Mafia: The Old Country Review (PS5) – Family Reunion

The Mafia series had been in relative family exile since Mafia III released in 2016. Despite the narrative success Hanger 13 achieved with Lincoln Clay’s outing, the third entry simply didn’t sell enough to keep the crime boss series in business. That all changed when Mafia: The Old Country was announced, promising to deliver a tighter, leaner gameplay experience, while sticking to the great story groundwork Hanger 13 had shown they were capable of.

Has heading back to early 1900s Sicily proved to be the masterstroke of a don at the top of their crime-ridden powers, or should this family have stayed consigned to Mafioso history? Put on your finest pinstripe 3-piece, flip out your blade, and let’s get to the protection collecting to find out.

Don You Forget It

The year is 1904. The quiet and quaint sun-kissed island of Sicily is continuing its progress in significant industrial shift, while its dormant volcano has awakened with some threatening quakes. We take on the role of Enzo, an impoverished teenager sold into mine work with nary a Lira to his name. After a perilous experience in the mines, Enzo finds himself indebted and in service to Don Torrisi, head of the a local Mafia family.

Right off the bat, Mafia: The Old Country sets its crime-front stall out. This is a narrative focused predominantly on the personalities of the family, as well as the local rivalries vying for control of the region. I quickly took to Enzo, and especially Luca – a charismatic blend of Orlando Bloom and Luke Evans – as well as the rest of the cast. They’re exceptionally well-voiced and solidly written characters with defining traits yet more subtle complexity.

As Enzo works his way up from a lowly “carusu” to become an established member of the family, you can expect to see the typical Mafia media tropes. Dialogues about loyalty, emphasis on family, the subtle and subversive control over said family. For the most part, Hanger 13 play it very safe, with the overarching narrative being entirely predictable. The twists in the blade are signposted like a casino on the Vegas strip, but even so, it’s a well-told and engaging tale throughout.

Approaching The Enzo(ne)

Mafia: The Old Country’s momentum does take a shaky turn towards the conclusion which dampened the impact for me somewhat. In the last three to four chapters, a lot suddenly happens very rapidly. While this creates an intense, frenetic pace to bring the story to its conclusion, I do think some particular arcs needed more room to breathe before coming to fruition. I like the final endpoint on the whole, but the execution needed a bit more refinement.

Compared to previous entries, I’d say that Mafia: The Old Country sits a level below Mafia III and potentially II as well. Where III was creative with its deeply personal setting and themes – ideas like war veterancy and segregation -, applying them to the Mafia world, The Old Country sticks to established tropes without much deviation or innovation. Sometimes all you need a good, well-told story, and this is certainly that, but I do wonder at what could have been if the last third had been expanded on.

Still, I walked away from the Torrisi family fulfilled and satisfied. Enzo and Cesare’s growing friendship and dynamic was engaging. Don Torrisi is given gravitas and an aura of unbridled strength. Isabella is the innocent, yet strong-willed moral heart of the family. Luca is both humerous, serious and charismatic all in one. If nothing else, Hanger 13 have crafted a family worth fighting for.

A Mafia’s Business

The structure of Mafia: The Old Country is akin to games like A Plague Tale: Innocence, in that it follows a strict chapter-based sequence of missions. While there is a small-to-medium sized open world map you can travel across, this is a very linear title. Stray more than 10-20 meters from 90% of your mission objectives, and you’ll instantly fail. Aside from collectibles, you may even question why there’s an open map at all.

Most of your time in the game will be spent in scripted walking sequences, in dialogue with various interesting characters, or watching expertly shot cutscenes. When you are in control of Enzo, you’ll be tasked with light stealth infiltrations, solid yet by-the-numbers shootouts, a fair amount of horse or car travel, and the odd set piece. Oh, and almost every boss encounter is a one-on-one knife encounter, which we’ll come on to.

Stealth sections are straightforward – use cover to avoid the guard’s gaze, throw items to turn them around, stab or choke them out. It’s remarkably easy and effective to wipe out the entire garrison this way, even if it’s not the most compelling stealth system I’ve ever played. You can hide bodies in the remarkably abundant number of trunks just sitting around, but there’s often not much need to, as patrols are fairly light on numbers or are simplistic.

Old But Gold

Gunplay and combat follows a similar mold. Enzo has the usual suite of cover based shooting skills. There’s a small variety of weapons from single-shot rifles to American Baker models, each with their own properties. Aiming is reliable, though the arc for grenades isn’t as informative as I’d like. Cracking a headshot with a pump-action shotgun though? Damn, that feels sweet. While the sandbox is minimal, the audio and visual feedback is great, which just about keeps it above water for the runtime.

