As a long time Mafia series fan who even adored Mafia III, despite its repetitive combat loop and the drag of open-world bloat, Mafia: The Old Country felt like a balm for my nostalgia. Finally, a return to the tight, linear, story-driven design of the originals! It’s like hearing that old familiar song before everything changed… and yes, that feels good. But I can’t help wondering: did the developers hold on tight enough to what made this series special, or did they lean a bit too far into careful curation?
Back to where it all started, but does it do it justice
Right off the bat, Old Country looks and sounds stunning. Sicily works like a character in its own right: dusty mines, rolling vineyards, and the cobbled lanes of San Celeste are rendered with such care using Unreal Engine 5 that you almost feel the heat on your neck and the dust on your boots. Voice acting is an immersive triumph that makes you feel like you’ve stepped straight into a vintage mob chronicle. As someone who felt strained by the grind of Mafia III’s open world, this leaner approach is refreshing. No random side missions. No “forever game” distractions.
You follow Enzo’s rise from miner to mafioso across a rich, tight narrative. There’s a deep sense of tradition and family at play here, quiet moments over candles, tense meetings, joyrides, all of them giving the game its emotional core. With so much backstory to the Mafia series and it’s characters this would seem like a no brainer for fans. But the story goes from gritty, nobody to a somebody, narrative to a full blown romance drama.
With that, the same restraint that created atmosphere can also smother engagement. The world often feels static, as if it’s a stage set rather than a place you inhabit. Go off the beaten path and there’s almost nothing to interact with, NPCs don’t react, law enforcement is absent, and environmental opportunities go unused. I am definitely not complaining about the lack of open world bloat. But any kind of activity like poker or odd jobs you can do like in mafia 2. Especially since the collectibles just feel like a chore more than something a player would want to collect since there is literally nothing to be engaged with on the way. There are barley any NPC’s filling the roads and even in estates and villages they are very static and lifeless outside of missions.
Repetitive but still engaging
Combat is a mixed bag. Gunfights have weight and sound, and there’s a scrappy tension to ducking in cover, swapping weapons, managing ammo, all of which feels grounded and cinematic. Even the duels, knife fights, are cinematic and add variety: they make Enzo’s world feel intimate and brutal. Yet, these knife battles grow repetitive fast. They’re button-prompt rhythm exercises more than duels, predictably telegraphed, and devolve into formulaic back-and-forths. Same for stealth, The enemies are not only very predictable but also so spaced out that essentially any takedown is safe.
I came to this game hoping for roots, not repetition. And yes, narrative-first linear design and beautiful settings are defining strengths of the series. But at times, The Old Country feels like a beautifully framed relic rather than a lively game. Missions follow a predictable arc: drive-cutscene-duel-repeat The lack of meaningful progression systems, side depth, or evolving gameplay loops makes the campaign memorable in the moment, but not necessarily unforgettable afterwards. One dev said: “We’re steering the Mafia series back to its roots,” though perhaps they leaned too heavily into safe preservation. It took me around 12 hours to beat The Old Country taking it slower. Even with the repetitive mechanics I found myself so engaged with the story that I only noticed its short comings after the fact.
My Conclusion
Mafia: The Old Country is the kind of game that a true fan can respect. It’s a strike of lightning back to the soul of Mafia, quiet, violent, ritualistic, and weighed down by tradition. The visuals, the writing, the performances, they all deliver that rare feeling of authenticity and mood that modern open worlds often sacrifice. But, as someone who still chafes at regimented stealth, repetitive knife duels, and there-but-not-there worlds, the nostalgia wears thin when mechanics don’t evolve. I understand going back to the roots, but games still need to evolve and unfortunately The Old Country plays mostly on nostalgia. if you want to close your eyes and step into a moody, beautifully staged Sicilian crime saga, this is it. Just don’t be surprised if once the credits roll, you’re left craving more depth, more unpredictability, and maybe a little more life outside the script.
