Mafia: The Old Country Reviews
Mafia: The Old Country is a conventional but effective return to the linear and tightly story-driven format of the original Mafia and Mafia II, and it boasts a wonderful eye and ear for detail.
Lacking the charisma and novelty of its predecessors, Mafia: The Old Country struggles to escape a sense of constant mediocrity.
Even if you’re not impressed by its boilerplate action, you may at least walk away better understanding why your dad is such a stronzo.
Mafia: The Old Country uses its stunning setting to tell a familiar story about loyalty and family that's propped up by its cast of characters.
Considering the ending and the fan-service elements that cater to long-time fans, this is not only the best Mafia game to date, but also one of the best modern linear action-adventure titles.
Mafia: The Old Country tells you a story that you're going to experience firsthand, feeling like one more part of the plot with tense moments, memorable stories, and gameplay that won't make you put down the controller for a single moment. It's a reminder of why we fell in love with video games in the first place: not because of complex systems or impressive graphics, but because of their ability to transport us to other worlds and make us feel part of extraordinary stories. Just play it and enjoy an experience that you won't want to refuse.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Mafia: The Old Country offers a remarkable narrative and atmospheric mob drama, hampered by uneven technical skills. While its gameplay is a bit simplistic, it should satisfy those looking for a straightforward, fast-paced, and enjoyable game.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Mafia: The Old Country offers a linear and compact experience, a rarity these days, that makes storytelling its main strength. It's not a revolutionary video game, nor does it aim to be, yet it manages to leave a mark despite the flaws of a gameplay that's overly formulaic. The depiction of early 20th-century Sicily is excellent, thanks to a commendable aesthetic and stylistic effort, and the inclusion of full Sicilian voice acting. Too bad for the many technical issues.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Ultimately, The Old Country fails to make the most of its world’s uniqueness, as evidenced any time you must leave your vehicle to interact with it.
Mafia: The Old Country aims squarely at being a narrative experience, and largely succeeds in that while also providing solid gameplay. It is a bit of a shame that we don't get to truly explore Sicily in this game, but if you're into Mafia narratives, this is among the best you can find in games, and the entry price isn't that high either.
Sure, Mafia: The Old Country has guns and cars, but the more important pieces are the awesome story, great performances, and beautiful setting. Cinematic in all the ways that most games only dream of, The Old Country delivers a nuanced and thoughtful story full of thrills. I couldn't tear myself away from it.
Hangar 13 has managed to pay homage to the saga's origins without abandoning its own vision, and the result is one of those games that doesn't need to be huge to be memorable . Enzo Favara isn't Vito Scaletta or Tommy Angelo, but his story deserves to be told. And played.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Everyone is obviously free to rate Mafia Terra Madre up or down based on what they want to find within the adventure. As long as they're aware of it being an honorable undertaking.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Mafia: The Old Country looks backward, both in its setting and design ethos. Combining gorgeous visuals, strong character work, and scrappy action set pieces, the outcome is a confident, understated crime game that does exactly what it's supposed to.
I would have liked to see Hanger 13 venture more into the story. For a game that places so much emphasis on the story, I expect a bit more variety – which I got with the knife as a new gameplay element.
Review in German | Read full review
Mafia The Old Country isn't bad, it's just too classic to stand out from the crowd and will struggle to be remembered, unlike its big brothers. It's nonetheless a very cinematic experience that will undoubtedly delight fans of the franchise.
Review in French | Read full review
Mafia: The Old Country is a worthy addition to the long-running crime franchise. It excels with a strong cast, high production values, and a story you'll genuinely care about, all supported by simple yet effective combat systems. However, its lower price point likely limited its overall scope, which in turn impacts its replay value. But if you're someone who wants games to respect your time and are tired of overly long, bloated open world experiences, Mafia: The Old Country is absolutely worth your attention.
At first, Mafia: The Old Country swept me up straight away. Its stunning world, compelling story, and rich sense of place felt like an Italian holiday. As I played on, the simplicity of its combat and stealth stood out more, but that's not what I valued most. Not the most inventive action game, but one of the most immersive you'll play this year. This is a leaner and more focused Mafia game that trades scale for storytelling and worldbuilding, and in doing so, delivers something quietly special.
Mafia: The Old Country is not trying to be a GTA clone, but instead sets a smaller scale and focuses fully on what is most important to the series. An atmospheric, dark and tight story set in a memorable location, together with solid gameplay mechanics and fluid performance, is exactly what the series needed to get back on track.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Mafia The Old Country, visually, is a stunning success. Unfortunately… gameplay is best described as mediocre; serviceable, if not particularly enjoyable. Its story is a tragedy -- dull, linear, and so full of tropes that nothing feels new or fresh. Characters are flat cliches, generic representations of genre stereotypes, and nothing more.