Mafia: The Old Country Review – A Disappointing Entry in the Beloved Franchise

by

The Old Country, a game whose title does not include the number 4.

Although Mafia: The Old Country is set in a fresh location and created with noble aspirations using advanced technology, it unfortunately doesn’t attain the same lofty peaks as its earlier versions.

The initial two Mafia games may not have revolutionized mechanics, but they stood out for their vibrant characterization. Memorable characters, diverse and unforeseeable missions, and entertaining cinematics made them reminiscent of classic gangster films. They offered a glimpse into the enigmatic, frequently romanticized realm of Italian organized crime. However, despite Mafia: The Old Country promising a fresh experience due to its unique setting, characters, and culture, it unfortunately falls short. Its gameplay and storytelling appear remarkably underdeveloped.

Mafia: The Old Country Feels Outdated and Bland

Earlier Mafia games were primarily focused on interactive elements such as intense shootouts behind cover and basic car chases. Although these games may seem repetitive in terms of mechanics due to the popularity of cinematic cover shooters, they offered a significant portion of what players desired from the emerging subgenre, including Mafia 2. Fast forward to The Old Country, it’s striking how little Hangar 13 altered their approach. Essentially, these games reflect the trends of their era, which is why the lack of change in The Old Country is noteworthy.

Mafia: The Old Country Isn’t an Open-World Game—Technically

It was previously announced that unlike its predecessors, the game Mafia: The Old Country isn’t an open-world game, but this doesn’t result in major alterations. The narrative is divided into sections, yet it all unfolds in a fictional region of Sicily, which you can freely explore at various points. You can jump into a car or ride a horse and leisurely traverse the countryside between tasks, or you can opt for Explore Mode, a somewhat clumsily integrated free-roam feature accessible through the main menu.

In comparison to the more engaging open-world environments of its previous versions, the quasi-open-world in the “Old Country” seems remarkably lackluster. While there are some collectibles available, the incentives for gathering them are either non-existent or minimal. These items are simply scattered around with no obstacles, puzzles, or hidden secrets to make their discovery rewarding; they merely serve as filler in an open-world setting. There are no groups of roaming enemies, no mysteries to uncover, and no additional content whatsoever. This unusual design choice is not problematic in isolation, but it feels particularly disappointing given the context of “Mafia: The Old Country”.

Mafia: The Old Country’s Stealth, Combat, and Driving Fall Flat

The core gameplay experience primarily unfolds during story missions, which while generally acceptable, often lack the exceptional quality. These missions typically involve a mix of stealth and action sequences, following a typical template for an action-adventure game. However, in the game The Old Country, there’s a noticeable lack of depth in this area.

Stealth in the game is quite simplistic, often reducing to sneaking behind unaware enemies and pressing the action button, or occasionally using distractions like tossed items or throwing knives. However, these stealth mechanics feel more like necessities rather than purposeful additions to the gameplay. There’s no room for exploration or experimentation with various weapons and strategies during stealth sequences. Instead, stealth feels linear, predictable, and lacking in sophistication.

In the third-person shooting segments of Mafia: The Old Country, the various guns available have a solid and responsive feel but lack distinct characteristics. Essentially, each gun behaves similarly within its class, lacking individuality or unique abilities. This game seems to follow the cover shooter formula popular in the late 2000s, where shootouts are reminiscent of Whack-a-Mole – you’re primarily focused on eliminating enemies as they pop up from their cover. Similar to stealth, there’s minimal opportunity or incentive to experiment with different strategies, tactics, or approaches in combat.

As a gamer, I’ve encountered an intense knife-dueling minigame that frequently pops up towards the end of missions, serving as a substitute for typical boss encounters. It’s a creative approach to incorporate boss battle aspects into a more realistic game setting, but unfortunately, it’s marred by its basic mechanics. The knife fights feel rigid and slow, almost like watching a cutscene with slightly more intricate quick-time events. And the sad part is, these battles never seem to progress or adapt, lacking variety in terms of mechanics, moves, abilities, or environmental factors. Just like many aspects of this game, it feels like an afterthought, never fully realizing its potential.

I thoroughly played “Mafia: The Old Country” at its maximum challenge level, which suggests that I may not have overlooked many complex aspects of the game.

One issue that stands out in the gameplay of Mafia: The Old Country is its sense of incompleteness. The game seems to hint at more complex mechanics, but they often fail to fully develop. For example, you can accumulate various perks, yet they are so insignificant that they barely warrant consideration. These perks offer minor advantages such as a small increase in looted money or enhanced damage with specific weapons, but not much else. A similar issue arises with the vehicles in The Old Country. Although there are several cars and horses to buy, each with unique stats, these differences seldom matter. The main campaign features only a few driving and riding sequences, and they rarely give players the option to choose their vehicle beforehand. You can acquire a new car or horse, but you’ll find yourself exploring an empty, lifeless world with it.

The game, “Mafia: The Old Country,” has some surprisingly basic design aspects that make it feel incomplete or unfinished. Unlike its predecessors, it discards the open-world format, yet fails to offer anything compelling as an alternative. Instead of resembling a mediocre PS3-era cover shooter in appearance, it delivers a similar feeling in gameplay.

Mafia: The Old Country Isn’t Rescued by Its Story

A game that offers average gameplay can greatly benefit from an engaging storyline. Not only does this often enhance the entire gaming experience, but excellent narrative also tends to make such games more enjoyable as players develop an emotional connection to the fictional universe they’re immersed in.

However, for it to stand out, the writing should really shine, yet in “Mafia: The Old Country,” it falls short of that mark. Let me clarify, it’s not bad by any stretch and can occasionally be quite good, but overall, it lacks distinction and follows familiar patterns. The narrative adheres to common mob movie stereotypes, featuring a rising star as the lead character, a captivating woman hindered by her father, and an imposing yet charismatic patriarch in the central role. To be fair, these stereotypes are handled competently, and the characters can be quite engaging, but there’s no unique charm or something exceptional that this tale brings to the table compared to many others in its genre.

Notably, the voice acting in Mafia: The Old Country is exceptionally well-executed, with a robust and convincing English dub. Each performance is consistently strong.

Beyond this, the narrative of “The Old Country” feels heavy-handed in its delivery. To avoid spoilers, it leans more towards explaining than illustrating. Character relationships, anxieties, and objectives, which significantly shape the storyline, are frequently discussed through dialogue rather than portrayed through actions. In this game, characters often repeat the main theme of the story during uncomfortable dialogues, rather than allowing players to deduce it through their own observations. Much like its gameplay, “Mafia: The Old Country” delivers its story effectively, but in a mechanical and uninspired way.

The game titled “Mafia: The Old Country” isn’t necessarily poor, but it falls short of being exceptional. Its gameplay is lackluster and somewhat limiting, its storyline is uninspiring and easy to guess, and its environment lacks the captivating allure of a living, breathing world – instead feeling as lifeless as an Unreal Engine demonstration. It hits the basic requirements, but for a title from a cherished franchise like “Mafia“, it should have aimed higher.

On August 8, 2025, the game “Mafia: The Old Country” will be available on PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X|S. For this review, we were given a PC code by Game Rant.

Read More

2025-08-07 17:01