The new Mafia prequel launched on Metacritic with an average rating of 76/100. Critics praise the game for its story, characters, and atmosphere, but call the gameplay painfully familiar.
One of the strongest points of Mafia: The Old Country is the storyline PC Games (90/100) considers it a good idea for every fan of the franchise to travel to Sicily in the early 1900s and learn about the origins of a respected family. Most critics agreed that the characters are realistic, the dialogues are subtle, and the conflicts are logical. The game has been compared to an interactive series that keeps the tension up until the very end DualShockers (80/100) even called it one of the strongest contenders for the title of the best story game of 2025.
Many weeks before the release, it became known that the prequel moves away from the open world in favor of linearity. Many fans were dissatisfied with this decision, as it could deprive the series of the same charm. However, some journalists believe that such a level structure works in favor: they are rich and without empty moments. For example, Wccftech (80/100) does not like the fact that it is impossible to fully explore Sicily, but the final score did not suffer too much.
“Mafia: The Old Country is a solid return to the series’ roots. Despite a few minor flaws, it delivers an engaging story that’s well worth experiencing. The game also packs in plenty of fan-service moments that longtime Mafia fans will definitely appreciate”, — writes Gamepressure (80/100).
At the same time, the mechanics of combat and stealth have hardly changed. Even in the positive reviews, it’s noticeable that the shooting is — the same: cover, short skirmishes, basic AI Parkour and horse chases look goodbut do not extract the overall dynamics. However GameSpot і Screen Rant gave the game 60 points — they say that everything looks and sounds cool, but it plays like something from the 2010s. In other words, you can feel the “boilerplate gameplay” until the middle.
Despite this, the general mood of the reviews is rather positive. The Old Country looks stylish, conveys the spirit of early 20th century Sicily, and the soundtrack and visual details work to the fullest. Some reviewers say that the game seems to return the series to the rails — without unnecessary locations, points, and additional tasks for the sake of statistics.
Recall that the main character — Enzo Favaro, a young man trying to make his way up through the Torisci family — the same one that started the series’ criminal history. Everything is based on personal motives, internal conflicts, and the balance of power in the family. Mafia: The Old Country will be released on August 8 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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