First Preview of Mafia: The Old Country and New Gameplay Revealed
Diana Golenko
IGN has published an exclusive preview of Mafia: The Old Country after playing through several early chapters of the game. Overall, the prequel left a positive impression on journalists — and it seems the upcoming crime-action title will be relatively short in length.
For the hands-on session, Hangar 13 provided access to three chapters, which took about an hour to complete. During that time, journalists experienced the core storyline and several missions — including collecting debts for the mafia "family," hunting down a rival gang, participating in a car chase, rescuing a damsel in distress, and sneaking into a villa during a stealth operation.
Based on early comments from Hangar 13’s head Nick Baynes and IGN’s impressions, the game won’t be a lengthy experience:
I don’t know how long The Old Country ultimately is, but when factoring in the studio president’s comment about wanting everyone to see the end credits roll – as well as the $50 price tag – it’s safe to presume that this won’t be a 40- or even 30-hour game.
The preview praised the combat system, gunfights, driving mechanics, and Splinter Cell-style stealth, while also highlighting the characters and story. The game will also feature races, a photo mode, romance options, and intense scenes such as finger severing and more.
I’m pleased to report that after playing through Chapters 3, 4, and 5 of The Old Country, the development team has seemingly succeeded in returning Mafia to its gameplay roots. This is, like Mafia 1 and 2, a story-first, not-open-world action-adventure. And interestingly, your primary, upgradeable weapon isn’t a gun – though they are certainly here – but rather, your knife.
I’m now quite confident I’m going to have a lot of fun playing through this one, however long it lasts. The gameplay mechanics are all solid if familiar, with enjoyable stealth, shooting, knife combat, and driving. And perhaps the most important ingredient in a Mafia game – the story – had me engaged and eager to see where it was going to go. It’ll be good to get back to a Mafia 1 and 2 vibe again.
Mafia: The Old Country launches August 8 on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5. One of the missions mentioned in the preview was recently showcased in new gameplay footage.
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