Mafia: The Old Country – Review

Ma cosa stai facendo? Grab a limoncello and get ready to play!

I don't think I've written with such aplomb and enthusiasm about a game since the launch of Syberia: The World Before. Maybe I'm just a story fanboy, but coincidentally, both games have titles that refer to the past of their respective series, or the concept at their core – anyway, you get the point. Without boring you too much, Mafia: The Old Country is a game dedicated more to lovers of films, stories, and even drama. Yes, the story is strong in this title, and that means some will like this new Mafia game, and others won't. So, we're talking about a return to the series' origins, both in terms of story and gameplay perspective.

We find ourselves in Sicily in the early 1900s, at the humble beginnings of a unified Italy and the mafia. The game's protagonist, Enzo Favara, impeccably played by Riccardo Frascari, is a boy tormented by fate (a carusu in Sicilian), who toils in the island's sulphur mines. Treated more like an ancient slave, the boy plucks up the courage and takes advantage of certain situations to run away. From there to his transformation into the pillar of the Torrisi family home, it's only ten to thirteen hours of gameplay. Some say it's too little, others shout it's enough.

So, without further ado, let's delve into a detailed analysis of the game of summer 2025 and see what truly contributes to its success. Is it the story, the location, or simply the incredible graphics? The answers provided by this article will only expose my subjective opinion, but if you find yourself agreeing with the following few lines, I highly recommend you check out what's happening in the Sicily of 2K Games and Hangar 13.

I'll only tell you about the story in broad strokes

If you were hoping for a summary of the game's action in this chapter, tough luck! What I want to convey about the story of Mafia: The Old Country is that we're talking about a title largely based on quality storytelling, with this element practically representing the main cog in the entire product's machinery.

I don't say it lightly, but I can't remember the last media product that gave me the impression of being teleported to a completely different world. Maybe it's also the fact that having lived in southern Italy for three years of my life, everything related to this country awakens in me a feeling as pleasant as a breeze on the Amalfi coast. It's worth noting that the representation of the Sicilian island is not geographically identical. That is, the cities of San Celeste, Porto Almaro, Collezolfo, etc. in the game are inspired by real locations in the area, such as Palermo or Catania.

But as an Italian would say, non va tutto bene. Why isn't everything going well? Well, because, at least from my perspective, the game has a rather slow start. It's true that life is like that too, but in the first three or four chapters, I found myself easily bored by the common situations. Bring me that, go do that, and so on. Later, the action rises quite abruptly to another level. We're not talking about a deal-breaker here, though, but rather a criticism addressed to a game in the 21st century, the century of speed, supposedly, where unfortunately we no longer really know what patience is. Anyway, sometimes the story also gets into details that are far too niche.

Leaving this minor annoyance aside, the characters are well-developed, and the story connects to the other titles in the series. Yes, we'll see several familiar faces again. I absolutely love this thing we often see in franchises. It's like the game developer gives you a little pop quiz and asks if you know who the moustachioed guy is or what that nice lady from previous titles did, or it offers you answers to certain aspects that had previously been left hanging.

Ciao Bella Sicilia!

At the risk of repeating myself, Mafia: The Old Country, as the name itself suggests, takes place in the homeland of the mafia, meaning Italy, and more precisely, in the south of the peninsula where these groups can still be found today, whether it's the Camorra in Campania, the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria, or the Sicilian Mafia in Palermo or Catania.

The game makes a leap in graphics engine and moves to Unreal Engine 5. Now, if you've seen some demonstrations of this product, there's no need for me to tell you that Mafia: The Old Country looks splendid, whether it's a few lemons thrown into crates at some factory or we're talking about the cars and horses in the game, the people, or the volcano you can observe in the sky.

It doesn't matter where you make your way in this game. Every corner seems to sing a typical Sicilian serenade. I firmly believe that the developers at Hangar 13 have managed to immortalise the Mediterranean spirit of the island. The visual package is complemented by a memorable soundtrack and actors who manage to identify and propagate that virtù italiana to which Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli himself, several centuries away from our 1900s, referred.

Vroom-vroom and pow-pow

About weapons and vehicles, I can say they're nothing amazing. Here I would venture to say that weapons, in particular, will give the impression of simplistic, rigid, completely unadjustable objects, yet historically accurate. Something interesting is the story of the tradition of different knives in Sicily, used by the mafia there, but everything remains at a declarative, historical level. The respective knives ultimately behave pretty much the same.

In terms of transport, we're talking about a roughly similar situation, except that regarding cars, I, for one, was pleasantly surprised by the level of detail.

The car must be started using a crank, according to the times, and then the top speeds, turns, and everything related to the mechanics of automotive technologies that had just appeared in those years seem well-synchronised historically. I would know, I did study History at the University of Bucharest. :)))

The other modes of transport, here we're talking about horses and carriages, don't come with any innovation. The problem is that in the end, you'll be riding more and driving less. Again, from a historical point of view, nothing to complain about. From this perspective, the game is more like an Italian RDR, a Rosso Morto Redenzione, if you will. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just that I couldn't say it surprises with any kind of innovation. Quoting more enlightened minds: "It is what it is."

