Gritty period mob game Mafia: The Old Country is quickly becoming one of the year’s most satisfying titles, thanks to its immersive storytelling, soundtrack, and stunning graphics. As players delve into its thrilling mafia storyline, they discover an immensely polished experience and neat little features that other games might overlook. One of these features, inspired by Red Dead Redemption 2, helps make the normally dissonant gameplay and story elements of these games feel more intertwined.
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On social media platform X, user @videotechuk posted a gameplay clip extolling the feature found in Mafia: The Old Country and expressing sadness that more games don’t think to include this simple addition from Red Dead Redemption 2 to elevate the experience.
“Mafia features a RDR2-like transition from gameplay to cutscene cinematic with borders,” wrote X user Videotechuk. “Wish more games tried to blend in gameplay seamlessly with cutscenes.”
Hanger 13 and 2K’s Mafia: The Old Country leans heavily on the immersive nature of the story in its advertising, so it makes sense that it would draw inspiration from Red Dead Redemption 2, a game often lauded for its immersive gameplay and story. The addition of a letterbox when cutscenes are playing lets the player know they are in “watch mode,” but the transition doesn’t feel as jarring compared to most games that just suddenly jump into a cutscene. Minimizing the conflict between gameplay and narrative helps players overcome the creeping disconnect that story-driven games often present when sudden jumps remind them they are playing a game and take them out of the experience.
While some players were supportive of the seamless way Mafia: The Old Country lets you know you are watching a cutscene, some had the opposite reaction, bristling at the sudden appearance of black bars on the screen.
“Personally hate having black bars on cutscenes,” wrote X user Optimus_Bull. “Used a mod that removed that on the PC version of RDR2 and it just felt so much better to me. Stuff like this should be fully optional and not enforced by the devs.”
Despite some complaints to the contrary, the philosophy of delivering immersive experiences, which has led to this letterboxing, has been a key ingredient in the modest success of Mafia: The Old Country. It currently has a 76 rating on Metacritic and a 75% Mostly Positive rating on Steam, following its release on August 7th. According to the 3rd-party site SteamDB, the game has had a consistent concurrent player count since its release. It has also been ranked high among recent Steam top sellers.
What are your thoughts on the cutscene letterboxing feature? Does it enhance the game’s immersion and cinematic quality, or detract from the overall experience?
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Image courtesy of HBO
