Hangar 13’s latest entry in the Mafia series, The Old Country (TOC), is punished for a life of mediocrity, BY CHOICE. Rather than pushing boundaries, it retreats into well-worn genre tropes, delivering a cliche-riddled story wrapped in overly cautious game design. While not aggressively bad, it very much exemplifies 2K’s risk-averse strategy: a polished but forgettable experience with a shelf life of... two weeks?

TOC isn’t without merit. Its presentation excels in crafting a slow-burning, cinematic atmosphere but that pacing comes at a heavy cost. Players endure a sluggish 3.5 hour introduction before even firing a gun, and when the action finally arrives, it lacks depth or innovation. If this is Hangar 13’s creative ceiling, then the studio has grown in stalling. While I despised Mafia III, I occasionally found myself missing its underbaked open world, if only because it allowed for immediate, visceral action. The gunplay, while serviceable, leans on the clunky authenticity of early 20th-century firearms, though, perhaps it's placebo and all, I felt it almost get better as Enzo progressed and honed his shooting abilities (and nope, not due to the ''perks''). Regardless, I believe it's a sweetspot considering Enzo is not a skilled mafioso. Feedback is about right, sound design is particularly great but overall the gunplay is still nothing to write home about.

More baffling is the game’s insistence on stealth, a half-baked system that offers no real challenge. Enemy patrols are predictable, tools are limited (bottles that are found around, throwable coins, and rudimentary takedowns), and missions inevitably devolve into shootouts regardless of your approach because the plot demands as such. I know it's not a stealth sandbox but it could have used more nuance actually supporting different playstyles. It, unfortunately, does not. Having an ''instinct'' that highlights the enemies further trivializes any stealth that is left. And this whole system actually trivializes the hard difficulty.

Worse, the knife combat is outright tedious. Parries are not rewarding. You can just dodge, spam thrust, guard-break when required, and repeat. Even "supposed-to-be-climactic" duels are undermined by cutscene interference like the anticlimactic showdown with Enzo’s nemesis (who's been bullying him from the start), where victory is snatched away by scripted incompetence, only to be rewarded with an achievement as if it mocks the player’s agency: ''Enzo killed his nemesis.'' No he didn't, he got saved. It's what happens in each knife fight, your foe either escapes or outpowers you until you reach out the next sequence of the fight. It's on-rails and is on a very similar level of Hellblade 2's, looks incredibly good but plays out dull. This trend continues you with each encounter playing out the same from Sparado (the nemesis family) henchman to Don Sparado himself. Fights lack flair thus they also lack gravitas.

The AI, while capable of punishing mistakes, rarely flanks intelligently (they like marching you upfront), reducing firefights to a (in GameRant's words) whack-a-mole. Grenades add some intensity though they can feel off when thrown vertically, and stealth takedowns are satisfyingly fluid, letting you pull enemies behind cover from different angles to punish them, but these moments can’t compensate for the overall lack of innovation. The weapon-buying system is another oddity: most missions enforce preset loadouts and if not, you are able to select any weapon for free from the arms dealer. Another fun part is that, if you pre-ordered the game or have deluxe edition you pretty much have all you could've ever asked for. A durable knife, a fast car & horse, in other words all the stuff you can buy in the game. At some point there was a horse race with Isebella (your lover) and I bullied her. Handing out endgame-tier gear from the start is questionable at best since that's out of the norm.

Driving is competent, evoking Mafia 1’s spirit without matching its boldness. The two scripted races (one horse, one car) are fun but rigid; even crashing and reloading can artificially boost your position. I'll just say Mafia 1 (also the Definitive edt.) did it much better and close this chapter.

Sicily itself is visually stunning: lush, detailed, charming although barely reactive, with exceptional lighting and facial animation. Yet its (supposedly not open) world is wasted. Beyond the usual collectible hunts and taking a quick detour for minor upgrades (that you often don't need), there’s no reason to explore. No side stories, no dynamic events, no hidden stuff. Nothing that comes close to, simply, robbing shops in Mafia II. You are able to free-roam its rich-in-detail world but for how huge it is, Sicily isn't done right.

Technically, the game holds up reasonably well. Maxed-out settings on a 5080 delivered a pretty stable 40 FPS (using Unreal TSR at native), though later sections of the game showed optimization dips. Cutscene-to-gameplay transitions were admittingly terrible, plummeting to as low as 15 FPS, and four crashes during my playthrough, a generic byproduct of UE5. For how slow paced (and how often) the game could be and how rich it looked, I tried to embrace the 40 FPS.