Buongiorno, Enzo! Come stai?

By far the most influential character in the entire game is, of course, the protagonist. Enzo Favara is a young man, as I said above, unlucky in life. He works more or less as a slave in a sulphur mine, with inherited debts to pay, but the tenacity he shows propels him into a new position within the Torrisi family. From here, our man climbs and climbs.

He is a credible character, often tormented by his own weaknesses. He is the product of a hard life, without the pampering and protection enjoyed by the offspring of old man Torrisi, il grande don. Throughout the story, it becomes increasingly clear that Enzo is a man who wants to reach the highest peaks according to his potential, and what do you know, through hard work, just not exactly clean work. He is neither like Vito Scaletta, an irresponsible type only looking for adventure, nor like Tommy Angelo, who accidentally became a mafioso. With Lincoln Clay, I don't even need to make a comparison, I think.

Enzo isn't exactly a true Italian. He's an individual with a deeply Germanic mentality. He's loyal and not at all a dreamer, or if he is, he doesn't allow himself to be very often. Above all, he remains loyal and dedicated to his work, even weakly interested in fleeting adventures with various partners who cross his path. In short, he's credible and not at all credible at the same time. If we were to exclude his job, I think we could easily classify him as a versatile politician, somehow very current.

Not to drag this out again, Enzo Favara was my favourite character throughout the game. Yes, there are many other character types, some you know because you've seen them in other games in the series (wink, wink), others new. Regardless of the situation, Enzo, in my opinion, is an atypical character in terms of his classification as a protagonist, and the surprise at the end of the game you certainly won't anticipate in a million years.

We've reached a very technical part

Mafia: The Old Country is already available from 8 August 2025 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam, with additional cloud streaming support via GeForce NOW. The game was not released for previous-generation consoles (PS4, Xbox One), for Nintendo Switch, nor is it included at launch in subscriptions such as Game Pass or PlayStation Plus.

On PC, the minimum requirements allow the game to run at 1080p on medium settings: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X or Intel Core i7-9700K processor, 16 GB RAM, AMD RX 5700 XT or NVIDIA RTX 2070 graphics card with 8 GB VRAM, 64-bit Windows 10/11, and an SSD with at least 55 GB free space. The recommended configuration for a fluid experience at 1440p on high settings includes an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X or Intel Core i7-12700K processor, 32 GB RAM, and an AMD RX 6950 XT or NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti graphics card with 12 GB VRAM. The game is compatible with modern upscaling technologies such as Unreal TSR, AMD FSR 4, NVIDIA DLSS 4, and Intel XeSS 2, and offers options such as frame generation, HDR, ultrawide support, and variable synchronisation (G-Sync/FreeSync).

Those who want to play at maximum quality, with the "Epic Preset", will need an AMD Ryzen 7 9700X or Intel Core i7-14700K processor, 32 GB RAM, and a latest-generation graphics card, such as AMD RX 9070 or NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti with 12 GB VRAM. In this configuration, the game can run at 2880x1620 resolution with quality upscaling, maintaining visual details at the highest level.

On consoles, Mafia: The Old Country includes display modes focused on quality or performance, with support for 60 FPS, 120 Hz, and variable refresh rate. The PS5 Pro version benefits from additional optimisations, and on Xbox Series S, performance is adjusted according to hardware.

Hey mambo, mambo Italiano…

We've reached the end of this review, which I'll close by telling you that I've seen substantial discounts at several airlines for tickets to Catania or Palermo. But if you want to experience the full spectrum of emotions from the comfort of your own home and want this to be thanks to a video game, I warmly recommend Mafia: The Old Country. If you like Italy, Italians, the Mediterranean Sea, or simply dream of that dolce far niente brought by summer, the answer is the same, Mafia: The Old Country.

Pay close attention to your expectations. This game is in no way related to the Grand Theft Auto series, unless GTA VI becomes some tear-jerking story of love, hope, and unexpected deaths. Just as Rockstar Games managed to create its own type of game, I think we can say without a doubt that 2K Games, under the umbrella of the same parent company, Take Two Interactive, has also managed to patent action/adventure games with a 1950s film vibe into a standalone model.

If after the previous iteration of the game, Mafia III, it seemed the series was losing momentum, after the release of the Mafia remaster and the current title, I think we can breathe a sigh of relief. The guys at 2K and Hangar 13 are back in business. But enough with the praise and ovations, just… go, go, go, you mixed up Siciliano!

Thanks to CD Media S.E. for the review code!

Find the physical version on JocuriNoi.ro.

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Played on: PlayStation 5
Release date: 8 August 2025
Developer: Hangar 13
Publisher: 2K Games, CD Media S.E.