I just can’t get enough of a good old cinematic action adventure.

Whether it’s swinging between vines as Nathan Drake, running from infected in The Last of Us. Smashing things up in God of War. Even your Red Dead Redemptions. And while Assassin’s Creed Shadows has definitely filled some of that void and Ghost of Yotei is wonderful, it’s Mafia: The Old Country that I’ve really lost myself in and sunk into.

Seeing the return of a classic franchise is always welcome, especially one that has such a rich pedigree but I’ve been incredibly impressed with how both Hangar 13 and 2K have handled this return. A little bit of something old. A little something new.

For me, nothing really topped the original Mafia and I was less enamoured by where the franchise was left in the close of the trilogy. Fortunately, the Old Country is a reimagining, a prequel of all that’s to come and it’s set in beautiful 1900’s Sicily at a time where cars were growing in popularity but horses were still very much the preferred mode of transport.

But perhaps most interestingly of all is your character – Enzo – really does start at the bottom en-route to the top of a Mafia empire. When you start the game with Enzo, you couldn’t be lower into the ground. Deep, excavating in a mine, hacking and coughing with all the dust and dirt around you, constantly at the threat of being crushed by landfall and being forced to pull double duty despite spending over 10 hours down there already, battered, bruised and beaten.

And yet, as the story progresses, so does Enzo’s resolve, his will to prevail and ultimately, his path to success. He finds himself in what seems to be decent company – the people he’s surrounded by don’t seem to want to kill him yet, at least – and they even given him a place to sleep and a job that doesn’t immediately seem to threaten his life and lungs. But obviously as the priorities change, so do the dangers.

It’s such an interesting perspective to be in control of a character like Enzo, really being able to grow through an unfamiliar world, seeing all the different perspectives and fighting to stay alive, not just against people shooting at you, but at the circumstances you find yourself in.

As Enzo, you’ll gather new charms to help improve your abilities and add adjustments to certain qualities, but a unique arsenal of weaponry to fight back and stay ahead of your enemies.

All this, coupled with a compelling story with hard-hitting dialogue that feels both authentic to the times but it also has this profound sense of intrigue. You’ll find yourself rooting for Enzo in a world that really seems to be against him, the way he comes to defend his new family but equally is out to defend himself. And you’ll even come to engage with the cast, really finding interesting, intricate layers to them.

The game is quite compact – in fact, the story can be beaten in around 12-15 hours – and the map is definitely more lean compared to some others in the genre – but having a game that neither outstays its welcome nor feels like it can be breezed through is a good balance and surprisingly refreshing.

We’ve been seeing a lot of action/adventure games have become too big and the content is too overwhelming, For that, I actually appreciate the focused nature of The Old Country and really enjoyed being able to look at the beautiful world its created. It makes the major moments feel all the more special.

Don’t get me wrong, I did find it a tad frustrating that the game often confined me to borders and forced me down certain paths. As with other classic Mafia games as well, if you find yourself outside the pocket of area or you’re not in a certain place at a certain time, it can result in mission failures. Which can be quite frustrating too.

Fortunately, the latest Free Drive and Roam update helps alleviate some of that annoyance, which was just added to the game late last month, and this puts it more in-line with the original game with a stunning photo mode and the option to just cruise through the world along with some new race challenges to add a bit of extra content to the mix. It works great and does a great job of celebrating some of the best sections of the game.

Of course, as with other Mafia games, combat plays a big part, and in particular here is stealth. Enzo is just one guy and isn’t classically trained at combat as some of his successors will be, but he is good at sneaking, hiding behind bails of hay and grabbing enemies from behind to knock them out and stash them in nearby boxes. It adds a really cool espionage element to the game and really shows the flaws

But the thing that really works best about The Old Country is how authentic it is. Between giving you a classic black and white filter to play the game as if it was an old Mafia movie, to localising the entire voice acting of the game into Sicilian just adds a real appropriate touch and shows real care and devotion. It only enhances and emboldens the experience and adds a unique sense of weight and gravitas to the experience. I deeply appreciate the effort that’s gone into this.

It is still a remarkably enjoyable game throughout, though, regardless of how you want to experience it. The tension of knife fights works really well and in fact when you do find yourself in gun to gun situations, it almost feels like it’s removing some of the tension away from the game, feeling more like everything else that’s released, although it definitely wouldn’t be a Mafia game without a little bit of a fire fight.

Mafia: The Old Country is a solid, well-rounded adventure that is as cinematic as it is action-packed. It’s a fun ride and while it can feel frustratingly restrictive at times, is a great story of growth with some solid writing and fantastic atmosphere.

Verdict

Mafia: The Old Country is a beautifully designed adventure that is as stunning to watch as it is to play. Between some epic moments, entertaining side moments, and some great storytelling, this is a fantastic return to form for the Mafia franchise that builds its own identity as well as follows templates of great existing titles, despite some limitations in movement.

Pros

---

Mafia: The Old Country is out now on PC, Xbox, and PS

Played on PS5

Code Kindly Provided by 2K for review purposes