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In this Mafia The Old Country Review, we take a look at Hangar 13's newest entry in the beloved action-adventure franchise. The Old Country takes players through an epic adventure on the island of Sicily in the early 1900s. You'll engage in combat, drive in classic cars, and journey through a wide variety of locations throughout the game's narrative. But do all of these experiences make the game worth your timey and money?
Mafia The Old Country Review – What Is The Old Country?
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Mafia The Old Country is the fourth main installment in the Mafia series of video games. The series originally began in 2002 with the release of Mafia. Developer Illusion Softworks then went on to become 2K Czech as they developed a sequel, Mafia II (2010).
By the time Mafia III came around, 2K (The Publisher of the series) brought developer Hangar 13 into the mix, and both developers worked together to make the final game of the trilogy.
Since then, Hangar 13 has released Definitive Edition Remakes of the first two titles. But The Old Country represents their first mainline entry that they've worked on alone. Does it live up to the standards of previous titles? Let's find out.
Mafia The Old Country is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Gameplay – Mafia The Old Country Review
Before digging into the story, which is really the biggest aspect about the game, let's talk about The Old Country's Gameplay.
First off, it's not an open-world game, but rather a linear experience with some exploration. There are brief moments in the game where you have a chance to go off the beaten path and look for collectibles, notes, and even upgrades. But for the most part, you're relegated to playing in mission zones. That said, when you complete the main story, you unlock a level called “Explore” that lets you freely explore the open world.
To be honest, I actually like the linearity of the campaign. Some people may not like the lack of side quests, but I think it gave Hangar 13 more time to focus on the story and visual quality of the game. It's not uncommon to play an Open World game with boring side quests that you don't feel like earning 100% progress for.
Instead, The Old Country uses this opportunity to focus more on its main story, which I think worked out well… for the most part.
Overall, gameplay sections across The Old Country's levels include:
- Action Sections – Consisting of both Combat & Stealth segments
- Races, Riding & Driving – Ride a Horse/Drive a car in various scenarios (racing, combat, travel, etc)
- Duels – 1v1 Knife fights
- Exploration – Upon beating the game, the player can explore the map. Furthermore, a couple of levels in the game give the player more freedom, letting them take different routes to their destination
For the most part, you'll be doing a mixture of the top three. Let's begin with the first.
Overall, combat felt pretty good in The Old Country. All of the ranged weapons were fun to use, especially shotguns. I instantly fell in love with the Pump Action Shotgun as soon as I could use it.
Aiming can be challenging, but not difficult enough to make the experience stressful. Essentially, you need to wait before firing the gun, allowing your crosshairs to close in on the enemy. It adds just a bit more depth to the combat.
The game features a pretty solid selection of both guns and knives. There are all sorts of pistols, rifles, and shotguns for you to experiment with and pick up along the way. You can buy different knives from the shops, which have different abilities and durability levels.
But to be fair, combat sections didn't feel much different from your usual action-adventure title. You take cover, wait for the enemies to pop up, and then shoot them. Or, use a grenade to clear out multiple enemies at once. It's not bad by any means, but the formula isn't groundbreaking.
The same goes for stealth. Sometimes, you'll need to advance through a level without getting detected. Just crouch, throw bottles or coins to make distractions, and knockout or move past enemies to proceed.
Of course, you'll want to loot enemy bodies, so knocking enemies out is typically the preferred path. But that can potentially slow down the experience for players who don't like stealth sections. While I don't mind it, I can see how it may feel boring for others.
Enzo possesses an ability (which I just call “Enzo vision”), which enables him to see nearby enemies. If you've played games like The Last of Us or Assassin's Creed, you'll know what of I mean. It makes these sequences even easier and is a convenient tool for progressing through the story.
What's funny is that despite your efforts to remain quiet, Enzo seemingly always gets caught anyway at the end of every stealth section. This then leads into a combat sequence where you just have to shoot people anyway.
Fortunately, the game features a ton of ways for Enzo to improve himself on the battlefield. Throughout the campaign, you'll be able to buy or collect Charms, which provide little gameplay boosts. For example, some give you more ammo, while others help you aim faster.
Your knife also plays a role in regular gameplay, too. You need to use it to open up locks on doors, containers, and more, in order to earn more resources. So there are all sorts of ways for the player to get from Point A to Point B. Hangar 13 did a pretty good job here.
