The new prequel to the Mafia franchise, Hangar 13, aims to make the next installment authentic in every way.

The developer published a new diary detailing the making of Mafia: The Old Country, which is available below. The developer revealed that they worked with Stormind Games. This team has worked on several games, including Remothered: Broken Porcelain, Batora: Lost Haven, A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead, and is based in Sicily, where Mafia: The Old Country is set, so they were a big help to Hangar 13.

Salvo Fallica, senior project manager at Stormind Games, says their priority has always been to make the game feel authentic. Matthew Aitken, the lead writer at Hangar 13, says that attention to detail is key to immersing players in the game. Director Alex Cox believes they must ensure the game is based on the real history of the Sicilian Mafia. Experts in the field help us put what we read into context with real-life experiences.

For example, when it came to knives in the game, Hangar 13’s art director, Steve Noakes, says that there were very few references available, so they had to dig deep. They visited a small workshop where a man and his son still make knives by hand. They gave the designers their own regional style. This area is known for its unique approach to knife making. They couldn’t have experienced it any other way. Jakub Vavrik, Noakes’s colleague, says previous Mafia games were city-centric, but now they have moved to a wild setting in Sicily.

According to Cox, the game will have a realistic, high-fidelity setting that feels like a throwback to early 20th-century Sicily. This is what players expect, according to Cox. Noakes added that the landscape plays a part in that, and that’s definitely true here. Cox promises that players can experience a classic Mafia movie and immerse themselves in that era by playing as a Sicilian gangster.

Mafia: The Old Country is set to release on August 8 for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC at a price of $50. Unlike its predecessor, it will be a strictly narrative-driven game.

Source: WCCFTech