Mafia: The Old Country ended up being one of my favourite games to close out the summer last year, and despite not really vibing with the ending, I had a good time playing through the story of Enzo Favara as he climbs the ranks of the Torrisi family in Sicily. I was pretty content with my experience, so I was a bit curious when an expansion was shown at Summer Game Fest.
It is arguably my favourite game of the series, inching out the first game only because of its setting. The new expansion, Man of Honour, plucks players back into the role of Enzo right in the middle of The Old Country‘s story, and it reintroduces a young Ennio Salieri (yes, from Mafia).
Mafia: The Old Country Brings Back A Familiar Face
The expansion is lean, with just a few hours of extra story content meant to tie the latest game to the first. The story is fine, and it adds dimension fans will love. Enzo and Cesare are tasked with helping a younger Salieri after helping out Don Torrisi and owing him a favour. So the Don asks you to help Salieri take down someone who’s stolen from him.
What follows isn’t anything particularily new, but it’s nice to return to the old country, explore the lush environment, collect money, and engage in some nefarious schemes. Your job is to find two people who may have crossed Salieri at one point, and it all appears to be a pretty cut-and-dried story until some pretty fun twists make the expansion feel important. I’d actually be a bit disappointed that this content wasn’t included from the jump because it slots in nicely and adds some depth to a few characters.
Out of the story campaign, Free Ride now allows you to explore Sicily in a way that the base game couldn’t, as it would box you out if you tried to move away from mission markers. Now, with new cars to boot, you can freely explore without having the game warn you that you’re supposed to go this or that way. And I’m glad to see this change because, despite its linear structure, Mafia: The Old Country has one of the best locations we’ve seen in ages, and I spent as much time as I could taking photos of the villages, churches, and quarries.
Salieri will keep you busy with missions of his own to engage with if you’re looking for other things to do outside of the story missions. These missions aren’t particularily anything new or something you’ve not done before, but they’re there if you decide you don’t want to golden path the new expansion. That means taking down targets. I didn’t really engage with the side content much, but I did try a few missions to see what I might be missing. It isn’t much, and I feel genuinely convinced the main draw is the added story beats.
There are also new horses, weapons, and other trinkets you can collect. It’s honestly mostly busywork for those who really enjoy collecting things. If that’s what you want from your games, then you get more of it. Me, though, I’m glad car races exist and did as many of these as I could since they bring me joy.
Verdict
Mafia: The Old Country — Man of Honour adds some new story beats that slot in neatly into the main campaign, and it’s nice to see Sicily again after some time away. However, beyond seeing Ennio Salieri again and where the story intends to take him, it’s worth dropping back in. The rest of this expansion is explicitly busy work to pad out your gameplay, which is either what you want from the game or not. I was content with the story missions, and that’s what I came for, and they’re pretty great for fans of Mafia.
[The publisher provided a copy of the game for review purposes.]
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
