The American Mafia of the mid-20th century did not become the clandestine organization that it was overnight. All of its traditions and rules can be traced back to Sicily during a time when force was the only thing that kept order in a land where the law was nowhere to be seen. Sadly, the very nature that kept it safe was also the very same one that ensured its destruction over multiple cycles.
Mafia: The Old Country is a third-person action game with driving and open-world elements. Players take control of Enzo, a nobody who made a living mining sulfur rocks, as he ascends the ranks of the Sicilian Mafia at the dawn of the 20th century. The game is a direct prequel to the first two Mafia games, making it the definitive prequel for all Mafia games.
This review will remain as vague as possible when it comes to the game's story. It is everything for this game, and spoiling anything would spoil the entire experience.
After a thrilling prologue of tragedy and survival, Enzo finds himself in the service of the Torrisi family. He had a lot to prove to others that he was more than the “Carusu” Don Torrisi had taken a liken to. This involved many jobs across the valley that’s under the don’s “protection”. The valley is a picturesque setting that’s far more charming than the concrete jungle that is Empire Bay. Several Points of Interest dot the map, marking places crucial to the story. Others are quiet getaways that may take a bit of effort to find. But the effort is worth it to look down those stunning vistas.
It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that Mafia: The Old Country lives and dies on how well the story connects with the player. Thankfully, the presentation is some of the best we’ve seen coming from the series yet. I guess all those years developing and refining from Mafia: Definitive Edition really paid off big time.
The overall story campaign is a mixture of familiar themes and story beats that mirror previous games. So much so that if you’ve played the first and second games, you’d swear that you’re having deja vu. But let me remind everyone that the Old Country was, in terms of storytelling, the place where all the traditions originated. As well as the consequences of living a clandestine life bound by a code of silence. It’s a familiar tale, but The Old Country has more than a few twists and turns that keep it from being a simple retread.
The deep characters take the spotlight in this game, without a doubt. It is established very early on that Enzo is someone who is all too willing to offer a helping hand. It’s a habit that’s more of a detriment in his line of work. However, it is his killer instinct and decisive nature that made him a favorite in the eyes of the Don. Don Torrisi, for his part, initially comes off as someone worthy of great respect. But vengeance and pride eventually turn good intentions into something terrible. Tino, another character with long-standing ties with the family, presents himself as a model adviser for the Don. Near the end of the game, the guy is irredeemable trash by my measure. Hats off to the writers and actors for giving us memorable characters we cheer for and hate with every fiber of our being.
I don’t know how else to say this, but it feels like all the time and effort went to the characters and the game’s presentation. They are both far the best parts of the experience. I find it perplexing that every other gameplay aspect feels “ok”, if not underwhelming. This is best described in how the game handles gunplay and stealth.
The gunplay is your standard cover shooter stuff. You go between cover and peek out whenever the enemies are not shooting. It is serviceable at best, not the worst, but certainly doesn’t move the needle in terms of innovation. Even from the trailers, I knew it was going to be your typical shooter affair. I just wasn’t expecting it to be so by-the-numbers.
It also doesn’t help that enemies are your garden-variety mobs that only do one of two actions besides firing back. that is going to another piece of cover or walking up to you. The enemies that casually advance carry shotguns. Great, that’s the bare minimum in terms of enemy logic variety. At least the stealth mechanics are a bit loose, so I can’t be too hung up on enemies that only operate on two gears.
I wasn’t exaggerating when I said the stealth was that loose. It’s so forgiving that enemies on normal difficulty take half a second longer to respond to someone staring them in the face. I should be grateful that we have this level of freedom when it comes to blatant takedowns, as there is a thin line between clever and utter frustration. I will, however, call out how weird it is that we can stuff all the guards in the area into one trunk. I don’t know if that was intentional or not. All I know is that there is no shortage of human-sized containers to hide bodies.
The most significant addition to the series is the greater emphasis on Enzo’s knife. While the pool of ranged weapons is nothing to write home about, a modest collection of semi-automatics, bolt-action, and shotgun platforms, you actually have options when it comes to your knife.
To put it simply, your knife is a multi-purpose tool you can use to break open locks, perform stealth takedowns with, and as your primary weapon during boss fights. I say again, I can’t understate the knife’s role in gameplay and the story. You can choose a knife that’s good for combat or another one that allows you to earn more currency when you force open a lockbox. At various points in the story, you will duel other characters in an honorary knife fight. Think of them as the last boss fight in Uncharted 4, but done over and over again more than half a dozen times. It’s fine for what it is; maybe I wanted it to have more depth.
Customization options have also been expanded in Mafia: The Old Country. You can have your pick of horses and cars, each having their own stats. Frankly, I didn’t pay too much attention to the stats. Aside from a few scripted racing instances, stats don’t mean anything. It’s nice to have the fastest and shiniest transport in the game, but I never found a need to go from point A to B in the most efficient way possible, especially when all roads eventually lead you to where you need to go. Enzo’s rosary is another piece of customizable gear. Though I really can’t be sure if there is room for variety in this case. I found it hard to justify using anything other than buffs that gave a flat increase in aim speed and weapon stability. The quieter steps one does come in handy when the situation calls for it. Everything else was kind of redundant.
At some point in the story campaign, players will unlock the Freeroam Mode. When playing in this mode, players can go around the entire map and pick up all the collectables from the various POIs and major settlements. The unfortunate part here is that, like in Mafia 1 and 2, there isn’t much to do other than sightseeing for photograph locations. On top of that, there are story-locked places that cannot be entered unless you are in that specific instance. That could potentially increase the time it takes to get all the collectibles for achievement purposes.
The game runs near perfectly on the base PS5. It did crash once during an intense scene transition. It ran perfectly after the incident. A possible reason you might want to pick this up for the PS5 is for DualSense controls. You feel a slight rumble whenever your horse runs, and a hum is felt when you drive your car. I say that adds to the immersion to an extent. The graphics look great on console. Some wonky, awkward animation transitions need to be addressed. It became so obvious in some parts that it took me out of the immersion completely.
I cannot vouch for PC just yet, but I’m sure you will have more options for graphic settings. As for sounds, it is very dramatic when the occasion calls for it. Otherwise, it is nothing but nature sounds when exploring the map.
During the middle point of my review, I started to get the notion that the game follows the same story beats fans are familiar with. I didn’t mind it at all, it’s freaking Mafia for goodness sake. It was when hostilities started to escalate did I realized how the cycle of violence and secret societies are so tied together. Hearing Cesare and Luca talk about events that happened in the 1890s wasn’t all that different from when things were during the turbulent times at the start of the 1910s in America. How the cycle will start again in Tommy Angelo’s time. It’s almost poetic that everything repeats itself the way it does in Mafia games. In all honesty, if this happened again in another game, I would be greatly disappointed. The Old Country gets a pass for being the starting point of everything.
Mafia The Old Country is the quintessential Mafia experience for a new generation of prospective fans. It is incorrect to say that it only appeals to prospective fans. The game also caters to us old heads who have been there since the beginning. Seeing Leo Galante and Giuseppe Palminteri in their young days brought back waves of nostalgia. Leo’s bit, in particular, felt like witnessing Obi-Wan during the Clone Wars after seeing him the first time in A New Hope. If anything else, the explosive and tragic ending of Enzo and Isabella’s story is one you should experience once. That’s all I can say about that. I highly recommend this game with the caveat that you focus more on the story rather than the gameplay.
This review is based on a PS5 review code provided by the developer/publisher
