15 Features in Mafia: The Old Country That Have Us Hooked

One consistent strength of the Mafia series is its captivating settings and compelling narratives. These two elements complement each other, with the historical backdrops influencing the criminal storylines. In the upcoming prequel, Mafia: The Old Country, the connection between setting and narrative is even stronger. This game takes us on a journey to Sicily at the dawn of the 20th Century, where modern conveniences like guns and cars coexist with more traditional methods such as knives and horse-drawn carriages. This fusion of tradition and progress also characterizes other aspects of The Old Country’s design philosophy, making its unique features a standout on this list. Here are 15 exciting activities we can’t wait to experience in Mafia: The Old Country.

Admiring San Celeste Architecture

In a nutshell, the primary distinction between the Mafia trilogy and The Old Country lies in their settings. San Celeste, a fictional city nestled in Sicily, Italy, serves as the central point for the Italian mafia families depicted in previous games, whose roots originate here. The game pays meticulous attention to detail when it comes to San Celeste, with weathered, sun-kissed architecture that reflects the authentic style of the region. The developers conducted extensive research trips to Sicily, taking photographs for a comprehensive representation of the region’s diverse beauty. To my mind, The Old Country evokes a sense of nostalgia, reminiscent of the historical landmarks found in the Assassin’s Creed Ezio trilogy.

Exploring Rural Sicily

Apart from the captivating architecture within the towns, Sicily boasts even more admirable aspects such as its serene hillside vistas and lush vineyard sceneries, which are beautifully depicted in the game The Old Country. To be honest, it’s not just about the environment, but the lighting in this game is particularly appealing, capturing the essence of the Mediterranean coast with an accurate representation of sunlight speckling the water. The game makes excellent use of this landscape by incorporating numerous horse and vehicle segments during and between missions. Imagine leveraging Unreal Engine 5’s open-world technology to create a highly detailed and immersive world that the protagonist explores exclusively – what an enticing idea, isn’t it?

Grabbing Those Collectibles

What draws me this time is the increased emphasis on creating realistic environments, and if the studio manages to accurately depict 1900s Sicily as it appears, I’d love to find reasons to linger in that setting longer. In the game, there are collectibles, and I’m hoping they offer some interactive value. For instance, vehicle parts could be one type of collectible, granting players a classic car upon assembling a complete set. Additionally, previous collectibles like magazines may return, offering less gameplay integration but encouraging exploration nonetheless.

Soaking in the Soundtrack

In the development of the game, the team ensured that the audio environment of Sicily reflected historical accuracy, featuring street performances and ambient folk melodies sung by non-player characters. The town of San Celeste is filled with people humming, whistling, and performing impromptu concerts in keeping with the game’s universe. This element of the game’s music was meticulously researched to authentically represent Sicilian tradition. Conversely, non-diegetic music maintains the series’ cinematic style. The music within the Mafia trilogy has garnered a large fanbase, and The Old Country is expected to attract even more with its orchestral and, at times, operatic score.

Getting Our Ears Blown Out by Muffler-Less Vehicles

Just as the music demands careful craftsmanship, so too did the team meticulously design crucial sound elements. The vintage vehicles, in particular, received special treatment from the sound engineers. To create an authentic experience, the game’s vehicles were recorded during real-life test drives of early 20th Century automobiles from our studio. In reality, these classic cars are remarkably noisy due to their missing exhaust mufflers. This absence allows the raw power of each engine in the game to be heard more distinctly.

Driving Early 20th Century Automobiles

Absolutely, it’s going to be enjoyable to take these cars for a spin across the diverse Sicilian scenery. In addition to the mission-oriented driving parts, there will also be open-world driving opportunities where you can test out the performance of these early vehicles. While I don’t anticipate realistic driving mechanics, I’m curious to observe how they perform when accelerating and turning due to their authentic sound and appearance.

