The Mafia series has never been one that I have had a particular affinity for, but I can appreciate it for what it is. I have not played the original game, but I did play the excellent Mafia: Definitive Edition, a remake of that original game that came out a few years back. Trying the other games in the series, I never really got that same feeling that I did from that game. Whether it was the clunky gameplay of the second outing or the complete mess that was Mafia 3, I never finished the other games because they failed to grab my attention in the way the first one did so aggressively. The original game has always been praised for its great story, a story that harkens back to the great gangster films like Goodfellas or The Godfather, and puts you straight in the middle of a crime family. Doing odd jobs for the Don, hunting down rats, and even feeling the fear of being a rat yourself, it had all the great story beats and flowed perfectly like a good gangster film should. Its gameplay was never anything out of this world, but it managed to space things out well and pace its encounters out adequately, building to an explosive conclusion. This was never much of a game that set out to blow you away with its gameplay; it was purely trying to bring out that gangster fantasy we have seen in so many films. 23 years after the original came out, Mafia: The Old Country has been released, acting as a prequel to the main trilogy and going back to its linear roots, unlike the open-world driven Mafia 3. It feels very reminiscent of the first game, having a well-crafted world and story with a great set of characters. However, whilst doing the original justice by utilising these core strengths, it seems developers Hangar 13 have forgotten to bring any sort of flair or real care at all to the gameplay. It does not ruin the overall experience, but it can make this game feel outdated in its design and stuck in the past for all the wrong reasons.

Mafia: The Old Country is set in 1900s Sicily and follows the story of a young boy named Enzo. Sold to the Spadaro family by his father when he was a child, Enzo works the mines every day with little reprieve. The Spadaros are cruel and can make the miners work double their hours on a whim, with no thought for their well-being. After being sent into a death trap by an underboss of the mine, ‘Il Merlo’, killing Enzo’s friend, he snaps and flees the Spadaros on horseback. Crossing into the territory of the Torrisi family, Don Torrisi and his family threaten the Spadaros for stepping onto their land and take Enzo in just to spite them. Enzo works for the Torrisi family, earning his keep and trying to earn the chance that the Don gave him. By doing so, he befriends the likes of underboss Luca, nephew of the Don, Cesare, and daughter of the Don, Isabella, by whom he is instantly smitten. Though the higher up the family hierarchy he gets, the more questionable and gruesome the tasks get. In the same way, the deeper Enzo falls into the web of the family, the murkier the dream of escape becomes.

Though rather formulaic and quite typical of a gangster narrative, you cannot help but get swept up in the story of Mafia: The Old Country. Seeing Enzo’s rise from being a ‘mine boy’, as Cesare loves to remind him, to a member of the Torrisi inner circle is a rollercoaster, and it is very well paced. There are 14 chapters in this game, and each one escalates Enzo’s standing, the drama within the family, and the friction between the family and its rivals. Most interesting of all these throughlines is that of Enzo’s relationship with Isabella, as it feels perfectly natural and gradual. Their story is the heart of this game, and it is a dynamic that you cannot help but want to see unfold. Don Torrisi is incredibly protective of his daughter, and Isabella fears that if he found out about them, he would kill Enzo without hesitation. This makes it so Enzo’s drive for standing in the family is not out of lust for power, wealth, or notoriety. He is doing it because he believes that if he can get close enough to the Don, he will give his blessing for them to be together. Love is a powerful emotion, and it is shown by Enzo sacrificing his morals and humanity just for a slight chance that they could be together without having to hide. This is what sets this narrative apart from those of its kind, because this is very much the central conflict of the narrative. It is great to see him so obviously hesitant to do the Don’s dirty deeds, but ultimately feeling like he has no choice. His relationship with other characters is also riveting, like with Luca, who clearly does not approve of the Don’s work, seeking an escape wherever possible. This is mirrored by his relationship with Cesare, who is much more eager to please his uncle and unquestioning of his word. Enzo and all the characters are great, with a lot of depth, and they power this gangster narrative to make the experience worth it for fans of the genre.

As mentioned, the gameplay of Mafia: The Old Country is where its cracks really start to show. There is nothing here that is truly up to standard for a 2025 release, and even if it’s not offensively bad, it is certainly disappointing. Generally, all gameplay consists of driving and shooting, of which you will be doing a lot of. You would think that if this were all you were doing, these individual aspects would be handled with care and would at least be decent enough to carry you through the game’s great story. Unfortunately, this just is not the case, and towards the end, it really becomes a slog to get through. Driving is fine, but the handling of some cars feels like a bit of a joke. Braking feels like it takes a year to execute, and none of it feels sharp enough. This is particularly a problem when there are racing segments, akin to that of the notorious one in the original game, when it comes to difficulty spikes. Thankfully, the checkpoints are quite forgiving, but it still should have had more time in the oven. If you are offering the player to skip driving segments, you clearly must not have a lot of faith in your driving design. Gunplay is in a rough state also, particularly because of how one-note it is. It is your standard 2000s cover-shooter that is as clunky as it is overused. Particularly towards the late game, there is an endless onslaught of encounters that all feel the exact same. What’s worse is that this is no longer the 2000s but instead 2025, meaning this combat is completely outdated. You would not expect a Mafia game to reinvent the wheel in terms of combat, but you would at least expect it to feel better than the early Uncharted games or Gears of War, to which it does not. There is also an abundance of knife-fight minigames, which could have been a fun pacing device if only there were about half as many. Like the rest of the combat, it seems to prioritize quantity over quality. For a game to make you yearn for the next cutscene rather than the next gameplay stretch, that is not a good sign.

Mafia: The Old Country is a conflicting experience because everything outside of its gameplay, and possibly some of its iffy animation work, ranges from good to excellent. The voice acting is amazing, for example, and brings to life a great cast of characters. Narratively, it is consistently engaging, escalating at a steady pace for a great emotional finish. The gameplay does bring it down, but it is not catastrophic enough to impact the overall package into negative territory. If you liked any Mafia games, the odds are you will find something to enjoy with this one. There has been a lot of controversy about what you get in this package for the price, and whether around £40 is worth a 10-12 hour experience. If you want a good story to whisk you away for a few sittings, this will do the trick, and for almost half the asking price of a big release in today’s market, that is not bad. It is not a perfect experience, but I would still recommend Mafia: The Old Country to you.