Mafia: The Old Country - Review

The beautiful hills of Sicily, the thud of horse hooves on the hard earth. The crank and roar of 1900’s Automobiles, and so much bad blood. Vendettas, revenge, hitmen and even a little bit of love. Mafia is back, and we’ve gone to the home of it all. Welcome to The Old Country.

It has been 9 years since the last time we got to experience the crime-filled, narrative driven and always filled with intrigue world of Mafia. While Mafia 3 marked a decided change in direction from the first two games in the series, Mafia: The Old Country looks to go back to the beginning. A focused, narrative driven and chapter-based experience, how does Mafia: The Old Country hold up to previous entries?

For those coming from Mafia 3, it is going to be a big shift in gameplay style. Rather than a sandbox style open world experience, focused around turning informants and breaking businesses; The Old Country goes back to its roots. A chapter driven story experience, The Old Country plays more like an interactive mob movie, than a mafia themed GTA clone. For some, this slimmed down style may not be to their liking. However, it cannot be understated how perfectly this decision works for The Old Country.

As beautiful as the rolling hills and flowery meadows of Sicily are in this game, the true beauty lies in the story. Putting the focus on a tight, concise and dramatic story of the origins of the Mafia families, The Old Country does very little wrong and almost everything right. Like any story, there are plodding moments that feel a little bit drawn out for the sake of it, but across the twelve hours or so of gameplay, there is very few moments where you don’t feel like you are right in the thick of everything that is happening. There is nothing I can specifically mention without potentially spoiling something, as almost every moment has a meaning for something later on. From the opening few minutes of the game, to the tense, heart-thumping and tear inducing finale, Mafia: The Old Country is truly the best story of the series.

The beauty of the story is told wonderfully through the array of characters you’ll encounter. Don Torisi, Isabella, Luca, Cesare and Tino. Even more minor characters like Pasquale and Gaspare have their moments of importance and shine, and make the world feel full of life. Everyone behaves as you would expect, a sense of foreboding on the horizon at all times when you understand the truth of the magnitude of these characters. The thinly veiled rage and aggression, hidden behind suits and flashy accessories and the idea of ‘business.’ There is even a few surprises littered throughout. Every character feels full of character, human, and with their own unique personalities. A cast of characters to rival all three previous entries.

Gameplay itself is an interesting change too. The best parts of Mafia 3’s stealth system are blended with a unique gunplay system. The guns of 1905 are not the flashy machine guns, sniper rifles and pistols that are synonymous with the series. No, they are more raw, more traditional. The guns have a weight behind them, each one feeling different to use from the last. On top of this, you’re encouraged to scrounge and scavenge during combat encounters. You carry a very limited amount of ammo at any time, forcing you to loot the bodies of your fallen foes, or rapidly swap out between guns as you fight your way through bandits, mafioso and guardie. Despite this, Mafia: The Old Country somehow makes these more antiquated guns enjoyable to use, combat being quick and brutal if you go in guns blazing.

While you won’t be driving as much as you may have in previous games, it is comforting to know that the staple of Mafia vehicles driving like trying to walk across ice. The realism factor remains, going even so far as requiring you to crank start most of the vehicles in the game. Alongside the cars though, you’ll also be riding horses at a number of points throughout the game. The horses control relatively well, though do seem to have the same turning circle as a car which can be a little strange to get used to. There’s something soothing about simply driving through the beautiful countryside in an open top car, the roar of the engine and the wheels forever threatening to spin out and throw you into a ravine.

If you do find yourself wishing you could’ve explored more of the world through your playthrough, the game does offer an ‘Explore’ mode as well. After completing the prologue chapter, you’ll be able to select explore mode from the chapter select menu. This is essentially what it sounds like. You’re thrown into this beautifully made world and give the ability to explore to your hearts content. Find collectibles, buy new weapons, cars and horses, and simply explore. It would have been nice to have a little bit more of this throughout the story, as the world itself really is wonderful. There is an option to skip unnecessary driving while playing through the story, but I pretty much never found myself wanting to do so. Driving for a few minutes to my destination was always just a joy to do.

For all the good, there is some negatives too. Whilst its nice to have the ability to buy different knives, guns, vehicles and horses, there isn’t much reason to. For the most part you’re put in a particular vehicle, you’ll have your guns taken away pretty regularly for story purposes, and you won’t actually get to use your chosen horse more than once or twice through the main story. I understand the focus of these is predominantly in explore mode, but it takes some of the fire out of things if every time you choose something specific, it is changed or taken away almost immediately.

The knives are the only things that really will have any impact, based on their passives. For the most part though, you’ll likely just pick whatever knife has the most durability with a somewhat decent passive and never change it again. I don’t mind the simplicity here, I just wish I was given more of a choice in things that were happening, rather than being railroaded and given the illusion of choice. The beauty of the other entries was having the choice of how you got to and from missions, so having that stripped away is kind of disappointing for a game that does so well in so many other avenues. 

Lastly, the protagonist himself, Enzo. With every other character being so interesting and full of life, its unfortunate that you are playing as possible the most boring of the bunch. For story purposes it makes sense, and there is growth throughout. Yet, Enzo himself is fairly flat of a character. He never really grows enough to make him a compelling figure in the game. Compared to Tommy and Vito in particular, Enzo struggles to really make an impact. Lincoln Clay was such a powerful character for a game that was sort of middling, whereas Enzo is a weak character for a game that is incredibly powerful. 

Mafia: The Old Country, is a return to the old and it is done beautifully. The things that made Mafia feel different and unique are here, and it cannot be understated how much this game feels like being part of a Mafia movie. A beautiful world filled with impactful and lively characters, with enough twists and turns to keep you on your feet. The unfortunate stripping away of choice in how you interact with the world is disappointing, but it is a minor issue in a game that is so well made. A fantastic love letter to itself, and a real shining light for what is to come.

The Score

9.5

Review code provided by 2K

The Pros

Very enjoyable gunplay and combat

The world of Sicily is beautiful

One of the best stories in the series

The Cons

Limited choices in weapons

A weak protagonist compared to the rest of the cast

The illusion of choice with Vehicles