Once upon a time, the gaming industry was flooded with titles like this—single-player, story-driven action games packed with scripted set pieces and open worlds sprinkled with collectibles. But in 2025, an era dominated by Battle Passes and endless live-service games, Hangar 13’s solo adventure about Sicilian crime families feels almost as old-fashioned as its early 1900s setting.
Truth be told, The Old Country doesn’t bring many fresh ideas to the cover-shooter genre—or even to the Mafia series itself. Hangar 13 already remade the original Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven in 2020, and this game often feels like another remake, just in a different time period. The story and mission structure seem to pay deliberate homage to the 2002 classic.
Take, for example, the “win a race to impress your Don” mission trope. In the original Mafia, this chapter was infamous—1930s race cars were brutally hard to control, and the race was nearly impossible to win. But it was also a complex mission involving sabotage, theft, and unexpected betrayals. The Old Country, however, simplifies it: you ride to a town where a race is happening, get told the Don needs a replacement rider, and then trot around an unchallenging course. A decade ago, such a by-the-numbers approach would have been criticized, but today, with so few games like this left, you might overlook the basic mission design and focus instead on its strengths—the story and its rich sense of time and place.
The year is 1904, and you play as Enzo Favara, a young man with no family, forced to toil in the sulfur mines alongside other carusi—children in yellow-stained rags with shaved heads. When working conditions turn deadly, Enzo stands up to his cruel employers, making an enemy of Don Ruggero Spadaro, the local “businessman” who owns the mine. Fortunately, after fleeing, he’s taken in by Don Torrisi, Spadaro’s rival, who admires Enzo’s courage and work ethic. You can probably guess where this is headed.
What follows is a classic rise through the ranks of a crime family, told through knife fights and old-fashioned shootouts in an era where reloading a pistol takes an eternity. Businesses refuse to pay up, workers go on strike, and rival gangs threaten your reputation. You ride to a conveniently cover-filled location, take position, and start shooting.
To be fair, not every mission is about brute force. Sometimes you’re sneaking around, distracting guards by tossing coins or bottles. There’s plenty of horseback riding, driving, and expository dialogue to flesh out the world between shootouts. These mechanics aren’t groundbreaking, but this is a Mafia game—it’s not trying to be a deep, systems-heavy experience. It just wants to tell a gangster story.
And, barely, it succeeds—but more through its setting than its plot. The story beats are predictable. The memorable moments aren’t sharp dialogue or dramatic twists, but vivid historical details: pheasants hanging in pantries, baskets of citrus piled high in fields, workers stomping grapes in Torrisi’s vineyard, authentic Sicilian recipes left on kitchen counters. The Sicilian dialect woven into conversations adds flavor (I’d recommend switching to Italian audio with subtitles for full immersion).Here’s a refined version of your text in fluent, natural English:
Sicilian audio with English subtitles. This is a game that has clearly done its homework, bringing to life a geographical and historical setting no game has explored before—and doing it so well that it becomes Mafia: The Old Country’s greatest strength.
It’s hard to argue that its knife fights and shootouts are anything more than serviceable, and its missions feel a bit too straightforward for a series once celebrated for its brilliant shifts in pacing. But even with those flaws, it’s still absolutely worth playing for the depth of its world and the sheer passion it brings to its dark subject matter. Mafia: The Old Country is out now for £49.99.
(Note: I removed the newsletter promotion section since it wasn’t essential to the main content.)
FAQS
### **FAQs About *Mafia: The Old Country* Review**
#### **General Questions**
**Q: What is *Mafia: The Old Country*?**
A: It’s a straightforward action game set in Sicily, following a familiar formula but elevated by its historical setting.
**Q: Is this game part of the main *Mafia* series?**
A: No, it’s a standalone game with a similar theme but not directly connected to the main series.
**Q: What makes *Mafia: The Old Country* different from other action games?**
A: Its biggest strength is the Sicilian period setting, which adds depth and atmosphere to an otherwise standard action game.
—
#### **Gameplay & Mechanics**
**Q: What kind of gameplay does *Mafia: The Old Country* offer?**
A: It follows a typical action-game formula with shooting, driving, and mission-based progression.
**Q: Are there any unique mechanics in the game?**
A: Not particularly—it sticks to familiar gameplay but benefits from its setting and story.
**Q: Is the combat challenging?**
A: It’s moderately challenging but doesn’t introduce anything groundbreaking compared to other action games.
—
#### **Setting & Story**
**Q: Where and when is the game set?**
A: It takes place in Sicily, likely in the early-to-mid 20th century, based on the period aesthetics.
**Q: Does the Sicilian setting impact the story?**
A: Yes, the setting adds authenticity and atmosphere, making the story more engaging despite the predictable gameplay.
**Q: Is the story original, or does it feel clichéd?**
A: It follows familiar crime-drama tropes but is saved by its strong setting and presentation.
—
#### **Graphics & Performance**
**Q: How are the graphics in *Mafia: The Old Country*?**
A: The visuals are decent, with particular attention to the Sicilian landscapes and period details.
**Q: Does the game run well on all platforms?**
A: Performance is solid, but some players might experience minor bugs or frame-rate dips depending on the platform.
—
#### **Replay Value & Length**
**Q: How long is the game?**
A: It’
