Mafia: The Old Country – Exclusive Hands-On Preview | IGN First

Before I sat down to play astir 3 hours of Mafia: The Old Country, Hangar 13 president Nick Baynes repeatedly mentioned his team’s tendency for players to decorativeness this prequel’s story. And truthful with that extremity successful mind, the latest Mafia crippled turns backmost the timepiece some chronologically – it’s acceptable successful the aboriginal 1900s successful Sicily – and successful crippled plan arsenic well. Mafia 3, though precise good, went afloat open-world, and the developers seemed to consciousness likewise astir it successful hindsight arsenic players did: it conscionable didn’t acceptable Mafia well. The archetypal 2 Mafias were gorgeous, narrative-driven, linear games acceptable against the backdrop of a stunning and highly elaborate satellite that, portion explorable, truly lone existed arsenic a beauteous backdrop for your main mission, alternatively than trying to support you engaged with menial tasks and sidequests. In fact, Baynes seemed to suggest that the affirmative reception to 2020’s remake of the archetypal crippled (Mafia: Definitive Edition) served arsenic thing of an inspiration to and northbound prima for this 4th introduction successful the mainline series.

I’m pleased to study that aft playing done Chapters 3, 4, and 5 of The Old Country, the improvement squad has seemingly succeeded successful returning Mafia to its gameplay roots. This is, similar Mafia 1 and 2, a story-first, not-open-world action-adventure. And interestingly, your primary, upgradeable limb isn’t a weapon – though they are surely present – but rather, your knife. Stealth is afloat supported, and adjacent better, it’s lone going to beryllium $50 astatine launch, oregon arsenic I similar to telephone it, the Reverse Randy Pitchford terms tag.

That Old Familiar Feeling

When I archetypal picked up the controller – playing connected a high-end PC, which is wherever the footage you’re seeing successful the video astatine the apical of this leafage and straight supra came from – it’s the aboriginal 1900s and late-teenager Enzo Favara has precocious escaped the sulfur mines helium spent his puerility laboring successful and started to go his ain escaped antheral portion moving successful the vineyard of Don Torrisi, a Sicilian mafioso who protects the radical and spot of the portion from the thieving bandits that lurk successful the hills – successful speech for monthly extortion payments, of course. I truly similar however The Old Country tries to picture Enzo’s progression from a precise guiltless kid into a bound-by-blood, afloat vetted subordinate of the Torrisi outfit who’s got the greenish airy to bash thing helium thinks needs to beryllium done for the bully of the family. We spot this play retired successful Chapter 3, wherever Enzo’s archetypal sensation of beingness extracurricular the vineyard with the Torrisis comes erstwhile he’s brought on connected a bid of collections by Luca, the Don’s close manus man, and Cesare, different made subordinate of the family.

Luca and Cesare are fundamentally the mafioso mentation of an angel and devil connected your shoulders, wherever Luca preaches patience and utilizing unit lone arsenic a past resort, portion Cesare is much of a “shoot archetypal and inquire questions later” benignant of guy. For example, connected our archetypal postulation stop, we visited Marco, an olive farmer. Marco ever pays connected time, but connected this occasion, he’s late. Luca gives maine an unloaded weapon to beryllium utilized lone arsenic an intimidation maneuver to get Marco to wage up, but Cesare told me, “An other brace of hands helps jog their memory” astir the precocious payment. Side note: I deliberation I saw much effect successful 3 hours of playing Mafia: The Old Country than I’ve seen successful immoderate crippled ever. We mightiness request a caller Game Awards class for this. Ultimately, nary bullets were fired nor punches thrown, and I got the Don’s wealth from Marco’s harmless aft uncovering the operation nearby. I admit that Hangar 13 enactment thought into Enzo’s travel into the Torrisi transgression household present and didn’t conscionable instantly fto you go a murdering psychopath.

Things escalated somewhat connected our 2nd stop, though, aft we rode our horses crossed the Sicilian countryside to the workplace of Mr. Bangalino, whose workers, led by a antheral named Manuele, are connected strike. “We can't person strikes astir here, Manuele,” Luca told the not-working men. “You and your friends request to get backmost to work. This is atrocious for business.”

By the way, I can’t stress capable however overmuch I enjoyed staring astatine the countryside portion riding to each destination connected this mission. Mafia: The Old Country ditches the proprietary motor it’s utilized successful each 3 erstwhile Mafia games and moves to Unreal Engine 5 for this installment. To beryllium fair, the erstwhile motor was nary slouch; Mafia 2 successful peculiar was a strikingly good-looking crippled astatine the clip it came out, and Unreal maintains the series’ estimation for delivering beauteous locations. The cleanable bluish skybox and pillowy clouds that acceptable atop the rolling greenish hills and farmlands did a large occupation of establishing The Old Country’s Sicilian setting. I can’t hold to spot much of this satellite successful the remainder of the campaign.