What about those epic knife battles though? Well, they’re pretty good, mostly. Apparently, every Mafioso and Guardia in Sicily is prone to forgetting they have a firearm that can end a fight in seconds, in favour of taking you on mano-e-mano with a blade, but I digress. In these encounters, you can parry, dodge, guard block, swipe and thrust. Enemies have both regular and non-parryable attacks, while they may occasionally be devious by throwing sand in your eyes.

Is it the best one-on-one combat system I’ve encountered? No, not by any stretch of a perfect Sicilian lemon. The parry timing is generous, dodges work probably when they even shouldn’t and swiping can be far more effective than it looks like it should be. However, it’s a good time. Especially in late-game versions of these fights, you can go down quickly, which adds some tension, even if the opponent’s movesets and abilities barely expand as the game goes on.

Trip To The Old Country

It wouldn’t be a Mafia entry without the most slip-and-slide driving handling you’ve ever seen, and The Old Country is no different. Vehicles will take 7 business days to make a turn, while hitting 100MPH is a guaranteed death sentence if there’s even a slight left incline. Personally, I love the realistic feel of the old-school cars, and there’s even an entertaining car race just like in the first title. Albeit, it’s much easier to best this time around, thank the Lord.

As I mentioned earlier, there is an open world (of sorts) map you can venture out into at a couple of points in the story, or via the Explore feature in the chapter select. There are numerous collectibles in the shape of newspapers, prayer sites, mystery foxes and the like. None are essential whatsoever, but they’re a nice nod for completionists.

Enzo can also acquire Beads along the way, providing some passive buffs to abilities. Additionally, you can visit merchants to purchase weapons, cars and knives (which have a couple of different abilities attached). Aside from the knives, however, you can acquire any weapon in the field, and though Beads are nice, they’re not by any means game-defining. There’s no side quests or optional content outside of these, which adds to the leaner feel of the game, but some Mafia series veterans may be left wanting a little more.

By A Country Mile

It has to be said, 1900s Sicily looks remarkably gorgeous in the glow of the morning sun. Mafia: The Old Country uses the smaller landmass to focus in on detail across the board. The Torrisi villa is bustling with NPCs, towns are alive with noise and fanfare, and seeing the harbour for the first time is genuinely breathtaking. Facial animations and mocap performances are superb across the board, while the attention given to the setting and locations you visit is top-notch.

In-game things can become a little rough, like the sharp edge of Enzo’s blade. Engaging in NPC dialogue is stiff as a wooden block, while their mouths contort like they’re made out of putty. On my base PS5, there were noticeable framerate dips throughout, and transitions from cutscenes back to gameplay were prone to serious stutters. This improved massively when I tried the game on a Pro, but even in performance mode, there’s still quite the number of problems at times.

Texture pop-in is severely noticeable the very second you get on a horse or enter a car, and don’t be surprised to see the game have the odd lock-up moment. In one set piece, I was gunned down by a sniper, only for the “You died” equivalent screen to just… not trigger. So I sat there, staring at Enzo’s lifeless body as my assailant continued to pepper his body with bullets. None of the issues are disastrous, but they are prevalent, especially if you’re on a base PS5 still.

Don Knock It Till You Try It

It’s clear that Mafia: The Old Country is a pivot to a new direction we’re seeing more commonly across the industry in 2025. Lighter budget, smaller scope, with more emphasis on core components than big, open-world fluff, all for a lower price point, matched by a leaner runtime. If this means that our favourite IPs, like Mafia, can find success in the current age, I’m all for it.

While The Old Country won’t be in my, or I suspect many people’s, reckoning for game of the year, it’s a good game across the board that’s worth your time. It’s a solid foot soldier in a family of otherwise big personalities and big egos, reliably delivering without ever truly standing out or excelling. For me, it’s more than enough to have a good time for 10-12 hours without the pressure of another 60 hours of side content or open world activities.

Despite the reliance on well worn tropes and cliches, I simply can’t fault Hanger 13 for stripping things back and focusing on the core aspects that they know how to do exceedingly well. Good characters, compelling setting, luscious visuals and solid gameplay, what more do you need? If this is what the future holds for Mafia, I’m cautiously optimistic that this Don’s influence may once again rise to the top.

Mafia: The Old Country is available now on PlayStation 5 (review platform), PC and Xbox Series X|S.

Developer: Hanger 13
Publisher: 2K

Disclaimer: In order to complete this review, we were provided with a promotional copy of the game. For our full review policy, please go here.

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