Mafia: The Old CountryThe depiction of 20th century Sicily is filled with gripping details and threatening encounters. With the up-to-date Free Ride update, the developers of Hangar 13 are giving players even more freedom to explore and survive the criminal underworld of Valle Dorata.
See all the additions included in the Free Ride update in the trailer below, then read Associate Design Director Josh Zammit’s notes on this free update for Mafia: The Old Country owners.
How does Free Ride in Mafia: The Old Country relate to or differ from previous Free Ride modes?
Free Ride is a reference to the original Mafia Free Ride Extreme game, as well as the Free Ride mode we delivered in Mafia: Definitive Edition. It is a set of challenges separate from the main story that gives players the chance to revisit the world in a more self-contained way. The Free Ride mode in Mafia: The Old Country will be slightly different than in previous titles, but will still be familiar to returning fans.
This time around, we’ve created several types of repeatable challenges – including combat, stealth, and different race types – in a variety of up-to-date and familiar locations. Completing challenges will earn you Dinari in-game currency, which you can spend on up-to-date outfits, charms, weapons, and vehicles unlocked as you progress through the content (as well as items unlocked through the campaign). We’ve also added a lot of other fresh and stimulating features for players to dive into and hopefully fans will enjoy.
What’s the first thing you suggest players do when they enter Free Ride mode?
There’s a lot to explore in this update, so players will have plenty of potential starting points. But I’m excited that they’ll be able to experience Valle Dorata in the most immersive way possible, and for me that’s what first-person driving is all about. The first thing I’ll do is take my fastest car out of the garage, turn on the first-person camera and just have fun. The up-to-date Photo Mode is another highly requested feature that I think gamers will enjoy. So get outside, find some action and lovely views, and take amazing screenshots and share them with your friends.
Which content excites you the most?
We are very proud of everything our team has accomplished, so it’s demanding for me to pick one that I’m most excited about. I love racing; Driving around the world at high speeds in amazing vintage cars is a lot of fun. There are plenty of technical turns, and the better you are, the more satisfying the navigation is.
The combat challenges are also great. Skirmishes push your limits when it comes to open combat with enemies, and Kills are great fun to experiment with until you get the perfect score. I think players will find one piece of content particularly intriguing and unexpected, though I don’t want to spoil it. Look around for notes in Enzo’s apartment – in one of them you may discover something fascinating to investigate.
Beyond the additional challenges and other added content, how does this update improve the experience of the main campaign?
I already mentioned the first person driving because it really hits differently and the same goes for the story as a whole. Riding with Cesare in first person is a lot of fun, especially in Chapter 7. It adds to the immersion and makes me feel like I’m living in the moment with my best friend.
Cinema Siciliano is another fantastic way to experience Mafia: The Old Country. We have made every effort to give you the impression that you are watching a real piece of classic Italian cinema. The visual treatment is stunning and makes you feel like you’re watching a black and white movie shot on an old-school soundstage, while the vintage-sounding audio brings the whole thing together convincingly.
We’ve also added a classic difficulty level, adding a up-to-date level of challenge and raising the stakes higher, giving you even more reasons to relive Enzo’s journey.
Moreover, all the up-to-date items you can get by playing Free Ride will be useful in the main story campaign.
For up-to-date players, all of these elements will be present from the beginning, and having them as options throughout the game will be amazing. I’d recommend playing through one of the original difficulties first, but if you’re confident in your skills – or just want to be punished – Classic puts them to the ultimate test.
How does first-person driving change the exploration experience?
While this is something the team has always wanted to include, this is the first time we’ve officially supported first-person driving in the series. We are gigantic fans of driving, so it was essential to get the details of the cars right.
In terms of how this game affects exploration, it obviously changes the way you see things as you go, delving deeper into Enzo’s situation. I spent many hours with it traversing Valle Dorata and I am still amazed at the details that I rarely noticed when zooming in on the classic third-person view. First-person racing is another up-to-date way to test your skills, as dust and smoke from other cars add an intense and stimulating perspective that a detached camera can’t easily capture.
How does Free Ride exploit the game’s map in a way that the main game didn’t or couldn’t?
We want players to be able to explore the world however they want, and Free Ride turns it into a sprawling hub where you’ll find and access various challenges by traveling, unlocking Hitching Posts, and meeting up with your contacts. Challenges are instantiated and accessed through these contacts, which will place you in a combat location or special world state.
These combat encounters reuse mission locations, so when you play through the appropriate chapter of the story and unlock a challenge in Free Ride mode, you’ll be able to re-experience the areas in up-to-date ways. The races take place all over the world and we’ve put them on the path less traveled, so it should be fun to see parts of the map you may have passed before.
Of course, there may be up-to-date places to discover, but that’s something you’ll have to discover on your own…
The Mafia: The Old Country’s Free Ride update will be available on November 20 for free to all PlayStation 5 players. If you haven’t downloaded the game yet, PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers can try it out with a game trial starting Friday, November 21.
