In the current gaming landscape, conventional wisdom is “bigger is better.” Ahead of release, many blockbuster games market themselves on their size and scale. Boasting about vast open worlds, a large focus on replayability, or a playtime count measured in hundreds of hours. And that’s not even talking about live service games that want you to play forever.
That’s why I found the lead-up to the release of Mafia: The Old Country so refreshing. Developer Hangar 13 (steward of the Mafia franchise since 2014) wasn’t shy about setting expectations. From the start, the California-based studio made it clear that Mafia: The Old Country was designed as a more manageable experience that players would be able to complete without having to dedicate entire months of their precious spare time.
