Earlier than I sat right down to play about three hours of Mafia: The Old Country, Hangar 13 president Nick Baynes repeatedly talked about his crew’s want for gamers to complete this prequel’s story. And so with that purpose in thoughts, the most recent Mafia recreation turns again the clock each chronologically – it’s set within the early 1900s in Sicily – and in recreation design as effectively. Mafia 3, although superb, went full open-world, and the builders appeared to really feel equally about it in hindsight as gamers did: it simply didn’t match Mafia effectively. The first two Mafias have been attractive, narrative-driven, linear video games set towards the backdrop of a shocking and extremely detailed world that, whereas explorable, actually solely existed as an attractive backdrop on your predominant mission, relatively than attempting to maintain you busy with menial duties and sidequests. The truth is, Baynes appeared to counsel that the optimistic reception to 2020’s remake of the primary recreation (Mafia: Definitive Version) served as one thing of an inspiration to and north star for this fourth entry within the mainline collection.
I’m happy to report that after taking part in by Chapters 3, 4, and 5 of The Old Country, the event crew has seemingly succeeded in returning Mafia to its gameplay roots. That is, like Mafia 1 and a pair of, a story-first, not-open-world action-adventure. And curiously, your major, upgradeable weapon isn’t a gun – although they’re actually right here – however relatively, your knife. Stealth is totally supported, and even higher, it’s solely going to be $50 at launch, or as I prefer to name it, the Reverse Randy Pitchford price ticket.
That Old Acquainted Feeling
After I first picked up the controller – taking part in on a high-end PC, which is the place the footage you’re seeing within the video on the high of this web page and straight above got here from – it’s the early 1900s and late-teenager Enzo Favara has lately escaped the sulfur mines he spent his childhood laboring in and began to change into his personal free man whereas working within the winery of Don Torrisi, a Sicilian mafioso who protects the individuals and property of the area from the thieving bandits that lurk within the hills – in alternate for month-to-month safety funds, in fact. I actually like how The Old Country tries to depict Enzo’s development from a really harmless child right into a bound-by-blood, totally vetted member of the Torrisi outfit who’s obtained the inexperienced gentle to do something he thinks must be achieved for the great of the household. We see this play out in Chapter 3, the place Enzo’s first style of life exterior the winery with the Torrisis comes when he’s introduced alongside on a collection of collections by Luca, the Don’s proper hand man, and Cesare, one other made member of the household.
Luca and Cesare are primarily the mafioso model of an angel and satan in your shoulders, the place Luca preaches persistence and utilizing violence solely as a final resort, whereas Cesare is extra of a “shoot first and ask questions later” form of man. For instance, on our first assortment cease, we visited Marco, an olive farmer. Marco all the time pays on time, however on this event, he’s late. Luca offers me an unloaded gun for use solely as an intimidation tactic to get Marco to pay up, however Cesare advised me, “An additional pair of palms helps jog their reminiscence” concerning the late cost. Aspect observe: I feel I noticed extra fruit in three hours of taking part in Mafia: The Old Country than I’ve seen in any recreation ever. We would want a brand new Recreation Awards class for this. Finally, no bullets have been fired nor punches thrown, and I obtained the Don’s cash from Marco’s protected after discovering the mix close by. I recognize that Hangar 13 put thought into Enzo’s journey into the Torrisi crime household right here and didn’t simply immediately allow you to change into a murdering psychopath.
Issues escalated barely on our second cease, although, after we rode our horses throughout the Sicilian countryside to the farm of Mr. Bangalino, whose employees, led by a person named Manuele, are on strike. “We won’t have strikes round right here, Manuele,” Luca advised the not-working males. “You and your mates must get again to work. That is dangerous for enterprise.”
By the best way, I can’t emphasize sufficient how a lot I loved staring on the countryside whereas driving to every vacation spot on this mission. Mafia: The Old Country ditches the proprietary engine it’s utilized in all three earlier Mafia video games and strikes to Unreal Engine 5 for this installment. To be honest, the earlier engine was no slouch; Mafia 2 particularly was a strikingly handsome recreation on the time it got here out, and Unreal maintains the collection’ repute for delivering pretty places. The good blue skybox and pillowy clouds that set atop the rolling inexperienced hills and farmlands did a terrific job of building The Old Country’s Sicilian setting. I can’t wait to see extra of this world in the remainder of the marketing campaign.