But there's more to being a Mafioso than just whacking people. And in the early 1900s, not everybody drove a car, as many rode on horseback. I got to do both in The Old Country, and the experience is pretty pleasant.
Horse riding works as you'd expect. You can boost to go faster and hop over obstacles. But the real fun part was driving in authentic 1900s vehicles. Every car in the game feels extremely fun to drive in.
There's a small learning curve to driving in this game, though. You can't just whip it like Franklin in GTA V. These old cars need a bit more precision when handling.
Furthermore, the game even offers an option to drive the car manually. While I prefer automatic, this is a really cool detail for those who want an immersive experience. Overall, driving is probably what I had fun with most in The Old Country.
Another gameplay element that's not as common either, is the knife fights Enzo will find himself in throughout the plot. These are little 1v1 duels where he fights with his knife only. You have a wide variety of moves at your disposal in order to win.
Overall, Knife Fights were fine, but got predictable near the end. Most enemy patterns felt the same, and as long as you dodged correctly, you usually earn a few free hits. I think there was potential to do more here, like maybe a 2v1 situation. I'm not saying that the idea is great, but I feel there was room for more.
Lastly, the Explore Level lets you go around Sicily at your own pace. Look for collectibles and charms, or just enjoy the scenery. While it's a nice touch, I'll explain in the following section why I wasn't so eager to do this.
But overall, The Old Country's gameplay is fine. While it doesn't reinvent the wheel, it felt fun enough to play with for the entire campaign.
Story – Mafia The Old Country Review
SPOILERS AHEAD – I won't spoil the campaign's ending, but do prepare to hear some story details in the following section.
The Old Country takes place in early 1900s Sicily, where you control “Carusu” Enzo Favara. You start off the game as a sulfur mine worker, with the intention of escaping one day with your friend, Gaetano. The sulfur mine is owned by the ruthless Don Ruggero Spadaro, the game's main antagonist.
Enzo eventually escapes the sulfur mine, but not before engaging in combat with Spadaro underboss Damiano “Il Merlo” Bastoni”. He flees to a stable, but Spadaro's men are still after him.
Enter the Torrisi family and its Don, Bernardo. The Don scares off Il Merlo, takes Enzo with him, and puts the carusu to work. Although Enzo must now work for a new Don, the conditions of his life are much better.
This is when you start to meet more of the game's interesting characters. Luca Trapani is the Don's Underboss and makes for a great character for Enzo to learn from. There's also Cesare Massaro, Bernardo's nephew, who grows a strong bond with Enzo throughout the story.
And then of course, there's Isabella Torrisi, the love interest and daughter of Don Torrisi. The two characters seemingly connect instantly, and their feelings for each other grow throughout the story. But unfortunately, Isabella is to marry the son of Baron Raffaele Fontanella, the Don's Patron. This forces Enzo and Isabella to keep their love secret, at least until Enzo has earned the Don's trust.
And for fans of the series, there are lots of characters you'll recognize from other Mafia titles. Leo Galante and a friend of his make several appearances throughout the campaign. Leo's grandfather, Niccolo, plays a very important role in the plot, especially as Enzo gets more involved in the business.
My favorite character in the game was a priest whom I won't say much about, as he appears later in the game. But let's just say the dude was kicking serious butt in the name of Jesus Christ.
In the first few levels, Enzo does simple jobs, which essentially allow the player to learn more about the game. Luca teaches you how to knife fight, Cesare teams up with you for a race, and Isabella teaches you how to use the camera feature.
My favorite mission in the game involved breaking a man out of jail in order to run a counterfeiting operation. Seeing the Galante and Torrisi families work together made for some great scenes and dialogue.
I will say that everything else up to that point was amazing. I loved the acting, writing, and character development throughout the story. When certain things happened to certain characters, I actually felt something.
I typically don't care for romances, but the “forbidden love” plot between Enzo and Isabella is actually a good one. You root for both of them, hoping that things will work out for them.
But there are also characters who either despise or don't trust Enzo. First is Agostino “Tino” Russo, the Don's consigliere. He's an isolated individual, untrusting of anyone, and aware of Enzo's little “relationship” with Isabella. He plays an interesting role in the story, and always keeps you guessing about his true motives.