Seeing the Original Events of Mafia 1 Begin to Form

Supporters of the initial Mafia trilogy can unravel the backstory of the criminal families introduced in Mafia 1, 2, and 3. In Mafia 1, a character eventually became part of the Salieri crime family, and it’s quite possible that Enzo will encounter the Salieris during The Old Country’s narrative. For those who remember playing Mafia 2, it might stir a bit of nostalgia to delve deeper into San Celeste, as this Sicilian city was initially glimpsed in the opening moments of Mafia 2.

Witnessing Enzo’s Personal Journey

The character development in “The Old Country” is particularly prominent, with our primary focus being on Enzo Favara’s transformation. Born into harsh labor conditions, Enzo maintains a more hopeful outlook than most, and his evolution into a recognized member of a criminal family serves as the backbone for the storyline.

Joining the Family

The game is developing into an archetypal tale of growing up, blended with elements of organized crime. As Enzo gets inducted into the Torissi mafia clan, he experiences a vast array of insights. It’s clear that this game focuses heavily on character development and with central themes like family and vengeance, we can anticipate numerous surprises and plot twists along the way.

Enacting Revenge

It seems likely that Enzo will find himself in a position where he must choose between his biological family and his new criminal associates. There’s a chance he may experience betrayal from someone he thought was loyal. Given the media inspiration behind the team’s creation, this twist is quite intriguing, especially considering the high-quality visuals and overall production value.

Engaging in Life or Death Knife Fights

One aspect we’ll encounter often is the depiction of knives as weapons, which are central to the game given Sicily’s historical significance in knife-making. The developers visited local artisans to learn about regional knife production, and while it might not be immediately apparent, the authenticity of the weaponry shines through in its unique and intricate details. You’ll have opportunities to thrust, toss, hone, and amass a variety of knives during your journey. The realistic knife fights are what truly pique my interest. Fingers crossed for a deflection and counter mechanism as it would amplify the “life or death” intensity of combat.

We’ll see a lot of knife action in the game due to Sicily’s knife-making past. The developers visited local artisans to make the knives feel authentic. You can use, throw, sharpen, and collect many knives as you progress. I’m excited about the realistic fight scenes, let’s hope they add a deflect and counter system for more intense combat.

Being a Stealth Assassin

Gameplay significantly relies on knives, particularly stealth. Although we harbor doubts about NPC awareness levels, the stealth kill animations offer a gratifying experience. Additionally, strategically tossing a knife a few feet away to divert enemies can be an effective method for sneaking past or surprising them from hidden locations.

Being Forced to Improvise

In many cases, charging in with guns blazing isn’t practical due to an abundance of NPCs and limited ammo in a level. This often necessitates stealth or close-quarters combat using knives. What intrigues me most is the rapid decision-making that such situations demand. Survival games thrive on edge-of-your-seat improvisation, and it appears that The Old Country will offer a versatile set of tools for strategic and creative play. For those who prefer direct confrontations, there are knives for melee combat, while stealthy players can also rely on their skills.

Engaging in Tense Horse-Riding Shootouts

Previously hinted, you’ll do more than merely driving cars or riding horses; you’ll engage in combat with pursuers, armed with various firearms while atop them. The most thrilling gameplay moments so far have been the car chase scenes. Expect a variety of challenging terrains to appear during these chases, but I’m particularly eager for the shootouts. I can’t wait to deflate an opponent’s tires while evading incoming bullets. I only hope that checkpoints are plentiful, as chase sequences have a tendency to be stingy with them in the past.

Sitting Back and Enjoying the Cutscenes

To sum up, you can expect engaging cutscenes that won’t disappoint. If the gameplay or stealth aspects fall short in any way, the storytelling is certain to make up for it. The actors are fully voice-acted and motion-captured, while a beautifully composed score enhances the overall experience.

As a gamer, I’d like to emphasize that the opinions shared in this piece are mine alone and don’t reflect the collective standpoint of our community at GamingBolt.

2025-07-28 17:46