Mafia: The Old Country reviews confirm it’s one of the best games in the series

The first wave of reviews for Mafia: The Old Country dropped. They are somewhat underwhelming, as this latest entry sits at a 76 on Metacritic and 77 on OpenCritic, but that is enough to make it the best-rated original game in the Mafia franchise.

Mafia: The Old Country is part of a crime action game series that dates back to 2000 but has never quite reached the same heights as the likes of Grand Theft Auto. It doesn’t look like this game will be stealing any of Grand Theft Auto 6’s glory, even if reviews suggest that there’s a lot to appreciate about the game’s story.

Mafia: The Old Country receives solid, but not amazing, reviews

It’s the 140th best-reviewed game of the year

Websites like Metacritic and OpenCritic aggregate reviews from game critics and provide a synthesized score to give people an idea of the general quality of a game. As Mafia: The Old Country’s review embargo lifted this morning, Metacritic and OpenCritic’s aggregated scores emerged.

Within the wider Mafia series, it’s technically the best-rated original game in the series, with the only other Mafia title ranking above it being the 2020 remake Mafia: Definitive Edition. That said, a 76 on Metacritic isn’t nearly enough to put it anywhere close to the best-reviewed games of the year, like Donkey Kong Bananza and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Looking at individual reviews, Polygon’s review offers a greater sense of why Mafia: The Old Country earned that score. It complements the game’s “sharply written script that deeply cares about Italian history,” but goes on to admit that it’s “a fairly run-of-the-mill stealth action game.” Basically, don’t go in expecting gameplay innovation, and you’ll be able to enjoy an enthralling story about the Italian Mafia.

According to Metacritic, Mafia: The Old Country sits as the 140th best-reviewed game of 2025, right between RPG re-release Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army and musical indie RPG Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson. That’s not exactly the most exciting company, but it’s better than being toward the bottom of the list with Tamagotchi Plaza and MindsEye.

While it seems unlikely that Mafia: The Old Country will be making many game of the year lists toward the end of 2025, it does seem to be worth playing if you’re a fan of the series. You can look forward to an Android Police review of the game once I’m able to play the game after it launches tomorrow, August 8.