A panel held today during PAX East with Hanger 13, hosted by Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller, dove into the upcoming entry into the series, Mafia: The Old Country. Here was our chance to learn what’s new this time around for our next organized crime adventure taking place in Sicily during the 1900’s.
One of the main takeaways from listening to Nick Baynes, Hanger 13’s Studio President, Alex Cox, Game Director and Tomas Hrebicek, Cinematic Director, all had one very common theme throughout their panel: “authenticity”. Their key focus was to bring a crime drama set in the 1900’s Sicily with a rag to riches story of our main protagonist, Enzo Favara, played by Riccardo Frascari. Enzo begins his journey as an orphan being sold to work in the sulfur mines and breaks out by pledging his oath to the Don himself, Bernardo Torrisi, played by Johnny Santiago. But at what sacrifice is Enzo willing to join the family?
The game looks stunning thanks to its location and time period, which hasn’t been seen in the series or other games at all for that matter. And it’s all brought to life with Unreal Engine 5 and the use of Metahuman in the creation of the world and characters. Staying true to the time period of the 1900’s, from the countryside designs, to the clothes on Enzo’s back and more. The use of guns, no automatic weapons as we’re set before the turn of the Tommy Gun. Your trusted weapon of choice, which is a key feature, is your knife! Knife fights play a large role in the game and are one of the true features of its time period and location, as combat will feel more tactical and methodical. Cover shooting with bolt action guns, a selection of knives and more.
Though the game is set on a linear path with its choice of story design and not an open-world approach. Nick was able to clear this up a bit as we’ll be able to explore the world around us. However, Hanger 13’s process of storytelling is similar to those of Mafia 1 and 2. Where we were able to venture out across the city landscapes, but the story itself was told in a specific manner, feeling more linear than something in the vain of a GTA or Assassin’s Creed title with a thousand icons to no end. This will all be told through seamless transitions of gameplay to cutscenes and back again.
Hanger 13 feels they were able to carry through with 80 percent of their vision for the game. Often, developers will have a vision, but will have to cut parts of the game away from their vision to keep on track with the deadline, or just the overall design of the game to feel proper in the game’s approach. It’s been 23 years for the Mafia franchise, which means we’ve seen a lot of characters and main protagonists come and go. Alex was kind enough to mention we may want to keep an eye out throughout our time in the game as 4 characters from previous titles will appear in the game. Though Mafia: The Old Country is a prequel to the series, a somewhat origin story, it will be interesting to see who makes their appearance in the latest addition to Mafia and how they pull it off, to use their own word and make it feel “authentic” and not forced.
Let us know in the comments below if you will be riding your horse or racing through the open countryside when Mafia: The Old Country releases on August 8th for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PC.
