HIGH An exceptional narrative. 

LOW Technical issues.

WTF Learning new curse words in Italian!

It’s impossible to deny that Hangar 13’s Mafia series has strong, cinematic aspirations. While many narrative-focused titles pull from popular films, there’s a distinct feeling that in the case of Mafia, the clichéd sentiment of “it feels like I’m playing through a movie” really makes sense. 

The strength of each iteration in this long-running franchise (spanning two decades and four console generations) has always been the writing, presentation, and immersive worlds. As a fan of crime films, I’ve enjoyed playing through each successive release, pointing out obvious parallels between the games and movies that inspired them. From the clear callbacks to Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas in Mafia II to the ’60s/’70s motifs in Mafia III, the series is a pastiche of the best mob movie tropes wrapped around some of the best writing videogames has to offer. 

The latest entry, Mafia: The Old Country, continues the pedigree by taking players back to the origins of the Sicilian Mafia. Set in the early 1900s, this third-person action-adventure has players controlling Enzo Favara on his rise from indentured sulfur mine worker to a bona fide member of Don Bernardo Torrisi’s crime family. His journey is one marred by bloodshed and the pursuit of vengeance, with loyalty to both the family and his closest friends tested throughout the roughly 12-hour campaign. 

Narratively, it’s almost unsurprising how well-written The Old Country is. It’s a gripping and mature tale that echoes the best mob films, especially the opening to The Godfather Part II. It hits all the major points that most crime films seem to hit, but it’s acted and told so well that I was engaged the whole time. 

Enzo himself is a fascinating character, echoing the likes of Robert De Niro’s character in Once Upon a Time in America or other notable tragic figures like Michael Corleone. There’s complexity in his journey, and the performance is strong. Other characters like Don Torrisi or his underboss, Luca, add to an already-rich story. 

This narrative is helped by excellent presentation throughout, ranging from exceptional character models to cutscene cinematography that furthers the idea that this is interactive crime drama. Cutscenes are presented with black bars above and below the screen to give a more cinematic feel. 

Those who have played earlier Mafia titles will feel right at home with the gameplay loop of the Old Country. Seen from a third-person perspective, The Old Country is a mostly linear and script-driven experience. Rather than focusing on a large, interactive open world that can be explored, the story is confined to a mission-based structure, which works. The change in structure allows for a more focused experience, with little filler slowing it down. 

The world itself is gorgeously rendered, with an amazing-looking Italian countryside. While focused on scripted sequences, there are some free-roaming areas that players can drive between or ride through on horseback. The world feels lived-in and real, and despite no gameplay incentives to explore aside from a few collectibles and bits of lore.

The snappy and responsive third-person shooting returns, with every shot feeling heavy and impactful. Snapping to cover and popping my head out to land a few hits on enemies was satisfying, and each gun has the expected pros and cons, like shotguns packing a bigger punch but being effective only at short range, while distance rifles feel unwieldy up close.

The biggest change to combat, however, is Enzo’s knife. Many missions require Enzo to use stealth, with players given the option to choke enemies out or quickly stab them to avoid detection. Knives can lose sharpness after use after silencing enemies or opening locked doors, so I appreciated this light resource management forcing me to choose when a knife was necessary.

Missions offer much variety, with some focusing on stealth and some that go loud and culminating in car chases throughout Sicily. One early highlight had me go on a collection run, picking up money that tenants across the map owed. One of the interactions tasked me with holding an unloaded gun on someone to force them to pay up, while another offered a firefight against bandits who were stealing from a farmer who’d already paid his protection money. There are plenty of great situations throughout the campaign, many mirroring iconic moments in mob films. 

My one major caveat about this otherwise-excellent experience is the presence of glitches. There was nothing game-breaking, but I noticed weird inconsistencies like enemies sliding through environments, audio cutting out abruptly in cutscenes, and NPCs clipping through objects. It’s a little immersion-breaking, but it didn’t ruin the experience.