But the true failure is the script. Enzo’s arc, a nobody miner, sold off by his father, clawing his way into the mafia to be a mademan, should resonate. Instead, it drowns in contrivances. Characters make illogical choices, conflicts lack teeth, and the central love story, the narrative’s supposed backbone, collapses under its own inertia. Isabella’s constant refrain “You don’t know my father like I do” keeps ringing in your ear but what about showing it to me, ♥♥♥♥♥?. That’s TOC’s cardinal sin: it tells relentlessly but shows barely enough to care. Then there's classy Don Torrisi. He scowls when thwarted, grins when victorious. Wow.
Someone breaks Omerta, a negotiation is to be held and there's absolutely no meat on the table. It's on the level of B-tier shows which is quite upsetting.

Enzo’s mentor, Luca, begs sympathy for a family we rarely meet on-screen, while Cesare, Enzo’s supposed best friend, clings to the status quo with robotic devotion. Sure, that’s the mafia world, but here, it’s not a theme as much as it’s a writing crutch. The final chapters flicker to life, but by then, the emotional stakes are flatlined enough to be not cared. Deaths, betrayals, all weightless, gutted by predictability. (One mercy that is: Sicilian voice acting salvages some authenticity, saving you over the English script’s stilted and continuous code-switching.)

Predicting an ending is fine. But predicting every story beat along the way? That tells someone's being lazy. When the tempo finally picks up, the game adopts a familiar rhythm of Tomb Raider (2013) or Uncharted 4 but without their dynamic set-pieces, variety or sense of adventure. Nevertheless, the last chapter was unique (as in scenery) in its own right and that was what I'd like to see more. The game's best mission was probably the opera one. Nothing too different from the rest but it's a good set piece (opera missions really do house some great missions in general), somehow works despite forced stealth, has a tone of urgency and solemnity.

I’m not sure how playing it safe 'puts the industry to shame' but if that’s the prevailing narrative, have at it. For me, this was a tiresome experience that sours any remaining goodwill for the series. Without hesitation, I’d call it the worst Mafia entry to date. To me, and perhaps to many others, Mafia is not known as a groundbreaking production, but it always had a character and the courage, the audacity to own that character. That's the exact reason I was so eager to champion games like A Plague Tale and Clair Obscur. TOC is just too confused.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

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I initially wanted to steelman KF3, arguing that it was overhated and that its loop had potential. And to be fair, my first few hours were enjoyable. But as I kept playing, the cracks began to show, not just in the game’s identity, but in its lack of polish. Tripwire wisely delayed the game after the first test, but clearly, it wasn’t long enough. KF3 in its current state is, frankly, a complete travesty to release.

Now, I wouldn’t call myself a KF veteran, but I’ve put in around 100 hours into KF2 over the years and was excited to dive headfirst into KF3. And dive I did, 48 hours later, with all achievements unlocked (which were disappointingly simple), I’ve hit a wall. I guess I won't be returning until 2026 (whenever the 4th update drops).

For sure, cramming about 50 hours into KF3 in a single week compared to my 100 hours in KF2 spread over seven years was bound to drain me faster. But despite that, I genuinely believe there’s a fantastic game buried in KF3, waiting to shine once it finds its footing. It’s worth noting that those who disliked KF2 back then probably still do, but for me, it was a game that simply grew better with each update. It was a consistent thing to return to for years to come, and I want KF3 to be the same. To be a consistent thing in my life.

No, it hasn’t been exactly "Payday 3’d"; at the very least, it launches with an offline mode. On paper, KF3’s launch [content] lineup is solid compared to KF2 at release: 3 bosses, 8 maps, 4 guns per class. However, the lack of new Zeds is disappointing. KF3 only offers variants (& RIP Stalkers). The bosses are fun but can suffer from poorly telegraphed attacks, particularly Queen Crawler—long live the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ queen.

The new weapon mod system is a welcome addition, letting you craft attachments by collecting parts from kills and breaking objects in maps. It’s straightforward and adds a nice layer of customization. Difficulty scaling, however, feels off:

Normal is a no-brainer (Tripwire claims an 84% win rate, which tracks) and is probably meant as a first-step stone to level up your perks. Hard becomes trivial once you’re used to Hell on Earth (HoE). HoE itself is punishing, to me, far tougher than KF2’s version. I kinda miss Suicidal; perhaps that's just who I am.

Kiting is harder despite sliding and evading (which I’m not good at and don’t particularly like, but I know it’d frustrate some players). The waves are denser and more packed, and bosses are sponges (although skilled teams can melt them quickly —never as fast as KF2).