Anyway, Manuele pulled a knife, introducing me to what’s, as I discussed earlier, maybe the weapon that Mafia: The Old Country places essentially the most significance on. You possibly can unlock and earn new knives, and every has distinctive modifying properties, providing you with a motive past the beauty look of every blade to decide on a selected one which fits your fight preferences. You’ve obtained a whole lot of strikes in a knife combat: thrusts, slashes, parries, and dodges (like within the Batman: Arkham video games, heavy assaults can’t be parried and should as a substitute be dodged).
And there was nonetheless one ultimate assortment errand to run in Chapter 3, and as you could have guessed by now, the cannoli hit the fan on this one. A go to to a farmer named Fichera sees him yell at us, in a reversal, as a result of his new water pump was stolen by bandits and the safety he pays Don Torrisi handsomely for didn’t shield his precious property. It’s lastly right here that the affected person Luca tells Enzo that he’s obtained free reign to place stay ammo in his gun and never be afraid to drag the set off, as these lawless bandits have been successfully placing their palms within the Don’s pocket by stealing from Fichera. This results in a hunt up the hillside by two separate bandit camps earlier than we lastly squared off with – and shot many bullets into – the dozen or so wayward thieves that stood between us and the water pump they stole. The acquainted third-person cover-based taking pictures gameplay will likely be immediately recognizable not simply to Mafia collection regulars but in addition anybody who’s performed third-person motion recreation prior to now decade. The Old Country isn’t breaking the mildew right here, however the gameplay programs are comfy, efficient, and enjoyable. Much less comfy – a minimum of for me – was the cutscene that adopted the loss of life of the final of the bandits, when Cesare cuts off the finger of one of many bandits, takes his gold ring as a bonus cost for his troubles, and tosses the indifferent digit into the effectively.
Forbidden Love
With your whole onboarding accomplished in Chapter 3, the following part of Mafia: The Old Country noticed one huge mission play out, involving the Don’s daughter Isabella, who Enzo clearly has reciprocated emotions for, and Gennaro, the son of Baron Fontanella, who’s arguably an excellent larger fish within the Sicilian mafioso sea than Don Torrisi is. Gennaro needs to point out off his fancy new automobile – and he additionally needs to woo Isabella – so he units up a picnic date within the close by ruins. It begins with Enzo having to babysit the gathering and ends with a kidnapping, a automobile chase involving you on a horse, a path of our bodies left in Enzo’s wake, a stabbed double-crossing enterprise accomplice, a contented Don Torrisi, and an even-more-smitten-with-Enzo Isabella.
It began quietly, with Gennaro driving Cesare in his automobile to the ruins, and Isabella insisting on driving there on horseback alongside Enzo. Sure, you’ll have the ability to select and journey your personal horse in Mafia: The Old Country, with every steed even having its personal persona and traits. Primarily based on what I performed, it didn’t essentially appear to be your selection of horse would materially have an effect on gameplay, but it surely was a welcome method so as to add a little bit of life and that means to the narrative however.
A pit cease en route confirmed off the digital camera you possibly can take footage of scenic spots with; sadly it was the one alternative I had to make use of it within the three hours I performed, however hopefully you get to make use of it semi-regularly over the course of the marketing campaign. You’re additionally launched to the driving mechanics of The Old Country after you rendezvous with Cesare and Isabella within the type of a low-stakes race across the ruins – maybe a nod to one in every of Mafia 1’s most notorious missions.
However whereas Cesare and Enzo are messing round with Gennaro’s automobile throughout his date with Isabella, bandits – I gained’t spoil their id right here – swooped in with weapons blazing and kidnapped them each. They have been actually solely after Gennaro, and having to take Isabella as effectively proved to be…effectively, as you possibly can think about it ended up severely complicating issues for the abductors. I obtained to wield a shotgun on this phase and located that it packed a satisfying punch. There was no bringing a knife (not to mention stealth chokeouts) to a gunfight right here; I introduced Enzo in with an itchy set off finger.