Like the best crime films, Mafia: The Old Country succeeds thanks to a complex and dark tale of revenge and familial ties. It’s a short, yet satisfying ride, and Enzo’s tale is easily one of the best of the year. While some may lament the lack of an open world, the narrative and solid gameplay delivered by the developers makes this an offer no one should refuse. 

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Buy Mafia: The Old Country — PC — PS — XB 

Disclosures: This game is published by 2K and developed by Hangar 13. It is available on PC, XBX/S, and PS5. This copy was obtained via publisher and was reviewed on PS5. Approximately 12 hours were spent in single-player, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes and Use of Alcohol . According to the site: This is an action-adventure game in which players follow the story of Enzo Favara’s ascension through a Mafia family in 1905 Sicily. Players engage in various criminal activities (e.g., extortion, theft, murder) at the behest of the Mafia. Some missions can involve using knives, pistols, rifles, shotguns, and explosives to kill enemy rivals and bandits. Combat is accompanied by realistic gunfire and cries of pain. Blood-splatter effects occur as enemies are killed; blood pools are depicted under bodies. Players can also employ stealth takedowns (e.g., throat slitting, stabbing from behind) to kill enemies discreetly. A handful of story sequences require players to execute characters at close range in order to progress. Cutscenes also depict intense acts of violence and/or gore: characters shot in the head; a man’s throat slit at close range; a bound man in a chair beaten to death; a character’s finger sliced off. The game contains some suggestive material: women escorting men inside a brothel; a man tied to a bed by two women inside the brothel; dialogue such as “I found them still in the whorehouse an hour ago” and “Give me…more vino and all the lovely boobies.” During the course of the game, players’ character can consume alcohol and drive while under the influence. The word “f**k” is heard in the game.

Colorblind Modes: Colorblind modes are not present in the options menu.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Gamers: There are plenty of visual cues during gameplay, like indicators to let players know where enemies are around them, as well as when they are shooting. HUD elements can be adjusted in the menu. Subtitles are present and can be resized. As no audio cues are needed for gameplay, I’d say this is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: The controls cannot be remapped, but there is a diagram.

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HIGH Putting a chicken in charge of a high-profile financial district.

LOW Enemies equipped with firearms are a time-wasting annoyance.

WTF There aren’t nearly enough scenes involving Nishitani.

It’s fair to say that the long-running Yakuza might have become a bit impenetrable to newcomers. With the sixth installment recently released in Japan, some who’ve yet to try the series have expressed concerns about where they should start to get the most out of the storyline. Thankfully, Yakuza 0 provides an excellent answer to this question — anyone interested in jumping in should start right here, right now. Partially because it’s a prequel largely unaffiliated with the overarching, interconnected narrative from the other installments, but also because it’s an utterly fantastic game.

Yakuza 0 is set during the financial heyday of 1980s Japan and focuses on two main characters before they became infamous. Original series protagonist Kiryu Kazama’s story has him trying to find the truth behind being framed for murder whilst entire branches of the Yakuza he’s forced to leave do their level best to put him in the ground. The campaign also stars an exiled Goro Majima, with a focus on the lengths he’ll go to in order to win his way back into his clan’s good graces. Thankfully, they’re both exceptionally engaging characters.

The resulting storyline that Yakuza 0 weaves is, without hyperbole, one of the best to be found in videogames. Not least because it understands the basic importance of building up its villains as a bunch of irredeemable bastards that deserve to have their faces smashed in with whatever’s at hand, but it shouldn’t be mistaken as a straightforward revenge tale, either — allegiances constantly shift and twist, and while some events do come across as somewhat improbable or overly convenient in places, it makes for a genuinely gripping tale laced with excellent characterization for all involved. It’s also supported by a truly superb translation that highlights the script and allows the excellent direction to shine through.

