Mafia: The Old Country Does Not Have An Open-World Map

Mafia: The Old Country received an all-new trailer earlier today, with 2K Games celebrating the imminent release of the crime-riddled prequel. The next iteration in the twenty-year-old franchise is set to arrive on August 8, and today, the team at 2K and Hanger 13 revealed a stack of pre-order bonuses for the title.

However, eagle-eyed fans have noticed a reference on the 2K website that makes something very clear. Mafia: The Old Country is not an open-world game like Mafia 3 (2016). Instead, it’s a linear, narrative-driven title that’s much more restricted.

For Better or Worse

Mafia: The Old Country takes players back to the turn of the 20th century, throwing them into the heart of an intense story centred around the origins of the Sicilian Mafia. Players are set to assume control of Enzo, a budding criminal out to make a name for himself by hook or by crook.

In 2016, Mafia 3 was released, and while it was a bit of a buggy wreck, it was polished up enough to be enjoyable. It presented players with a vast open-world map to explore, one that was later expanded with DLC. There was a lot to see and do, and plenty of meat on the bones – but Mafia: The Old Country is going another way entirely.

On the 2K website, it’s confirmed:

Mafia: The Old Country is a linear, narrative-driven game.

(Thanks to Wario64 for the spot)

The game’s storefront pages on platforms like Steam don’t make any reference to the size of the game world, so this is one of the first solid confirmations we’ve had that Mafia: The Old Country will be much more linear.

That also means it should be more digestible for the casual gamer with less time on their hands. It has been suggested that it’ll be less bloated than Mafia 3, but that doesn’t please everyone.

Not that you can please everyone, of course.

Are you happy that Mafia: The Old Country is a linear game?