Anyway, Manuele pulled a knife, introducing maine to what is, arsenic I mentioned earlier, possibly the limb that Mafia: The Old Country puts the astir value on. You tin unlock and gain caller knives, and each has unsocial modifying properties, giving you a crushed beyond the cosmetic quality of each leaf to take a circumstantial 1 that suits your combat preferences. You’ve got a batch of moves successful a weapon fight: thrusts, slashes, parries, and dodges (like successful the Batman: Arkham games, dense attacks can’t beryllium parried and indispensable alternatively beryllium dodged).

And determination was inactive 1 last postulation errand to tally successful Chapter 3, and arsenic you whitethorn person guessed by now, the cannoli deed the instrumentality connected this one. A sojourn to a husbandman named Fichera sees him outcry astatine us, successful a reversal, due to the fact that his caller h2o pump was stolen by bandits and the extortion helium pays Don Torrisi handsomely for didn’t support his invaluable property. It’s yet present that the diligent Luca tells Enzo that he’s got escaped reign to enactment unrecorded ammo successful his weapon and not beryllium acrophobic to propulsion the trigger, arsenic these lawless bandits were efficaciously putting their hands successful the Don’s pouch by stealing from Fichera. This leads to a hunt up the hillside done 2 abstracted bandit camps earlier we yet squared disconnected with – and changeable galore bullets into – the twelve oregon truthful wayward thieves that stood betwixt america and the h2o pump they stole. The acquainted third-person cover-based shooting gameplay volition beryllium instantly recognizable not conscionable to Mafia bid regulars but besides anyone who’s played a bully third-person enactment crippled successful the past decade. The Old Country isn’t breaking the mold here, but the gameplay systems are comfortable, effective, and fun. Less comfy – astatine slightest for maine – was the cutscene that followed the decease of the past of the bandits, erstwhile Cesare cuts disconnected the digit of 1 of the bandits, takes his golden ringing arsenic a bonus outgo for his troubles, and tosses the detached digit into the well.

Forbidden Love

With each of your onboarding completed successful Chapter 3, the adjacent conception of Mafia: The Old Country saw 1 monolithic ngo play out, involving the Don’s girl Isabella, who Enzo intelligibly has reciprocated feelings for, and Gennaro, the lad of Baron Fontanella, who’s arguably an adjacent bigger food successful the Sicilian mafioso oversea than Don Torrisi is. Gennaro wants to amusement disconnected his fancy caller car – and helium besides wants to woo Isabella – truthful helium sets up a picnic day successful the adjacent ruins. It starts with Enzo having to babysit the gathering and ends with a kidnapping, a car pursuit involving you connected a horse, a way of bodies near successful Enzo’s wake, a stabbed double-crossing concern partner, a blessed Don Torrisi, and an even-more-smitten-with-Enzo Isabella.

It started quietly, with Gennaro driving Cesare successful his car to the ruins, and Isabella insisting connected riding determination connected horseback alongside Enzo. Yes, you’ll beryllium capable to take and thrust your ain equine successful Mafia: The Old Country, with each steed adjacent having its ain property and characteristics. Based connected what I played, it didn’t needfully look similar your prime of equine would materially impact gameplay, but it was a invited mode to adhd a spot of beingness and meaning to the communicative nevertheless.

A pit halt en way showed disconnected the camera you tin instrumentality pictures of scenic spots with; unluckily it was the lone accidental I had to usage it successful the 3 hours I played, but hopefully you get to usage it semi-regularly implicit the people of the campaign. You’re besides introduced to the driving mechanics of The Old Country aft you rendezvous with Cesare and Isabella successful the signifier of a low-stakes contention astir the ruins – possibly a motion to 1 of Mafia 1’s astir infamous missions.

But portion Cesare and Enzo are messing astir with Gennaro’s car during his day with Isabella, bandits – I won’t spoil their individuality present – swooped successful with guns blazing and kidnapped them both. They were truly lone aft Gennaro, and having to instrumentality Isabella arsenic good proved to be…well, arsenic you tin ideate it ended up severely complicating things for the kidnappers. I got to wield a shotgun successful this conception and recovered that it packed a satisfying punch. There was nary bringing a weapon (let unsocial stealth chokeouts) to a gunfight here; I brought Enzo successful with an itchy trigger finger.

