Mafia: The Old Country

Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC

Sicily, 1904. Enzo Favara escapes from a mine run by the corrupt Don Spadaro after a cave-in costs the life of his best friend. Finding shelter at the vineyard run by rival Don Torrisi, Enzo proves his worth and begins his rise through the ranks of Torrisi’s crime family.

Mafia: The Old Country follows Enzo’s inevitably tragic journey, with players watching the best parts of him get chiselled away, one morally compromising decision at a time. It plays the hits of the genre – Enzo’s forbidden romance with the Don’s daughter Isabella, the burgeoning friendship with Torrisi’s loose-cannon nephew Cesare, Torrisi himself proving to be far from the beneficent figure he claims – but it’s a masterful cover act, and leads to a full-circle moment for Enzo that hits with surprising emotional clout.

It’s all brought to life by sterling performances from the game’s cast, too. Riccardo Frascari’s Enzo is equal parts puppy and pit fighter, willing to go to extremely dark places to please his perceived saviour but never losing the glimmer of innocence he had at the start, while Don Torrisi is played with quiet menace and an intensity that transcends digital bounds by Johnny Santiago. Carina Conti, meanwhile, infuses Isabella with such an intense yearning for liberation from her father’s increasingly tyrannical yoke that you can’t help but be moved – especially in brief moments of freedom, like a horse ride with Enzo peppered with sparkling banter.

This throwback Mafia proves oddly enjoyable, its tight focus meaning the game doesn’t outstay its welcome

While Mafia’s setting is the last century, its gameplay is decidedly last decade. It’s incredibly linear, giving scarce opportunity to go off-script and explore – a shame, given both horseback and driving provide ample means to explore The Old Country’s stunning Sicilian landscapes. Stealth mechanics have Enzo skulking around behind waist-high cover spots, using a barely-explained ability to see enemies through objects (keen instincts, apparently), and tossing coins or bottles to create distractions. Meanwhile, shoot outs feel like pop-up galleries – enemies practically wait to be shot, even on higher difficulties. Scripted knife fights, where Enzo faces off against key rivals, offer a bit more flair and tension, each slash and parry offering high stakes, but otherwise your blade bafflingly dulls after each use, leaving you unable use the pointy end if you’re out of whetstones to sharpen the blade.

Nevertheless, this throwback Mafia proves oddly enjoyable, its tight focus meaning the game doesn’t outstay its welcome or leave developer Hangar 13 struggling to populate an open world with filler content. It’s not quite criminally good, but The Old Country will doubtlessly steal a few hearts.