At PAX East 2025,Hangar 13 provided us with a fresh glimpse of the upcoming addition to their game series.
Mafia
Expanding on the franchise, we journey back to the early 1900s, visiting a location frequently mentioned throughout the series.
: Sicily,
Italy
What adds weight to this, apart from it being the latest addition to the series in more than a decade, is that
Mafia The Old Country
modernizes the series in many ways
while valuing the player’s time.
The panel indicated that the game will have less of an open-world focus compared to previous installments. However, this does not imply that early 20th-century Sicily will be off-limits for exploration. This aspect isn’t entirely novel for the Mafia series, as both
Mafia
and
Mafia II
included open-world features but followed a linear approach for missions.
Even after the credits rolled, you had to go back several chapters to explore their locales to find collectibles and complete achievements.
The Old Country
will also be like that, with a clear “
golden path
In an age where many games aim to broaden their universe continuously by incorporating numerous new distractions as players move from one mission to another, maintaining
Mafia
simpler is a major breath of fresh air.
Mafia: The Old Country aims to vividly portray the splendor of Italy using Unreal Engine 5.
This doesn‘t mean that Hangar 13 isn’t attempting to introduce many fresh aspects into a familiar landscape. During the presentation, they disclosed numerous new gameplay features for players to utilize as they advance through this storytelling journey. This installment moves even deeper into the past compared to its predecessors.
Mafia
The games feature traditional methods of navigating the environment, such as horseback riding and vintage automobiles set against a stunningly recreated Italy using Unreal Engine 5 technology.
Fingers crossed, these innovative means of transport will embody their heritage, proving challenging to manage, demanding greater caution when navigating the unpaved thoroughfares, and remaining scarce as they gradually integrate into our world.
A timeless system is also receiving a long-overdue upgrade.
Stealth
There are consistently several chapters and missions where you must employ stealth tactics to render tough objectives significantly more manageable. However, the issue with these stealth systems has often been their inconsistency. Sometimes adversaries seem capable of hearing from great distances or possess impossibly keen vision. Alternatively, you could move slowly directly past a police officer or an enemy gangster without them noticing at all.
After more than a decade since the last addition (or about five years including the remastered version of the initial game), the developers are revamping the stealth mechanics to make them feel more contemporary. This update emphasizes greater caution and environmental awareness to navigate levels successfully, which was evident from the released trailer. In previous titles, certain segments often felt tedious; thus, concentrating on improving these aspects brings much-needed freshness, particularly for longtime fans.
Mafia
gamer passionate about stealth video games.
The combat mechanics in Mafia: The Old Country have undergone significant changes.
Finally, combat, especially, is getting a massive overhaul.
Combat has regularly been more
gunplay-focused
in older
Mafia
games, which hasn’t been great, as these games have shown their age and use older models of guns. Like, you wouldn’t expect a Tommy Gun to be pinpoint accurate. With
The Old Country
, there will be new hand-to-hand mechanics with knife fights. In past games, hand-to-hand combat was basically “counterattack to win.”
Using knives could add an exciting layer to intensify the battles, showcasing strategic moves and counter-moves. Perhaps including disarmament tactics might provide competitors with a significant advantage. Meanwhile, firearms would mirror their role from the classic version—deployed sparingly for dramatic effect during showdowns rather than being brandished at every turn.
Mafia The Old Country
’s most recent gameplay trailer and
PAX East
The panel presented an impressively detailed outlook. Given that this series seemed stagnant despite having plenty of stories left to unfold within such a historically significant backdrop, it’s thrilling to witness all the loving care being put into ensuring its comeback doesn’t merely focus on becoming “larger and more spectacular,” as is common for many contemporary titles. Instead, it aims at reviving what originally captivated audiences about the game.
Mafia
series so memorable.
Exciting assignments, a gripping narrative brimming with familial ties
betrayal
, set in an enjoyable late 1800s to early 1900s world environment. Extending it further back and beyond American borders seems precisely like what would keep the series vibrant and thriving.
The Old Country
Has swiftly climbed onto my radar of highly anticipated games for 2025, and the trailer released today has convinced me that Hangar 13 has taken heed of past criticisms and is handling this series with the respect it deserves.
Mafia The Old Country
will be available starting August 8th, 2025, on
PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S
.
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All the Information We Have About Mafia: The Old Country
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