Mafia: The Old Country Reviews
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.
A clumsy and mechanically inert effort to capture the majesty and thrills of mob cinema, Mafia: The Old Country finds no promised land in either its routine tale of crime or its linear, hyper-focused gameplay. Impressive facial capture and a unique setting can't sustain this poor, if well-intentioned, emulation of far greater works.
A decent but cliched mob story and bland, frustrating gameplay make this the weakest Mafia yet.
Wait for a heavy discount on this one and temper your expectations; The Old Country is an old dog with no new tricks.
The saving grace of Mafia: The Old Country is its linear focus. There is not a single point in this game where I was asked to explore the large open map or search for some resource to get arbitrary upgrades. This linear focus and a 10-hour run time kept me from ever getting frustrated or annoyed with my experience, even if I never felt particularly engaged throughout. I’m not mad that I spent my time with Mafia: The Old Country, but for such a focused experience to feel so bland is ultimately disappointing.
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.
The most cinematic entry in the series so far but no matter how good the visuals or acting are, the story is clichéd and predictable, and the gameplay feels like barely an afterthought.
Lacking the charisma and novelty of its predecessors, Mafia: The Old Country struggles to escape a sense of constant mediocrity.
The fact that Mafia: The Old Country does little more than what it promises is not a bad thing. It is a linear action-adventure game, where the story takes precedence. And although its romantic premise may not appeal to everyone, it is told in an interesting and quality manner. But in 2025, especially after the previous installments, one would expect more than just a "minimal viable product." The entire game is unnecessarily linear; the missions are often uninteresting, the gameplay is at times shockingly uninspired, and more often than we would like, we felt that the developers were making fools of the players. Mafia: The Old Country is, at its core, an entertaining average game with some production quality that elevates its quality, but it remains average nonetheless.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Hangar 13 is definitely on the right track, hopefully we get more Mafia in the upcoming years – most important thing to improve are the repetitive missions.
Review in Finnish | Read full review
While it certainly falters in its gameplay department, I'll always stick around for a classic mafia story, even if I can see the ending from a mile away.
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.
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.
Mafia: The Old Country could've just been a movie-offering a great story but little else.
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 impresses in Sicily.
Mafia: The Old Country tells an exceptional mob story with incredible characters, but it's a shame that it's so much better to watch than it is to play.
Mafia: The Old Country doesn't have enough gameplay ideas to carry its relatively short running time. While the fundamentals here are fine, an overemphasis on insta-fail stealth sequences and floaty shootouts makes for a forgettable campaign, even if it takes place within a stunningly detailed world. The performances are extraordinary but the story itself is predictable, leaving you with a phenomenally acted crime tale that you may admire in the moment but will struggle to remember once the credits roll.
This Cosa Nostra caper has few fresh ideas to revitalise the cover shooter, but benefits from a well-researched time and place
Mafia: The Old Country is a game struggling with an identity crisis that ends up crumbling as a result.