“Mafia: The Old Country” is one of the most cinematographic games of 2025 | Video games

Video games and cinema / television have long had a symbiotic relationship, influenced even more at a time when titles like “The Last of Us” and “Fallout” have become critical dear in several forms. Which is even more entertaining for lovers of cinema and games, influences are not as direct as the art of adaptation, whether it is the way Indiana Jones shapes “Uncharted” or the different familiar faces in something like “Death Stranding 2.” Sometimes it’s just the artistic direction of a well -considered game or, if we are lucky, the narration that echoes the work of a screenwriter instead of a committee. Playing “Mafia: The Old Country” is no different from watching a series of 14 episodes streaming, a series that pays homage to gender classics like “The Godfather, Part II” and “Once Upon a Time in America” in its story of the story of a man who literally rises sulfur mines at the top of organized crime.

In an era dominated by open world games with RPG elements, the last of 2K is largely backwards, a story that does not have the repetition of games like this which confuse the same thing on several occasions for entertainment. Some will deplore the short duration of “the old country” (it is only about 12 hours and those who jump conversations or transport scenes could cut this significantly), but the skinny nature of the narration here is refreshing at a time when most games are undeniably flabby. If anything, flirts with open world elements like a card you don’t really need and collectibles that can be found in the world of game are almost a distraction. I gave up hunting in the way I would normally do it for most RPGs in the open world, entering collectibles if I found them, but by sticking with the narration instead of hunting.

“Mafia: The Old Country” opened in 1904 in Sicily while inzo Favara (Riccardo Frascari) works in a deadly mine in the city of San Celeste, a fictional village which was previously presented in “Mafia II”. (The game has several links with the previous outings of “mafia”, including small things like a postcard for Empire Bay, the frame of the one who started everything, and great things that we have been asked not to spoil.) When greed leads to death in the form of explosions, Enzo fights, by aggressing his foreman, which is under a sub-family in a criminal family. When Enzo refers in a stable belonging to a more powerful gift named Torrisi (Johnny Santiago), he finds himself doing by the charismatic chief, moving in his vineyard field and shopping for the family. Along the way, he falls in love with the daughter of Don Isabella, and the two plan a life together far from all these blood effusions.

Although he ends up arriving at a third traditional third -person shooting fight to hide and flank your enemy, “The Old Country” does not come out exactly firearms. You first learn to fight with a knife, a little repeated gameplay throughout the game which is somewhat superficial in terms of mechanics – Thrust, Swipe, Parry, Dodge, etc. – gives the first chapters of “the old country” a tone different from many action games. This old -fashioned sensitivity also extends to transport when you compete in horse and cars races that are mainly used as tutorials to use them later in the game. It is also a game that rests more on stealth than on combat, a choice that also works thematically in this Enzo cannot go exactly mines like John Wick. He is regularly in inferiority and overwhelmed, forced to make his way to achieve his objectives.

Now, some of the furtive mechanisms give “the old country” the feeling of a game that is old, old. Throwing pieces to distract stupid enemies or stifle those who always seem to look in the wrong direction is a gameplay mechanic who was dated at least a decade ago. And the feeling that the gameplay in “The Old Country” works from an obsolete model permeates some of the chapters of the game. It is perhaps because I am quite old to remember when the first game was released, but I found the old-fashioned gameplay more a return than a bug. Yes, it is sometimes too simple of a game – the most experienced players will only die a few times, if that – and there is a version of “The Old Country” which takes more risks with the gameplay, but it plays in the sense that it looks more like a extended television series or a franchise of films difficult than a difficult video game experience. The tribute of a person to the old games is the obsolete gameplay of another person – I fall more from the old side of the big book here.

And it is undeniable that “the old country” is magnificent. I appreciated driving around the hills of Sicily or walking in small towns along the shore. The markets seem dynamic with people and natural elements like the vast Italian sky are beautifully rendered. The cut scenes are not crushed or too deep, ending just in time to get back to the driver’s seat. And the vocal work and the design of the characters are both phenomenal with characters who feel entirely considered in a way that they are rarely in games like this, especially the tracks.

Again, the world has the impression of having been initially designed to house a more open concept with a map and dozens of locations that become entirely unused, but the decision to scratch this and go with a simple story actually makes the framework of the game more temporary. Even the best open world games can become exhausting for finalizing who wish to erase each bastion and investigate each location. That there is a church in this game that I have led by a dozen times that exists just to be a detail in the background feels almost refreshing.

Given its lower price ($ 50) and the shorter length, “Mafia: The Old Country” will probably be considered a footnote in the inheritance of this franchise, especially if they come back with a good “Mafia IV”, but this old -fashioned game critic appreciated this game. Sometimes going back to the basics can amplify things that too many developers forget in order to pack games with quantity rather than quality. This return to linear narration in a robust and well -designed world of play reminded me of another type of joy of play. The one that is not exactly like a film, but not a completely different family either.

The publisher provided a review of this title. It is now available on PC, Xbox and PS5.