64% of PS5 Players Are Glad Mafia: The Old Country Isn’t Open World
Majority satisfied with linear story
Image: Push SquareThere was an outpouring of support for developer Hangar 13 this week when it announced that Mafia: The Old Country would ditch its open world, and focus on a “linear, narrative-driven” gameplay experience instead.
Historically, publishers like Take-Two would have probably tried to hide this detail, but as games have gotten bigger and more time consuming, there’s an increasing demand for simpler, shorter experiences.
To be fair, the company has priced the sequel accordingly: the Sicily-set outing will cost $49.99/ÂŁ44.99 at launch, a far cry from the $79.99 titles that are about to become the norm.
And the vast majority of you are satisfied with this direction: in a Push Square poll, an impressive 64% of you said you are glad the game isn’t open world. Just 19% argued you want a sandbox, with the remaining 18% satisfied either way.
It’s perhaps worth pointing out at this stage that Mafia has always done its open worlds a little differently from the likes of GTA, with the exception of perhaps Mafia 3, which was roundly criticised for its repetitive gameplay structure.
The first two Mafia games had what’s colloquially referred to as a “faux-pen world” – a largely non-interactive backdrop which you could explore, but which served little purpose beyond giving you a means to travel from A-to-B. They were undoubtedly atmospheric and cool, but they added little to the experience.
In this era of bloated development budgets and never-ending production cycles, we think it’s actually refreshing to see a studio acknowledge its limits and cut away the fat. Would it be cool to explore 1900s Sicily? Yes – but that would cost a lot of money and take a lot of time to make. We’re satisfied with a reasonably priced story-driven campaign.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has proven that there’s room in this market for more affordable, well-scoped experiences. Let’s hope Mafia: The Old Country continues to teach the industry the same lesson, and Hangar 13 is rewarded for approaching this sequel in a sensible way.
[source News: Mafia: The Old Country Ditches Open World for Linear, Story-Based Gameplay on PS5]
As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.
Author Profile Bluesky Reply