There's also the cast of villains. Don Spadaro is cold, ruthless, and worthy of the “villain” title. He's also very calculated, never letting his emotions get the better of him, unlike Don Torrisi.
Overall, I really loved the characters of the Old Country. I listened to the game mostly in Sicilian dialogue, but I was impressed with the English VOs. Hearing “Minchia!” in any language is awesome. I never got sick of hearing “figghi buttana” after the 100th time someone said it in the story.
WARNING – I won't spoil the ending. All the same, I highly recommend skipping this section if you've yet to complete or play the game. – Mafia The Old Country Review
Unfortunately, I'm sad to say that despite all of these positives, The Old Country's ending was kind of a shocking letdown. The events that transpired in the final level happened too quickly and felt rather rushed.
I understand that some people prefer dark endings over happy ones. And I'm okay with a dark ending. But the way things happen at the end of the story just happen out of nowhere.
In the final 30 minutes of the game, you go through a stealth section that mostly feels scripted before fighting a rather rudimentary boss fight. The situation also felt unrealistic, and just kind of killed my immersion in the experience.
This is all subjective. There are some who will love the ending. But I don't think I'm alone here in thinking that the ending could have been better. And because The Old Country is a game where the story matters most, this did hurt our grade of it severely.
It's a shame, too. I really thought Hangar 13 did an excellent job putting everything together. They put together a great story with solid gameplay, with great visuals and music to complement it all. I don't doubt the developers worked hard on creating something they loved. But I also feel they missed an opportunity to do something better.
Because of this, I find it hard to want to replay The Old Country. Furthermore, I don't feel incentivized to play its “Explore Level”. After sinking about 13-14 hours into the campaign, I just called it quits and moved on.
Overall, I did like the story of the Old Country. With the exception of its endings, it was the making of one of the better plots I've seen in a game in a while. Unfortunately, unlike Enzo at the races, the game failed to finish strong.
Graphics & Audio – Mafia The Old Country Review
To end things on a lighter note, I was very impressed with the sights and sounds of Mafia The Old Country. The sounds of the car's engines, the blasts of the weapons, everything looked and sounded crisp.
I played the game on PS5, and did encounter some framerate dips, especially when driving. It's nothing serious, though it does seem to happen, especially when driving through a bustling town. When I had to drive to a wedding ceremony in one of the levels, I definitely noticed some visual drops.
But these weren't really issues, and they in no way affected the game's score negatively. For the most part, the game looked and ran perfectly. Cutscenes looked like something out of a high-quality TV Show. Weapon models, clothes and fabrics, lighting, and other details made The Old Country look spectacular.
The soundtrack is also amazing, fitting the game's setting perfectly. Furthermore, the game has a fairly accurate depiction of Sicily, with strong attention to detail. Hangar 13 did an excellent job at putting together a beautiful-looking experience.
Verdict – Is Mafia The Old Country Worth Your Time & Money
Despite its fair price and solid campaign length, I can't really recommend Mafia The Old Country. The ending alone completely killed any incentive to play through the game again. It's a shame, because I had loved the story so much up to that point.
Have you ever seen a good movie ruined by a terrible ending? That's the feeling I got from The Old Country. It's the kind of feeling that deters me from playing the game again. It also makes me wonder if perhaps it had been rushed. Regardless, I was disappointed.
The writing, the characters, the acting, the music, and the visuals all looked and felt amazing, only for it all to come crashing down in the final half hour of gameplay.
Mafia The Old Country is not a game that I would consider “memorable” because of its gameplay. It's not bad, and I actually do prefer the linear experience over an open world. But the gameplay itself isn't anything groundbreaking or revolutionary.
The main reason I wanted to play Mafia The Old Country was its story. And after experiencing the game's weak and rather abrupt ending, I don't feel like I ever want to again. That is why, in good faith, I cannot recommend you spend your money on this game, unless it was on sale.
That wraps up our Mafia The Old Country Review. We hope you enjoy the game if you do decide to purchase it.
Mafia The Old Country Review Score: 6.5/10
Editor’s Note: ClutchPoints received a PS5 review copy to allow us to cover this game. These copies did not, in any way, affect this Mafia The Old Country Review’s final score and verdict.
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