Mafia: The Old Country is shaping up to be a promising continuation of the Mafia franchise, primarily thanks to its bold new take on the series' formula. Rather than being set in the mid-20th century USA like its predecessors, Mafia: The Old Country will take place in early-1900s Sicily, in a semi-rural town called San Celeste. Following young protagonist Enzo as he navigates the early years of organized Italian crime, The Old Country promises to weave a gritty and mature tale.
Facilitating this narrative is Mafia: The Old Country's greatest departure from its predecessors: its lack of an open-world. For longtime fans of the series, this might not be too great a loss, as the previous Mafia games featured rather drab and uneventful sandbox design. They are a far cry from something like Grand Theft Auto or even the much-maligned Ubisoft open-world games which, while often underwhelming, at least have activities to engage in. No, Mafia: The Old Country being a linear, story-driven experience doesn't mean that Hangar 13 is abandoning some stunning, innovative open-world formula, but that doesn't mean it's unambiguously good, either.
Mafia: The Old Country Solidifies a Tale of Two Industry Trends
Fans recently learned a lot about the upcoming Mafia: The Old Country, and its pricing furthers two contrasting patterns across the industry.
The Pros and Cons of Mafia: The Old Country Being Linear
Mafia's Open-World Design Was Never Great, but Maybe It Could Have Been
With The Old Country making so many instrumental changes to the Mafia formula, and being the series' first entry in almost a decade, it's not too outlandish to speculate that it could have improved upon the lackluster open-worlds of its predecessors. The original Mafia trilogy boasts sprawling cities to explore, and while there are some collectibles here and there, and Mafia 2 and 3 feature serviceable police mechanics and other reactive features, these environments ultimately feel lifeless. There's little reason to explore the streets of Empire Bay or New Bordeaux, as there are almost never any surprises or worthwhile secrets to uncover.
But open-world design has come a long way since Mafia 3 released in 2016, and perhaps The Old Country could have learned from genre leaders like Breath of the Wild and Elden Ring. It might have been interesting to see Hangar 13's rendition of turn-of-the-century Sicily, rendered as a freely explorable map, complete with secrets to uncover, vehicles to unlock, and maybe even some verticality or engaging traversal mechanics ala BOTW's climbing. This approach might have engendered a more intimate connection between the player and the game world, while making The Old Country a unique alternative to crime games like GTA 6 and Cyberpunk 2077.
Open-World Design Can Erode Good Storytelling
One of Mafia's greatest strengths is its cinematic narrative presentation, which takes clear cues from the likes of The Godfather, leveraging classic cinema tropes to tell sober, engaging stories. These stories aren't the over-the-top satirical romps of the GTA franchise; they are designed to be compelling and entertaining, but also mature, sophisticated, and nuanced. But open-world design can run counter to this end, as it's hard to buy into the stakes and tension of the story when the protagonist is leisurely strolling through the city, killing civilians and outrunning the law on a whim. Narrative pacing also takes a severe hit when a game is open-world.
As most in the gaming community have learned one way or another, not every single video game needs to be open-world. In fact, the overwhelming majority of games benefit from having more structure in their narrative and gameplay design, as this allows for a more well-tailored, finely tuned approach. In short, the sprawling sandbox approach isn't a one-size-fits-all template, but rather a specific style that sometimes works, and sometimes doesn't. With there being no open world in Mafia: The Old Country, audiences will soon see which camp the series falls into.
Mafia: The Old Country
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 74 /100 Critics Rec: 66%
WHERE TO PLAY
Uncover the origins of organized crime in Mafia: The Old Country, a gritty mob story set in the brutal underworld of 1900s Sicily. Fight to survive as Enzo Favara and prove your worth to the Family in this immersive third-person action-adventure set during a dangerous, unforgiving era.
Enzo will do anything for a better life. After a brutal childhood of forced labor, he's ready to risk everything to become a man of honor in the Torrisi crime family.
His oath to the Mafia, with all the power, temptation, and hardship it entails, is a burning reminder of this simple truth:
Family Takes Sacrifice.
This thrilling narrative is brought to life by stunning visuals, cinematic storytelling, and the authentic realism that the critically acclaimed Mafia series is known for. Enzo's story unfolds in a time when skill with a stiletto blade was a deadly asset, a lupara sawed-off shotgun was a go-to firearm, murderous vendettas raged for decades, and mafiosi patrolled their protection rackets on foot, horseback, or behind the wheel of turn-of-the-century motorcars.
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Franchise
- Mafia
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unsupported
- PC Release Date
- August 8, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- August 8, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- August 8, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
