In the current gaming landscape, conventional wisdom is “bigger is better.” Ahead of release, many blockbuster games market themselves on their size and scale. Boasting about vast open worlds, a large focus on replayability, or a playtime count measured in hundreds of hours. And that’s not even talking about live service games that want you to play forever.
That’s why I found the lead-up to the release of Mafia: The Old Country so refreshing. Developer Hangar 13 (steward of the Mafia franchise since 2014) wasn’t shy about setting expectations. From the start, the California-based studio made it clear that Mafia: The Old Country was designed as a more manageable experience that players would be able to complete without having to dedicate entire months of their precious spare time.
As somebody who’s finding their time to game more and more limited (curse you, adult responsibilities), that was a very compelling pitch. And after blasting through the game’s entire story on PS5 Pro in a single weekend, taking around 10 hours total, I was delighted to have a more focused third-person action experience. I came away hugely satisfied, and a part of me wished that more video games were this short.
Furthermore, Mafia: The Old Country feels like a throwback in more ways than just how long it takes to beat. It’s the type of largely linear, narrative-driven, single-player-only experience that started to go out of fashion in the mid-2010s. But I am delighted to see Mafia bring it back in style.
Becoming part of the family
While the previous three Mafia games have each jumped forward in time, with 2016’s Mafia 3 taking place in the 1960s, Mafia: The Old Country leaps backward, to the start of the 20th century. And it also swaps settings from (fictional) American cities to Sicily, the birthplace of the original Mafia.
You play Enzo Favara, a lowly miner who escapes captivity and finds himself taken in by the Torrisi crime family. As you might expect, he slowly rises the ranks, taking on jobs for the family’s head, Don Torrisi, until he becomes a vital cog in the crime syndicate machine. All the while falling in love with the Don’s daughter, Isabella. Which is a very forbidden love.
It’s not exactly breaking new ground for the Mafia genre, but that’s okay. It’s a functional narrative, and it’s brought to life by strong voice acting across the board. You are unlikely to be shocked by any of the twists, and the bittersweet ending is a bit of an anti-climax, but the characters are compelling enough to keep you invested across the shorter playtime.
This willingness to follow genre conventions is also seen in the gameplay. There’s no vast open world littered with map icons. Instead, Mafia: The Old Country is a linear third-person shooter, with a few driving segments (in old-timey cars and on horseback) to add variety. Missions often conclude with one-on-one knife fights, which function sort of like a boss battle, but they’re repetitive and very easy to exploit thanks to an extremely generous parry and slash system.
None of its gameplay hooks are unique, but the shooting and driving are both respectable, and the digital recreation of 1900s Sicily feels authentic and is packed with tiny details for those who want to take their time to pause and smell the freshly picked tomatoes. Everything about Mafia: The Old Country is functional, and while that’s not the highest praise, it means that a playthrough remains enjoyable through until the end credits.
We need more games like this in 2025
If Mafia: The Old Country was a gigantic 50+ hour experience, I’m sure I would have been craving more mechanical inventiveness, but as noted, that isn’t the game Hanger 13 wanted to make. This is an unapologetically old-school game. You’re supposed to enjoy the ride for 10-12 hours, and then you're free to move on and play something else (or start a second run, if you really wish). That’s a gaming philosophy we need more of in 2025.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy meaty experiences. Some of my favorite games of all time, like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Elden Ring and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, demand dozens of hours of your time just to walk the golden path. But there’s something very refreshing about a blockbuster game that can be completed in just a few sessions.
I had a ton of fun playing through Mafia: The Old Country across a lazy Saturday and Sunday, and when I was done, I certainly didn’t feel shortchanged. I got a complete story, and just as I started to get a little bored of the largely same-y shooting galleries and car chases across the stunning Sicilian countryside, the game was already wrapping things up.
So, thank you to Mafia: The Old Country for not wanting to become my “forever game” and serving as a welcome palate cleanser to hold me over until a glut of new games launch in the fall, many of which are going to do their utmost to keep me playing for a ludicrous amount of time.
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