After the aforementioned chase, I used to be in a position to run down their wagon – and gun down loads of the kidnapping cadre – and rescue Isabella, who rewarded Enzo with a kiss (don’t inform the Don!). However whereas Cesare introduced Isabella again residence, Enzo nonetheless needed to get Gennaro again, as a result of returning with out both one would depart Enzo equally lifeless from both father. It’s this part that allowed me to essentially unleash my inside Sam Fisher, because it was arrange for stealth relatively properly in an open space, letting me decide my path and stay undetected. For those who give me a stealth choice in a recreation I’m going to take it 9 instances out of ten, and Mafia: The Old Country was no totally different. The builders advised me that they don’t count on most gamers to make it by all the space – which was admittedly fairly massive and stocked with a ton of dangerous guys – with out alerting anybody. I took this as a private problem, and whereas I held out for fairly some time, finally I did get noticed and needed to begin taking pictures.
However when you are in The Old Country’s stealth segments, primary Splinter Cell guidelines are in impact. You crouch to make much less noise, throw cash (or picked-up objects like bottles) to distract dangerous guys, and may both knife them shortly or attempt to strangle them unconscious, which triggers a button-mashing QTE you’ve obtained to be fast about, lest they slip out of your grasp. There are even conveniently positioned empty containers round which you can cover the our bodies in in order that they’re not found. The Old Country doesn’t break any new floor right here, however in my expertise, it does acquainted stealth gameplay fairly effectively. I do recognize that there are upgradeable bead slots in your rosary that have an effect on gameplay, like one which dampens the sound of your footsteps.
And I appreciated these dampened footsteps till I reached the final man standing for the abductors: Messina, whose actual story you’ll study while you play the sport your self. Enzo challenged him to a knife combat, which Messina accepted by dropping his gun and fascinating Enzo on his phrases. I used to be having bother timing my parries good within the ensuing battle, however I saved sufficient blood in Enzo’s physique for him to emerge because the victor within the combat. (Aspect observe: I died a few instances throughout my three hours whereas taking part in on Regular, however there are a number of problem ranges to select from if you wish to ratchet issues up or down.) And after returning to the winery, Don Torrisi, after listening to of Isabella’s kidnapping, tells Enzo he needs Messina alive. Whoops. Um, yeah, about that…However finally, I did good, the boss stated. And Isabella made her emotions fairly clear with the smile on her face directed at Enzo.
Dwelling Invasion
Chapter 5 – the ultimate one I obtained to play – let me once more flex my stealth muscle tissues by tasking me with infiltrating the house of the person finally liable for calling for the Gennaro (and by collateral harm, Isabella) kidnapping and dragging him out of his home and again to my boss. Or, put one other method, to kidnap the kidnapper. This mission might actually have been pulled straight from a Splinter Cell recreation, as I had my selection of how up the hillside to the big villa on the high. I saved it quiet, stabbing my method by the human obstacles in entrance of me earlier than finally stepping into the home and to my goal.
I wouldn’t be so fortunate on the best way out, although, as by the point I walked out with my goal in tow, everybody nonetheless left standing knew what was occurring, and I needed to shoot my method out. As to what occurred to that man I dropped at the Don? Properly, you’ll discover out.
The Old Country, the New Anticipation
I left my prolonged hands-on session with Mafia: The Old Country with only a few considerations. In roughly three hours I performed three chapters, however what number of chapters are there? Regardless of the quantity is, it didn’t really feel like a narrative that was going to be wrapped up in a tidy six hours. I don’t know the way lengthy The Old Country finally is, however when factoring within the studio president’s remark about wanting everybody to see the tip credit roll – in addition to the $50 price ticket – it’s protected to presume that this gained’t be a 40- and even 30-hour recreation. However for my cash, that’s advantageous. I’m a dad with a job; I’m good with Mafia: The Old Country being a recreation I can get by in a weekend or two.
And extra importantly, I’m now fairly assured I’m going to have a whole lot of enjoyable taking part in by this one, nevertheless lengthy it lasts. The gameplay mechanics are all strong if acquainted, with gratifying stealth, taking pictures, knife fight, and driving. And maybe an important ingredient in a Mafia recreation – the story – had me engaged and desirous to see the place it was going to go. It’ll be good to get again to a Mafia 1 and a pair of vibe once more. It’s been a very long time.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s govt editor of previews and host of each IGN’s weekly Xbox present, Podcast Unlocked, in addition to our month-to-month(-ish) interview present, IGN Unfiltered. He is a North Jersey man, so it is “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.