go take down the second guy still examining a spot on the floor. 

The idea is a fantastic one, at least. But it gets repetitive and feels a little too video game-y. Ditto for the boss battles, which break up the pacing nicely but don’t do anything shocking. 

Old Country’s gameplay loop is an odd combination of feeling good, repetitiveness and leaving players asking what if? in terms of other things they wish were possible. 

That’s not to say Old Country feels bad to play. It’s fun. But it feels a little like the recent Indiana Jones release in that the gameplay is a backseat to the narrative efforts, which makes it a great thing that the immersive presentation is so stellar. 

Story and More

Mafia returns to its Mafia II roots in San Celeste and players take the role of Enzo Favara. 

The story starts with Favara moving to life with a crime family and shaking free of indentured labor in a sulfur mine and embraces everything that comes with the switch. It hits on the very expected bits, to say the least. 

It’s a tale that goes in some really heartfelt directions with memorable characters and moments, indeed. And despite some of the less-than-stellar gameplay surroundings at times, it punches above its weight in terms of immersion, to the point of standing top dog in its early 1900s niche. 

While the tale and characters can captivate, repetitiveness of missions and a gameplay structure that throws out insta-fail states for straying too far from the intended path can frustrate. 

Even so, the fact there’s so much immersion to shatter in the first place is a mark in the game’s favor. And most gamers might not be stress-testing those fail states and limitations, anyway, right?

An explore mode, available after the prologue, lets players run around and find extra things outside of missions, so it’s not strictly linear from start to finish, either. 

There are smaller bits of interesting progression behind the scenes, like a charms system that provides perks. But it’s mostly background dressing to what is otherwise a standard-fare third-person romp. 

Old Country runs well and the switch to Unreal Engine 5, which has troubled other games at times, seems smooth enough here. 

The usual list of options includes an interesting way to up the challenge via different aiming modes, in addition to the usual must-haves in games now. 

Conclusion

Extremely atmospheric but a little too linear and repetitive, Old Country is a fun time, especially if players enter it in the mood for its era and crime-family themes. 

Old Country feasts on its immersion levels but can’t maintain them consistently, given the fact only some objects of the many scattered around are able to be picked up and used and straying a hair too far off the intended path results in warning screens, never mind the enemy AI hiccups.

Despite a narrow scope that leaves players wishing for more, Old Country is still a good example of linear games done right. It’s not blowing the doors off the industry with new things by any means and it certainly isn’t hitting new tropes in a genre that is so well-trodden across media. 

And yet, Old Country is a tight experience that is a modern high mark for the series and a bright spot and prime example of quality atmospheric gaming.