KF3 leans hard into tactical, defensive play. It’s less about chaotic run-and-gun (of KF2's) and more about holding positions, coordinating with your team, and managing resources. Some changes reinforce this idea:

Healing syringes are now limited (3 by default, 5 with perk). Armor crates are one-time-use. Doors can no longer be welded or repaired. You can’t sell teammates’ dropped weapons (an apt change), cross-perk heals are done through [medic] weapons.

Unsurprisingly, KF3 is heavily perk-dependent, forcing teams to bring a dedicated healer, and with perk-specific skills, it leans into being a sort of hero shooter. Yep.

That said, you still have ammo bags, syringe refills, and other gadgets, all limited in use. Are they enough to survive? If managed well, absolutely. Much of HoE comes down to sticking together, camping a choke, and holding a single angle (since splitting up causes Zeds to spawn unpredictably).

Personally, I wouldn’t mind the option to heal teammates (with syringes) or the return of welders, but in practice, I didn’t find their absence crippling. The game’s design pushes you toward tight coordination, and once you adapt, it works, just differently from previous KFs. But it also makes the game less forgiving for those used to carrying in KF2.

Dosh economy is actually balanced. I don’t know why people think otherwise. You’re never truly starved for cash, especially with the Operational Budget system that increases as you progress. HoE practically demands optimized loadouts, so this helps. Even if you don’t do particularly well, other perks like Commando or Firebug (which can kill hundreds of trash /w AoE) could help you out.

If you start the game in Wave 2, you’re automatically given a modded gun & sidearm, plus 2k dosh, with which you could upgrade your armor to level 3. In death, you lose your armor upgrades —probably the most punishing aspect of the game—but you can compensate by selling your dropped weapon (which you can pick back up).

KF3 is, unfortunately, a technical issue galore. The game is in a miserable place, and realistically, it can’t function on the most basic levels—the very reason why I’m giving it a direct thumbs down. Once, I was unable to shoot at all. It doesn’t sound like some British joke to me. I took notes on most of the bugs I faced, and it’s one complaint after another. For those wondering, I’ll list them in the comment section below, but I’ll cut it short here so we can discuss other issues.

Monetization is ofc easily the least exciting part. It’s just as lazy and half-baked as everything else. The Battle Pass is weak, shamelessly copying Marvel Rivals’ tedious "unlock tiers" system while failing to include anything that might actually inspire FOMO. The cosmetics are downright fugly, mostly lazy recolors or the same sets recycled across different perks (which are just character skins that should’ve been freely swappable between classes to begin with).

KF3 is truly a product of its era, which is passable if you think the previous games were exactly the same. It’s wild to remember this franchise started as an Unreal Tournament mod, went retail in 2009, then piggybacked off Team Fortress 2’s popularity through a Valve collaboration. The original Killing Floor sold DLCs only. KF2 jumped on the crate-and-key bandwagon when that was hot (at least it had Steam Market integration). Now, KF3 is trying its luck with account-bound cosmetics in a game whose longevity is questionable—but hey, that’s just how the industry works now. Don’t hate the player, hate the game. Or in this case, you might as well hate the game. It’s also notable that KF has only 3 (4 if you count the VR) games in 2 decades.

Bunch of missing QoL including:
No server browser (custom servers were a KF2 staple). I already miss the leveling-up servers from KF2—going through the same loop again and again is tedious. Matchmaking, for some reason, insists on placing you in matches that just ended. At least in HoE, I’ve seen numerous matches ending in Wave 1 before I even got a chance to spawn—but a match ending as soon as you join is completely hilarious. No mid/long game options (just 5-wave matches).

The graphics are UE5’d for sure, but they look competent and appealing enough. The lighting can be great or outright annoying—as if it was meant to make the game harder for completely arbitrary reasons. Vehicle headlights and spotlights can be way too bright (especially with HDR on), which can work against holding chokes where Zeds come from (Convoy & Army Depot).

The zed time is desaturated. A lot. It's gray af and sometimes (if the screen is already bright with lightning and all the particles) it makes it harder to see, the lack of redness also makes it harder to appreciate the gore.

Audio mixing is off, the music tones down at the intense moments where zeds are cramping your screen, you barely can differentiate your teammates weapons firing and notice the approaching zeds.

Given Tripwire’s history of taking criticism seriously and that KF2 peaked years after launch, there’s a good chance KF3 will see a similar revamp. I’ll also add this: balancing is probably the hardest part of any game. There’s always an exodus of players who find these changes unsatisfactory and inadequate.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

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