So the story is aces, but what’s the gameplay like? It’s essentially a semi-open world title set in the fictional Kamurocho district of Tokyo and the Sotenbori entertainment district of Osaka. Inspired by real locations, they’re as authentically Japanese as anything in gaming has to offer, minus the citizenry’s predilection for constantly picking fights with characters who could ram them headfirst through a wall without breaking a sweat. Each district is densely packed with a ton of sidequests and diversions, from things like helping random people on the street, throwing strikes in a bowling alley, going out for food, or just sitting down in an arcade and playing a bunch of faithfully replicated classic Sega arcade cabinets like Space Harrier or Fantasy Zone.

At its heart, though, Yakuza 0 is an old-school brawler. Both Kiryu and Goro are capable of learning up to four fighting styles apiece, though two are hidden behind extensive side missions that require serious effort to unlock. I became a big fan of Kiryu’s slow-but-vicious ‘beast’ mode which has him automatically pick up objects lying around and start smashing enemies with them in impeccably brutal fashion — whole groups of baddies get swatted as he hulks out and goes on a total rampage. Goro Majima doesn’t come up short in comparison, either. Whether smacking the hell out of opponents with a baseball bat or breakdancing across their frail and vulnerable faces, there’s an approach to suit every player.

However, in fairness, it has to be said that the combat is just serviceable as opposed to exceptional, given that it’s less about reflexes and more about laying into whoever’s in the way, but it never fails to entertain due to just how unrelentingly savage each encounter is. Hurling people through windows, stamping on skulls, kicking knives through some unfortunate bugger… pretty much every method of snapping a femur or dislocating a shoulder imaginable is here, and it always looks incredibly awesome… and by ‘awesome’ I mean terrifyingly painful. With a huge amount of upgrades and optional weapons available to unlock, there’s always some fresh, new way of nearly killing someone with style.

Between the campaign missions there are an almost ridiculous amount of side activities to take part in, including what are undoubtedly some of the best sidequests ever seen. I’d say some of them are laugh-out-loud funny, but in my case many of them involved me cackling like an absolute loon. They range from heartwarming to demented and back again with alarming frequency, but somehow manage to generally stay consistent throughout — even when Kiryu’s trying to bust up a ring of used underwear dealers, trying a dating service, or convincing an insecure dominatrix not to give up on her dreams. The ability of this title to pair serious issues with moments of utter lunacy is stunning.

Yakuza 0 is a magnificent achievement that should be experienced by anyone interested in lecturing people on the importance of money, then blowing ten billion yen on a horrifically tacky golden statue of themselves. Or those curious about winning a chicken in a bowling competition, then installing it as the manager overseeing some of the most financially lucrative real estate holdings in Tokyo. Or those inclined to beat fifty knife-wielding thugs to a pulp in a back alley before heading off for takeaway and wasting the night playing Outrun. Or those wondering why that man in the convenience store is walking around in his underpants, and being unafraid to forge an unexpected friendship with him.

In a franchise that’s stuffed full of great entries, Yakuza 0 not only outshines them all, it’s also the perfect starting point for anyone with even a mild interest in finding out just what all the fuss over this fantastic series is about. Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios and published by Sega. It is currently available on Playstation 4. This copy of the game was obtained via retail store and reviewed on the PS4. Approximately 87 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the campaign was completed. There are no multiplayer modes… well, sort of. There are minigame offshoots that can be played online.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated Mature and contains blood, intense violence , sexual content, strong language and use of alcohol. Whilst it’s not a particularly gory game and has its edges softened by a lot of absurdist humor peppered throughout, there is a fair amount of villainy on display from the bad guys. Pinkies get chopped off, dudes get murdered, sledgehammers meet skulls and… yeah, it’s not really for kids.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: As a game presented with spoken Japanese and English subtitles, it’s quite accessible for the most part. There are audible ‘beep” sounds when some secrets are nearby, and these don’t have any visual cues onscreen, but the vast majority of the game is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available in the options.

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