Mafia: The Old Country Reviews
Mafia: The Old Country is a cinematic mob saga that excels in atmosphere, storytelling, and gameplay depth. While it’s not without flaws, especially in pacing and polish, it offers a compelling experience for fans of stealth, crime dramas, and immersive world-building. If you can push past its quirks, there’s a rich, blood-soaked tale waiting to be unravelled.
Nearly a decade after the poorly received Mafia 3, Hangar 13 returns to early 20th-century Sicily with Mafia: The Old Country—a visually stunning, story-rich yet predictable adventure whose charming 14-hour journey is only undermined by underwhelming combat and occasional performance issues.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Mafia: The Old Country is a familiar tale with simple gameplay, yet the excellent acting and gorgeous backdrop give enough reasons to check it out.
Although the gameplay isn’t going to win any awards, Mafia: The Old Country still delivers what people love about the franchise. It’s a great crime story featuring a new protagonist that holds up with the others in the series and is a nice story-driven experience overall.
Mafia: The Old Country doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, but rather returns to its roots and once again places the greatest focus on a cinematic and suspenseful story with compelling and interesting characters.
Review in Unknown | Read full review
Mafia: The Old Country delivers a concise experience anchored by a well-crafted, albeit highly predictable, storyline that can be finished in a weekend. While the narrative doesn’t break new ground, it remains engaging enough to carry players through to the end, thanks in large part to strong performances. Unfortunately, the gameplay struggles to keep pace. Its simplicity isn’t inherently a flaw, but when paired with repetitive design and underwhelming enemy AI, it becomes clear that the story is doing most of the heavy lifting. The result is a game that feels narratively rich but mechanically underdeveloped.
Mafia: The Old Country is like opening an old bottle of Sicilian wine: the flavor is intense, familiar, and comforting, but you notice that time has left it with a touch of age. It shines in its setting, characters, and leisurely narrative, but it resists modernizing its gameplay, remaining a game that will delight lovers of the genre and mafia stories, while leaving those looking for something more wanting more.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
"A Return to Family Roots" Mafia: The Old Country delivers an experience faithful to the franchise's roots, with an emotionally charged story, a captivating Sicilian setting, and stellar acting. While some aspects of the gameplay could have been more in-depth, the game manages to deliver a compelling introduction that combines beautiful visuals, distinctive music, and exciting cinematic sequences. It's not a revolution in the formula, but it's an important chapter for fans of the series and an exciting start for newcomers.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Mafia: The Old Country is undoubtedly a return to the franchise's roots. And that may be both its greatest strength and its greatest limitation.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The Old Country comes close to Mafia 1 in terms of story, though it doesn't surpass that classic. The AI could have been smarter, the gameplay isn't spectacular, and there's little reason to restart the game once the story is over. But all that doesn't detract from the fact that this is a game you play primarily for its story, its characters, and its atmosphere. In that respect, it absolutely doesn't disappoint.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
If you're up for a fantastic yarn and gorgeous sights, Mafia: The Old Country is outstanding, meaning you'll be totally sold by its presentation. The moments, the story and the characters are top-notch, and there's not much to criticize on that front. However, The Old Country is old-fashioned with forced and bland stealth sections, predictable gunplay, and a lack of newness when it comes to the game's mechanics—also the knife fights are unexciting and rote. You can have a blast with The Old Country if gameplay isn't your utmost concern, but if it is, you may need to absolve it of its sins, because while the gunplay is functional and enjoyable enough, it lacks nuance and weapon variety. Altogether, The Old Country is definitely worth taking in, but when gameplay is king, you may feel underwhelmed that it spends more time focusing on its visual and storytelling qualities than it does on crafting a sophisticated playable experience.
Mafia: The Old Country is an often chaotic mess of ideas and gameplay elements, each of which were dated well over a decade ago. Yet it's also a wonderfully directed and acted linear action game that, at just a little over ten hours, feels like a refreshing throwback in this era of bloat.
Mafia: The Old Country may be far from perfect, but most of its apparent shortcomings are easily overshadowed by an emotionally told story of rise and personal growth, the importance of family, and forbidden love — a narrative to which most aspects of the game are skillfully subordinated.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Mafia: The Old Country is made for Mafia fans who care most about the story and the setting. Even though it doesn’t push the limits of gameplay, it has a great story and a world with a lot of little details. It might feel like a missed chance for beginners or people looking for new mechanics.
The magic of the Mafia comes back in Mafia: The Old Country when you drive a classic car down a dusty road at sunset or make plans in a villa's back room by candlelight. It may not change the franchise, but it knows what made it great in the first place.
Mafia: The Old Country is a pleasantly surprising release that offers around sixteen hours of solid entertainment. A well-paced story and detailed setting help it stand out, despite major drawbacks like repetitive knife-based fights and poor enemy AI. While not a top-tier title, its budget price and overall coherence make it a worthwhile option in today’s gaming landscape.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Mafia: The Old Country isn’t the longest, flashiest, or most replayable game—but what it offers is clarity. This is a lean, linear mob drams focused on story, atmosphere, and character. It knows exactly what it wants to be, and it doesn’t waste your time getting there. If you’re after a grounded narrative with a clear creative vision, The Old Country delivers something memorable.
Beautiful to look at, worth experiencing for the atmosphere and story, but ultimately weighed down by gameplay that refuses to evolve. Like a treasured heirloom, it is meant to be appreciated, not necessarily played over and over.
But anyone who enjoys narratively strong action games with cinematic staging can pick this up with a clear conscience. Series fans might not be impressed, but they'll be satisfied with a really good "Mafia."
Review in German | Read full review
The Mafia series returns with a classic, story-driven action-adventure that dives deep into the origins of the organization—and the series itself. With a dense, cinematic narrative and a faithful recreation of Sicily, the game delivers a grounded experience that feels both timeless and fresh. The detailed visuals and authentic sound design make it hard not to dream of traveling to Sicily yourself.
Review in Korean | Read full review