Released in the wake of Grand Theft Auto 3,Mafia was a more serious and refined take on the crime dramathat, though it never reached the heights of Rockstar’s groundbreaking game, still found a dedicated fanbase. But over the years, the series has had a rough time with diminishing returns each time out, a trend that developer Hanger 13 hopes will be reversed with the upcoming Mafia: The Old Country. This time out, the story is set in Siciliy in 1900 during the birth of organized crime, but it’s also a return to the past in its gameplay, which drops the open-world of the third game for a structured, linear story described by the developer as “a cinematic experience.”
Mafia: The Old Country starts with its hero, Enzo’s initiation into the Cosa Nostra as way to make something of his life. While it’s not exactly a reboot,it is a new starting point for the series, which previously explored the 1930s, 1940s, and 1960s. Hanger 13 President Nick Baynes is already hopeful that the upcoming title will serve as a launching point for even more stories about the Mafia. The goal of Hanger 13 is to get out of the way ofGrand Theft Auto 6by offering a very different type of gaming experience. But the question is, will it be enough to entice new fans to give it a try?
Old School Parts, Modern Gaming Engine
Though the gameplay is going back to the franchise’s roots, Mafia: The Old Country will bethe first game in the series developed on Unreal Engine 4.You can tell from the lighting and particle effects in the trailer, which claims to be entirely in-engine gameplay, that the change has donr wonders compared to the drab, dreary colors of the previous games. The remake of the original Mafia was dinged by critics for its monotone palette and lack of any type of visual flair, but eventhe Grand Theft Auto 3 remake has struggled to look goodon modern consoles, something else the two forever intertwined crime dramas have in common.
The goal of Hanger 13 is to get out of the way of Grand Theft Auto 6 by offering a very different type of gaming experience.
By shifting the location from America to Italy,Mafia: The Old Country will not only tell a different type of story, but feature very different locations.Sicily is home to gorgeous beaches, dark and dangerous sulfur mines, buildings older than the United States, flowing fields of grain, and both flourishing cities and small roadside villages. Gone are the interchangable buildings of New York, and the uneven setting of Louisiana, which Mafia III struggled to do justice to, and in its place is horseback riding, small European streets, and gang fights that more closely resemble Peaky Blinders than they do The Godfather. Fans of crime dramas and the Mafia don’t have too much longer to wait, as the title is currently slated for release in 2025.
Review: Mafia: Definitive Edition
Mafia: Definitive Edition’s gorgeous open world is weakened by its mediocre campaign and flat combat mechanics.
