MAFIA: THE OLD COUNTRY

I don't know if it's just my impression or a general phenomenon but it seems to me that game reviewing has become a complex affair, at least much more so than it was in the past. I've completed two playthroughs of Mafia: The Old Country, I have a clear picture of its pros and cons but as I write this, I can't decide on a final score. The current status quo of gaming, the games that have prevailed, the cost of living and of our favorite hobby, these are all factors that complicate the final decision to buy or not, especially when the game itself provokes so much discussion with its style and unique characteristics.

As the title of the game suggests, Mafia: The Old Country changes its setting, transporting us from post-war USA to pre-war Sicily in 1904. The story we follow is that of Enzo, a young man who lives in slavery as a worker in the mines of the local Spadaro mafia but dreams of one day building a life for himself in the New World alongside his close friend Gaetano. However, as often happens, fate had other plans. After an accident in the mines that costs Gaetano his life, Enzo becomes enraged and attacks the mafia's henchman, injuring him and escaping from the mine on his horse. During the chase, both Enzo and his pursuers enter the territory of Don Torrisi, a rival of the Spadaros who, in order not to encourage his enemies to violate his borders, gives Enzo asylum and sends them fleeing. This marks the beginning of Enzo's involvement in the mafia and a life of crime, as he starts out as a simple worker in Don Torrisi's vineyard and goes on to become an important member of his family.

The storytelling is undoubtedly the strongest element of Mafia: The Old Country. I saw several reviews mentioning as a negative that the script includes quite a few clichés, but is there any way to tell a classic mafia story without family, honor, romance, vendetta and betrayal? I can't imagine how. The narrative is supported by the excellent casting, the sublime performances by all the protagonists and the high-quality graphics in the cutscenes, with the developers taking full advantage of Unreal Engine 5 to create characters that look real. The writing isn't quite at the same level, but it's not far behind, effectively unfolding the plot and clearly sketching out each character. The only negatives I have to mention in this area are some minor directorial or technical flaws, e.g. some scene transitions are a little faster than they should be, and occasionally in some cutscenes you may see a visual bug with the physics. Otherwise, fantastic work.

Unfortunately the same cannot be said about the gameplay which at times is merely adequate and at others disappointing, as Mafia: The Old Country seems to have traveled forward in time from the 2000s in this regard. I will mention its basic elements and try to remember how many such games you played between 2005 and 2012: Linear progression, cinematic cutscenes, lots of sequences where you walk along following and listening to another character, cover-based shooting, a little upgrading, a little stealth, a little melee. The familiar mix of linear cinematic cover shooters that dominated during the PS360 generation and then gave way to open-world games. The main problem, of course, is not that the game has these features; to be honest, I found it nostalgic and a pleasant break from the barrage of open worlds we see in all of today's big games. The main problem is that almost all of the individual gameplay features are, at best, mediocre.

I should warn you from the outset that most of the gameplay can be described in one sentence, simplistic and unoriginal. Cover-based shooting is nothing new and I would even say that it is somewhat clunky in its controls, while the enemy AI would fail elementary school. The same applies to stealth, the various guards neither see nor hear well, while the ability to hide bodies in trunks is practically unnecessary because in most cases the enemies do not patrol but sit in one spot with their backs turned to Enzo so he can take them down. The gradual upgrades we can make to our weapons, horses, and cars do not offer anything substantial to the gameplay as the lack of challenge even on the hard difficulty level renders better equipment rather pointless. Even the two racing missions that are included, one with horses and one with cars, are not very interesting as their progression is largely scripted. The one thing I will count as a positive is that the various action set pieces are sufficiently cinematic and interesting.

On the tech side, there is good news and bad news. The fact that the game uses Unreal Engine 5 should already give you an idea of what to expect: beautiful graphics, mediocre performance, stuttering. Mafia: The Old Country is undoubtedly heavy, and my computer (a laptop with an RTX 3060) needed a lot of upscaling and careful adjustment of settings to achieve satisfactory performance. The good thing is that lowering the settings improves the framerate and smoothness so the sacrifices in graphics are worth it, although you won't escape stuttering at times as it is a characteristic of the graphics engine. Admittedly, the visuals even at lower settings are impressive as the developers have created a magical setting; Sicily in the 1900s is beautiful and smells of the Mediterranean from end to end. It's a shame that while the game has an extensive map and you can explore it at certain points in the plot, there is currently no reason to do so beyond virtual tourism. However, it is worth noting that the developers have promised to add a free ride mode with a free update in the future, so things may change in that regard. The music is also of a high standard, especially the main theme, and I didn't encounter any particular issues with bugs or crashes. The only slightly annoying thing is that sometimes you need to position yourself in a specific spot for the context-sensitive button to appear.

After reading the review you may feel puzzled about the purpose of my introduction. "Come on, man, give it a 65 and be done with it." Objectively, that may be true, but to tell you the truth, I don't feel that way. While playing I didn't feel like I was just playing to write the review, I didn't feel like I was doing a chore. The gameplay issues are obvious but the compact duration of the game (10-14 hours depending on the difficulty level and your desire to hunt all the collectibles), the beautifully told and interesting story that kept me wanting to see what would happen next and of course the wonderful setting proved enough to largely cancel out the disadvantages in my mind and ultimately make me enjoy myself. It probably also helped that games of this kind are now rare, not to mention that we are not talking about a game that costs 80 euros but 50. I believe that fans of the series, those nostalgic for linear cinematic shooters and those who simply enjoy a well-told story in their games would do well to put the game on their wish list for purchase, if not at full price then certainly at a discount. I hope the game is a commercial success so that Hangar 13 can have another chance to deliver something truly special.

Thanks to CD Media for providing the review code.

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