Mafia: The Old Country

Mafia: The Old Country bucks the open-world trend, setting itself apart from Mafia III. This classic, linear and comparatively straightforward Mafia adventure takes place in an extraordinary setting.

Mafia III was released over nine years ago, and in the meantime, Hangar 13 has released Definitive Editions of the trilogy. Now, the franchise is returning with Mafia: The Old Country, a prequel drawing on the stylistic and gameplay elements that made the original games so popular. Set in Sicily in the early 1900s, the game tells the story of Enzo Favara, a man who finds himself drawn into the criminal underworld. Highlights include the game's compelling characters and dense atmosphere, which convincingly capture the historical setting as well as typical clichés.

Mafia: The Old Country is a story-driven, third-person action game with a much more linear gameplay structure than Mafia III's open-world design. While the world is open, exploration is more of an added bonus, with players primarily moving from one mission to the next – much like in the original Mafia game. Side quests have been reduced to increase narrative density and provide a more curated experience. However, there are still collectibles that can be used to unlock gameplay advantages. The combat system offers classic third-person shooter mechanics enriched by knife fights and stealth gameplay. For most of the game, stealth is entirely optional, offering the same tactical viability as charging into enemy encounters guns blazing. However, there will occasionally be sections of the game that require Enzo to remain in stealth mode for narrative reasons. Players can also ride horses and drive cars. Overall, the gameplay is solid, if not particularly groundbreaking. The game takes around 12 hours to complete.

"Mafia: The Old Country is a focused, linear experience that combines quality storytelling, authentic era immersion and a refined take on the familiar Mafia gameplay. That focus allows us to deliver a story that’s gritty, grounded, brutal and emotional. Embracing early 1900s era Sicily, this is a mafia origin story that follows our protagonist, Enzo Favara, as he takes the oath and works his way up Don Torrisi's crime family." - Nick Baynes, Hangar 13 President

Unlike Mafia III, which focused on free exploration and side activities in an open-world setting, The Old Country marks a return to the streamlined storytelling and cinematic quality that fans of Mafia I and II appreciate. However, away from the main story, players can still search for collectibles, explore the world, and complete side missions involving horse races and car chases. They can also unlock vehicles and equipment and enjoy the impressive, detailed surroundings and atmosphere. Incidentally, the PC version offers an "Epic Settings" graphics option that will push even the most powerful hardware to its limits.

"While Mafia: The Old Country is a linear and narrative-driven experience, some missions will offer the freedom to take your own route toward objectives. In other words, similar to Mafia and Mafia II, you'll be given opportunities to freely roam through a detailed and lived-in world. The game will also include an Explore option at launch, meaning that once you've completed the Prologue, you'll be able to find collectibles, spend your in-game currency on new items, and take your vehicles and horses for rides around the environment. We have plans to expand this feature via a free post-launch update, more information about which will be revealed at a later date." - Hangar 13 and 2K Games

"We think there's a large audience for compelling stories that don't require massive time commitments. We're excited to offer a game like Mafia: The Old Country in our portfolio, and to provide a linear highly-polished narrative experience that can easily complement the other more persistent games our players also love and engage with on a more consistent basis." - David Ismailer, 2K President

Developed by Hangar 13 and published by 2K Games, Mafia: The Old Country was released on 7 August 2025 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. The standard edition costs €49.99, while the Deluxe Edition, which includes special weapons, cosmetic items, a charm that provides a passive in-game effect, a soundtrack and a digital artbook, costs €59.99.

Conclusion

Mafia: The Old Country is a linear, cinematic game driven by its characters and atmosphere. Essentially, it's a playable Mafia movie without the open-world baggage. While it doesn't reinvent the wheel, it's an extremely solid addition to the series.