Mafia: The Old Country – Everything You Need to Know

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Mafia: The Old Country” is set to tell the story of the Sicilian mafia’s origins, combining Hollywood-style drama with meticulous accuracy. Hangar 13 promises a deeply immersive experience, offering a genuine glimpse into the mysterious world of old crime syndicates and their fierce power struggles. A recent 9-minute gameplay preview has generated cautious excitement, but this feature highlighting 15 key points might just convince you that becoming part of this family will be a rewarding journey.

It’s a linear story game

In Mafia: The Old Country, the developers at Hangar 13 aim for each player to feel like they’re living their own gangster film. To create this atmosphere, the latest installment in the extended crime action-adventure series has tightly structured missions and numerous, dimly lit cutscenes with authentic performances. This structure lays the groundwork for a well-constructed story that unfolds linearly, contrasting with the openness of Mafia III and resembling the narrative style of both Mafia I and II.

There’s cutscenes aplenty

Hangar 13 intends to continue the Mafia series’ reputation for immersive storytelling and authentic realism by focusing on detailed between-play cutscenes. While not aiming for the cinematic scope of Metal Gear Solid 4, they are investing heavily in character development in The Old Country. The recent 9-minute gameplay trailer’s opening cutscene showcases high-quality production, although it may seem slightly generic, its noir atmosphere, deliberate dialogue, and expressive facial expressions create a tense mood.

It’s not open world

Hangar 13 intentionally chooses not to present Mafia: The Old Country’s beautiful Sicilian setting as an open world, focusing instead on delivering a tightly-knit story. This decision could pay off if the upcoming prequel fully explores the emotional melodrama of its Hollywood inspiration. Nevertheless, the game’s authentic depiction of early-1900s Sicily is one of its major attractions, offering a stark contrast to the busy cities featured in Mafia’s previous installments.

Authenticity is The Old Country’s heart

The genuine Sicilian crime drama “Mafia: The Old Country” truly captures its essence; it’s the outcome of a laborious production journey. Hangar 13 delved deeply into their research, exploring a vast library of Sicilian mafioso crime novels to understand the early 1900s Sicilian crime families, their customs and culture, even handling their weapons and driving their cars. Being fully engrossed in the subject matter – including personal visits to Sicily – was instrumental for Hangar 13 when designing the setting, landscapes, characters, and narrative of “The Old Country”. Audio also plays a significant role in the overall design, with period-appropriate music and local voice actors enhancing authenticity even more.

Enzo Favara is the game’s lead

Instead, let’s explore Sicily’s harsh reality through the perspective of Enzo Favara, an enthusiastic yet naive newcomer to the Torrisi crime family. He embodies the classic antihero, with his bloody exploits driven by a thirst for honor that stems from a tragic past working in sulfur mines as a child. His unshakable beliefs are shaped by his sense of disposability; if he were to perish in those mines, there would be no shortage of replacements. Miraculously surviving into adulthood, Enzo clings to any chance that might extend his life and potentially give him a meaningful existence. Joining the Torrisi mafia provides his most promising avenue for survival and perhaps redemption.

Other characters confirmed

In addition to Enzo, other notable characters have been introduced. Don Bernardo Torrisi, the patriarch of the Torrisi family who takes on a paternal role for Enzo, is one of them. Isabella Torrisi, the daughter of Don Bernardo, grapples with the complexities of the mafia’s power dynamics. Her shrewd intelligence and independent spirit prevent her from being stereotypically one-dimensional. Meanwhile, Cesare Massaro stands out as Enzo’s most trusted ally, while Don Spadaro leads a rival family.

Gameplay overview

In Mafia: The Old Country, the gameplay shifts to a historic Sicily setting, where events unfold sequentially. This means players can anticipate action-packed missions that combine stealth operations and full-scale shootouts. Furthermore, traveling across Sicily’s sun-baked landscapes will be done in vintage vehicles or by horseback, as shown in the gameplay footage.

Stealth in detail

For those who enjoy stealth games, they might find Enzo’s abilities in “Mafia: The Old Country” a bit underwhelming. From what we know so far, it appears that stealth mechanics aren’t offering anything groundbreaking. You can hide in shadows, sneak behind walls, avoid guards with their predictable patrol routes, and use objects like coins or glass bottles as distractions. Quiet kills can be executed by a swift backstab or an accurately thrown knife. At this stage, there’s no variation in the guard-killing animations shown, but the final version might include such differences.

Hand-to-hand combat

In the 1900s, conflicts in Sicily were resolved traditionally, using knives instead of firearms. This aspect of Sicilian culture, including knives and knife fights, is essential for the game “Mafia: The Old Country”. Combat in this setting is intense and brutal, survival hinging on one’s determination to live. Knife skills will likely prove crucial for Enzo’s survival more than any other type of weaponry, symbolizing a scarcity of resources in the game.

Shootouts

In “The Old Country,” when secrets are revealed, an aggressive, shoot-first approach becomes viable. This is due to intense, single-shot skirmishes resulting from powerful weaponry. Ducking for cover, firing from elevated positions like countertops, popping up momentarily before hiding again – it’s a thrilling dance that contrasts starkly with the peaceful landscape. Although not typically praised for its intricate mechanics, Hanger 13 has made an effort to ensure gunfights in “The Old Country” are immersive and impactful.

When all else fails, there’s grenades

In the game Mafia: The Old Country, fuse bombs that were typically used in the early 1900s are represented as grenades. When Enzo throws one at some guards in a 9-minute video, they react as if it’s a grenade. Therefore, while it might be a more primitive version of an incendiary device, in essence, Enzo is using grenades.

All firepower is period-correct

As a devoted fan, I can’t help but appreciate Hangar 13’s commitment to authenticity in their games. That means every gun in Enzo’s armory is historically accurate for the era, which is quite different from modern firearms. You see, during this time, guns were less forgiving, making cover-based shooting a necessity. The upcoming selection of handguns, rifles, and shotguns are not just any weapons; they carry a significant weight in Sicilian mafia history. Of course, the Lupara, the double-barrel sawn-off shotgun, takes center stage, being iconic to this criminal underworld.

Traversal in detail

In the early 1900s era, Enzo’s primary means of transportation will be horses and horse-drawn carriages, which are widespread. Yet, he’ll also have an opportunity to drive some basic automobiles, though they were less prevalent at that time. To authentically replicate the vehicle dynamics in The Old Country, a group from Hangar 13 visited a vintage car museum in the Czech Republic, not only driving these classic cars but recording their journeys with microphones. This allowed them to capture not just the engine and transmission sounds, but also the noises of squeaking metal, springs, and other components.

Immersion breaking animations

In our 9-minute demo, we notice that the character animations don’t change much. However, the promotional videos for Mafia: The Old Country suggest more variety in this area. There’s concern that we might end up seeing the same death sequences multiple times, but let’s hope that’s not the case.

Driving can be skipped

In essence, the option for skipping driving isn’t problematic by itself; however, its presence from the start, as soon as Enzo takes the wheel, suggests that Hangar 13 acknowledges the driving experience may not be thrilling, except during car chases. The peaceful ambiance of rural Sicily is likely to attract many gamers, so this isn’t a significant issue. Given the linear structure of the game, The Old Country, it’s unlikely we’ll encounter many unexpected events on Sicily’s dirt roads. Nevertheless, we might stumble upon some interesting sights during our journey to a mission.

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2025-07-23 17:43