Mafia: The Old Country - Man of Honor Shows a Young Salieri and His American Dream

Mafia series director Alex Cox and deputy design director Josh Zammit discuss the upcoming Man of Honor expansion for Mafia: The Old Country in a new interview. The DLC will focus on two new story chapters set during the “lost year” of protagonist Enzo’s life after joining the Torrisi family, with one of its key highlights being the return of Ennio Salieri – this time in a younger, more impulsive version of the character.

How do you feel about the feedback on Mafia: The Old Country so far, and what have you learned from it?

Alex: We are delighted with the general feedback. We landed pretty much exactly where we expected in terms of both critical response and commercial performance. What we were most glad to learn is that there is still a great appetite for Mafia games. Players are keen to return to our universe, learn more about our characters, and enjoy our stories. We are very satisfied with how it worked out.

Josh: To add to that, the fact that people loved the game was a big boost for us. It’s one of the reasons we want to continue doing more.

Alex: We are Mafia fans ourselves; we make these games for ourselves and hopefully for the audience as well. It landed well, and we’re happy about that.

The upcoming expansion is titled Man of Honor. It’s a very catchy title. What can we expect from it?

Alex: Let’s start with the headlines. Man of Honor is a story expansion for Mafia: The Old Country. It features two new story chapters focused on Enzo’s journey, plus new content for the Free Ride mode, including challenges and some extra bonus content.

Technically, the title Man of Honor was chosen very specifically for where the story is located. Spoilers for those who haven’t finished the game, but there isn’t much more of Enzo’s story to tell after the ending. Therefore, these two chapters take place in the middle of the game, specifically during the year-long time skip after Enzo is inducted into the Torrisi family.

In the base game, we skip that year, but Man of Honor shows Enzo getting used to his new role as a mafioso. There is also a second meaning to the title—it refers to another character, Ennio Salieri. He plays a significant role in these chapters; he arrives in the story, and you go on new adventures with him.

How exactly will the paths of Enzo and Ennio Salieri cross?

Alex: Without giving too much away, Salieri arrives in the valley after being away and spending time in prison (reasons for which are covered in the DLC). He comes to ask Don Torrisi for a favor. Enzo and Cesare are assigned to work with Salieri to solve his problem, and adventures ensue.

In what ways is this Salieri the same as the one in the original Mafia game, and how does this younger version differ?

Josh: It’s an interesting question. Visually, we worked hard to make sure this is a de-aged version of the character fans love. We wanted to ensure his mannerisms and delivery felt right. Since he is Sicilian and in his mid-20s, he doesn't have the Chicago accent yet, but you can hear the seeds of the character he will become.

He is already a leader, but he’s not as mature as the Don Salieri we see later. He is more brash, vigorous, and perhaps less careful. In the original game, he’s a guarded, almost benevolent figure until his greed shows. Here, he is younger and more impulsive.

Alex: He is 25 years younger here. He turns up with "America on his mind." He’s already planning to leave, which is why he visits Don Torrisi. A big theme of the expansion is immigration. Salieri is challenging Enzo and Cesare—he wants to get rich quick and start a new life in the US. Enzo, however, still views his life in Sicily; he wants to gain respect in his home country. Cesare, on the other hand, believes he will inherit the Torrisi family one day. Salieri pokes at them, asking why they aren't dreaming of the same things he is.

Will we see any other familiar faces in younger versions?

Alex: We aren't talking about other returning characters yet, but we are focusing on the broader picture of references and the lore of the franchise.

You mentioned two new chapters. How many hours of content will that be?

Alex: The chapters are quite generous. I’m not sure of the exact playtime, but they are roughly the same length as two of the longer chapters from the main game.

How do players access this content?

Josh: There are two ways. If you’ve already finished Chapter 5 of the main game, there will be a menu option to play Man of Honor in isolation. Alternatively, you can start a new game and use an optional toggle to integrate the expansion chapters directly into your playthrough.

Regarding the new Free Ride content, can you share more details?

Josh: We have new challenges, similar to the previous ones but more difficult and focused on the new content. Since this pack is about Salieri, he will be your new contact. Just like Pasquale introduces races, Salieri will be the contact for these new challenges. He’ll be a presence in the valley, giving us extra screen time with him outside of the story missions. There are also new rewards and items to unlock.

How do you see the Mafia series' place in the current gaming market?

Alex: We occupy our own niche: the historical crime drama. We were reassured after the launch of Old Country that there is still a healthy market for narrative-driven, single-player games. That’s what we love to make. While there are other IPs like Red Dead that touch on similar themes, we are very happy in our specific niche and want to continue expanding Mafia in new directions.

Where would you like to take the series in the future?

Alex: Old Country was a "soft reboot" for us. We didn’t reboot the lore—we respect everything that came before—but we wanted this to be the foundation for a new series of titles. Our long-term vision is to tell stories about organized crime throughout the 20th century. We want to build interconnected stories so that whether you start with Mafia 1, Mafia 2, or Old Country, you always find an interesting entry point into this universe.

Slovakia and the Czech Republic are quite close, not just historically and geographically, but there’s basically no language barrier between us. So, I just have to ask: with Man of Honor, can we expect the Czech voiceovers again, since they were in the base game?

Alex: Yep. It will be localized in all languages in the same way as the main game.