After the aforementioned chase, I was capable to tally down their wagon – and weapon down plentifulness of the kidnapping cadre – and rescue Isabella, who rewarded Enzo with a buss (don’t archer the Don!). But portion Cesare brought Isabella backmost home, Enzo inactive had to get Gennaro back, due to the fact that returning without either 1 would permission Enzo arsenic dormant from either father. It’s this conception that allowed maine to truly unleash my interior Sam Fisher, arsenic it was acceptable up for stealth alternatively nicely successful an unfastened area, letting maine prime my way and stay undetected. If you springiness maine a stealth enactment successful a crippled I americium going to instrumentality it 9 times retired of ten, and Mafia: The Old Country was nary different. The developers told maine that they don’t expect astir players to marque it done the full country – which was admittedly rather ample and stocked with a ton of atrocious guys – without alerting anyone. I took this arsenic a idiosyncratic challenge, and portion I held retired for rather a while, yet I did get spotted and had to commencement shooting.

But portion you are successful The Old Country’s stealth segments, basal Splinter Cell rules are successful effect. You crouch to marque little noise, propulsion coins (or picked-up objects similar bottles) to distract atrocious guys, and tin either weapon them rapidly oregon effort to strangle them unconscious, which triggers a button-mashing QTE you’ve got to beryllium speedy about, lest they gaffe retired of your grasp. There are adjacent conveniently placed bare containers astir that you tin fell the bodies successful truthful that they’re not discovered. The Old Country doesn’t interruption immoderate caller crushed here, but successful my experience, it does acquainted stealth gameplay reasonably well. I bash admit that determination are upgradeable bead slots connected your rosary that impact gameplay, similar 1 that dampens the dependable of your footsteps.

And I appreciated those dampened footsteps until I reached the past antheral lasting for the kidnappers: Messina, whose existent communicative you’ll larn erstwhile you play the crippled yourself. Enzo challenged him to a weapon fight, which Messina accepted by dropping his weapon and engaging Enzo connected his terms. I was having occupation timing my parries conscionable close successful the ensuing battle, but I kept capable humor successful Enzo’s assemblage for him to look arsenic the victor successful the fight. (Side note: I died a mates of times during my 3 hours portion playing connected Normal, but determination are aggregate trouble levels to take from if you privation to ratchet things up oregon down.) And aft returning to the vineyard, Don Torrisi, aft proceeding of Isabella’s kidnapping, tells Enzo helium wants Messina alive. Whoops. Um, yeah, astir that…But ultimately, I did good, the brag said. And Isabella made her feelings rather wide with the grin connected her look directed astatine Enzo.

Home Invasion

Chapter 5 – the last 1 I got to play – fto maine again flex my stealth muscles by tasking maine with infiltrating the location of the antheral yet liable for calling for the Gennaro (and by collateral damage, Isabella) kidnapping and dragging him retired of his location and backmost to my boss. Or, enactment different way, to kidnap the kidnapper. This ngo could genuinely person been pulled consecutive from a Splinter Cell game, arsenic I had my prime of ways up the hillside to the ample villa astatine the top. I kept it quiet, stabbing my mode done the quality obstacles successful beforehand of maine earlier yet getting into the location and to my target.

I wouldn’t beryllium truthful fortunate connected the mode out, though, arsenic by the clip I walked retired with my people successful tow, everyone inactive near lasting knew what was going on, and I had to sprout my mode out. As to what happened to that antheral I brought to the Don? Well, you’ll find out.

The Old Country, the New Anticipation

I near my extended hands-on league with Mafia: The Old Country with precise fewer concerns. In astir 3 hours I played 3 chapters, but however galore chapters are there? Whatever the fig is, it didn’t consciousness similar a communicative that was going to beryllium wrapped up successful a tidy six hours. I don’t cognize however agelong The Old Country yet is, but erstwhile factoring successful the workplace president’s remark astir wanting everyone to spot the extremity credits rotation – arsenic good arsenic the $50 terms tag – it’s harmless to presume that this won’t beryllium a 40- oregon adjacent 30-hour game. But for my money, that’s fine. I’m a dada with a job; I’m bully with Mafia: The Old Country being a crippled I tin get done successful a play oregon two.

And much importantly, I’m present rather assured I’m going to person a batch of amusive playing done this one, nevertheless agelong it lasts. The gameplay mechanics are each coagulated if familiar, with enjoyable stealth, shooting, weapon combat, and driving. And possibly the astir important constituent successful a Mafia crippled – the communicative – had maine engaged and anxious to spot wherever it was going to go. It’ll beryllium bully to get backmost to a Mafia 1 and 2 vibe again. It’s been a agelong time.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's enforcement exertion of previews and big of some IGN's play Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, arsenic good arsenic our monthly(-ish) interrogation show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, truthful it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him connected Twitter astatine @DMC_Ryan.