Mafia: The Old Country Review - A Gorgeous But Dated Return to Sicily

Mafia: The Old Country strips away the open-world excess of recent entries and delivers something leaner. Focused. This prequel whisks you back to early 1900s Sicily, trading modern sandbox gameplay for a tightly-scripted gangster saga. Think interactive mob movie rather than playground.

Does it work? Yes and no.

Sicily Steals the Show

The setting is breathtaking. Hangar 13 nailed the atmosphere of turn-of-the-century Sicily with golden Mediterranean landscapes, cobblestone streets, and Baroque architecture that feels lived-in. Riding horseback through olive groves or driving a sputtering Model T past festival crowds genuinely transports you. The art team did their homework. Every detail, from vintage firearms to period-accurate clothing, sells the authenticity.

Unreal Engine 5 flexes here with gorgeous lighting effects. Sunlight filtering through trees, candlelit interiors during tense backroom deals. Character models look sharp in cutscenes too. The world begs to be explored.

Problem is, you can't.

Empty World, Linear Path

Outside story missions, Sicily feels hollow. No police. Few NPC reactions. Virtually zero side activities. The game rushes you from chapter to chapter with minimal freedom between. There's an Exploration mode, but critics weren't wrong calling it pointless. You'll find some collectibles and photo spots, but that's about it.

This isn't GTA. The structure echoes the original Mafia games with discrete chapters and a rigid mission flow. When one ends, the next begins. No detours. Some players appreciate this old-school approach. Others feel shortchanged by the lack of content in what looks like a full open world.

Gameplay That Time Forgot

The core loop leans on stealth and cover shooting. You'll sneak around, choke out guards, then blast your way through when spotted. Standard stuff. The problem? It's all very basic. Enemy AI follows predictable patrols and has terrible vision. Stealth becomes a "boring breeze" as Game Informer put it.

Gunplay feels competent but dated. Think third-person shooters from the 2010s. Weapons sound punchy and hits have weight, which helps. Aiming on controllers can be stiff though. Enemies aren't smart either, often exposing themselves or failing to flank. Combat stays easy on normal difficulty.

Then there's the knife fights. Every major confrontation ends with a scripted one-on-one blade duel. Initially interesting as a nod to Sicilian culture, but you'll do this roughly a dozen times. Same pattern every fight. Dodge, parry, attack. Mid-fight cutscene where the boss rallies. Repeat. By the end, it's ridiculous watching villains toss aside perfectly good guns to knife-fight for no reason.

Driving fares better. Period vehicles feel appropriately weighty but manageable. There's even two race sequences that thankfully avoid the frustration of Mafia 1's infamous mission. Mostly, driving serves as scenic tours through gorgeous countryside.

The consensus? Gameplay gets the job done but innovates nothing. It's functional. Safe. Ancient, even. You're here for the story, not groundbreaking mechanics.

A Tale You've Seen Before

The narrative follows Enzo Favara, a young miner who escapes horrific sulfur mine conditions and falls in with Don Torrisi's crime family. Over several years, you'll rise from indebted labourer to trusted lieutenant. Classic mob themes: loyalty, ambition, forbidden love (with the Don's daughter, naturally). Mount Etna rumbles in the background as symbolic flair.

It hits every beat you expect. Humble beginnings. Family induction. Successful jobs montage. Betrayals. Tragic losses. Inevitable confrontation. If you've seen a gangster film, you'll spot the twists from miles away. The plot is aggressively predictable. Safe. Paint-by-numbers.

Yet the execution elevates it.

Characters Bring It to Life

Voice acting is excellent across the board. Don Torrisi exudes quiet menace. His hot-headed nephew Cesare adds volatility. Mentor figure Luca provides moral grounding. The consigliere Tino (voiced by Anthony Skordi) frequently steals scenes with chilling presence.

After a slow start, these characters click. Their relationships feel genuine. You'll care about their fates despite the clichéd story framework. The game includes over three hours of cutscenes in the 10-12 hour campaign, and the cinematic presentation works. It often feels like watching a mafia movie with some gameplay sprinkled in.

There's even a Sicilian-language dub option for extra authenticity. The orchestral score stays period-appropriate too, enhancing immersion without overpowering scenes.

If you love character-driven mob dramas, The Old Country delivers. Just don't expect surprises.

Technical Rough Edges

Console performance seems solid. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S run smoothly with few issues reported. PC is another story. Players with high-end rigs still encountered stutters and bizarrely long load times at launch. Dying meant waiting ages to reload checkpoints. DLSS Frame Generation caused cutscene stutters too.

Patches are addressing these problems, but PC optimisation needs work. Intel 13th/14th Gen CPU users faced specific crashes requiring workarounds. Update your drivers if playing on PC.

The game itself is stable otherwise. No widespread crashes or quest-breaking bugs. The world's rigidity (you often can't draw weapons in public areas) prevents emergent chaos but also limits interactivity. Instant-fail stealth sequences feel dated too. Get spotted, start over. Old-school design that modern players might find jarring.

Short and Focused

You'll finish the story in 10-13 hours. There's minimal content beyond that. No branching paths. No meaningful side missions. A few collectibles and purchasable outfits exist, but they're undercooked. The linear narrative means one playthrough shows you everything.

This shorter length reflects the £40-50 price point rather than full £60-70 AAA fare. Some appreciate the lean approach. Others feel shortchanged. A Free Ride mode update is coming post-launch to add activities, but it wasn't available at review.

Replayability is low. Once you know the story, there's little reason to return unless you want to try higher difficulties or hunt achievements.

The Verdict

Mafia: The Old Country succeeds as a cinematic gangster experience but stumbles as a game. The 1900s Sicily setting is stunning. Voice acting and character work are top-notch. The story, while predictable, engages through strong performances and presentation.

Gameplay feels a generation behind though. Stealth is simplistic. Combat is generic. The knife fight gimmick overstays its welcome. The gorgeous open world serves mainly as window dressing between linear missions.

If you're craving a focused, story-driven mafia tale and don't mind dated mechanics, you'll enjoy this. If you want gameplay innovation or sandbox freedom, look elsewhere.

It's not bad. Not unbelievably amazing either. Inoffensively so.

Score: 7.5/10

Pros:

• Gorgeous 1900s Sicily setting with authentic details
• Strong voice acting and character development
• Engaging mob story with cinematic presentation
• Lean, focused experience without open-world bloat
• Excellent audio design and period-appropriate soundtrack

Cons:

• Simplistic, dated gameplay mechanics
• Predictable, clichéd narrative beats
• Repetitive knife fight boss encounters
• Empty open world with minimal side content
• PC performance issues at launch
• Low replayability