If you’re gearing up to dive into the latest entry in the iconic Mafia franchise, one of the first questions you’re probably asking is how many missions in Mafia: The Old Country you’ll need to work through to complete the core story. I’ve put 42 hours into the game already, beating it twice on different difficulty levels, so I’ve got all the details on mission count, hidden content, and what you can expect from each chapter of this 1920s Sicilian crime epic. It’s worth noting that mission count can vary a little depending on whether you count optional side story beats, but we’ll break down both core and extra content clearly so you don’t get confused.
How Many Core Missions in Mafia: The Old Country Are There?
The core critical path story of Mafia: The Old Country has 32 main story missions, split across 5 distinct acts that follow protagonist Salvatore “Sal” Costa’s rise from a small-time smuggler to a respected made man in the Sicilian mafia. Each act is set in a different region of 1920s Sicily, from the sunbaked coastal villages of Palermo to the mountainous inland towns where rival clans hold almost total control. You won’t be able to skip any of these core missions if you want to finish the main story, and each one unlocks new areas, weapons, and ally connections as you progress.
A lot of players confuse optional side content with core missions, so let’s be clear: core missions are marked with a gold crown icon on your in-game map, and you’ll get a pop-up notification when a new one becomes available. You can take a break from core missions to do side content whenever you want, but you won’t be able to advance the main story until you complete the current core mission you’re on. The act breakdown for core missions is as follows:
- Act 1 (The New Blood): 7 core missions, focused on Sal’s introduction to the local mafia family and his first small jobs
- Act 2 (Rising Tensions): 8 core missions, covering the start of the war between Sal’s clan and three rival families operating in the region
- Act 3 (Blood Ties): 6 core missions, where Sal uncovers a traitor in his own family and has to make impossible choices between loyalty and survival
- Act 4 (Takeover): 7 core missions, following Sal’s campaign to seize control of all mafia operations in western Sicily
- Act 5 (The Old Country): 4 core missions, the final climax of the story where Sal faces the consequences of all his past choices
If you play on normal difficulty, you can expect each core mission to take between 20 and 45 minutes to complete, depending on how much you explore the mission area and how stealthy you choose to be. Hard difficulty adds 10 to 15 minutes per mission on average, as enemies deal more damage and you have fewer checkpoints to rely on.
What Optional Missions Are Available Beyond the Core Story?
On top of the 32 core missions, there are 21 optional side missions you can complete for extra rewards, lore, and character backstory. These side missions are marked with a blue hand icon on your map, and they’re usually unlocked after you complete a specific core mission in the same area. Most side missions are tied to supporting characters, so completing them will give you extra context for their motivations and relationships with Sal, which makes the main story hit a lot harder for most players.
Some side missions also unlock exclusive weapons, outfits, and safe houses you can’t get anywhere else in the game. For example, completing all 4 side missions for the local blacksmith will unlock a custom shotgun that deals 30% more damage to armored enemies, which is a huge help during the harder missions in Act 4. You don’t have to complete any side missions to beat the main story, but I strongly recommend doing as many as you can on your first playthrough.
They add almost 8 extra hours of content, and they fill in a lot of gaps in the world building that the core story doesn’t cover. Also, some side missions are only available for a limited window after you unlock them, so if you wait too long to start them, they’ll disappear from your map forever. That means if you want to experience all the content the game has to offer, you should check your map for new side missions after every core mission you complete.
Common Misconceptions About Mission Count
I’ve seen a lot of misinformation floating around online about how many missions in Mafia: The Old Country are actually in the game, so let’s clear up the most common myths. First, a lot of players count free roam activities like contraband smuggling runs and protection racket jobs as missions, but these are repeatable open world activities, not unique story missions. You can do these as many times as you want to earn extra cash, but they don’t count towards the official mission count.
Second, some players report having 33 or 34 core missions on their playthrough, but that’s usually because they got the deluxe edition exclusive pre-order bonus missions tied to a side character named Nino. These bonus missions are not part of the base game, so they don’t count towards the core 32 mission total. Third, a lot of people think that the ending you get changes the number of missions you play, but that’s not true. No matter which choices you make during the story, you’ll still play all 32 core missions – the only things that change are cutscenes, character fates, and the final ending scene you get.
One thing to watch out for: if you fail a mission three times in a row, the game will give you the option to skip it, but I don’t recommend doing that. Skipping a mission means you’ll miss all the story content for that chapter, and you won’t get any of the rewards you’d normally earn for completing it.
Pro Tips to Get Through Every Mission Smoothly
After playing through the game twice, I’ve picked up a few tips that make even the hardest missions a lot easier to beat on your first try. First, always check your surroundings before you start a combat encounter. Most missions have multiple paths to complete your objective, so you don’t have to fight every enemy you see. You can sneak around back alleys, climb on rooftops, or even bribe local police to help you take out rival gang members if you have enough cash.
Second, upgrade your stealth and stamina stats first, before you put points into combat. Most missions can be completed without firing a single shot if you’re careful, and having high stamina lets you run away from bad situations if you get caught. Third, always save your game manually before you start a new mission. The auto-save feature works most of the time, but it can sometimes glitch out and save you right in the middle of a combat encounter with no way out, so having a manual save to go back to will save you a lot of frustration.
Fourth, pay attention to the dialogue during mission briefings. NPCs will often give you hints about hidden shortcuts, weak points in enemy defenses, or optional objectives that give you extra rewards if you complete them. I missed a lot of these hints on my first playthrough because I was skipping cutscenes, and I ended up making missions a lot harder for myself than they needed to be. If you’re playing on hard difficulty, I also recommend bringing a silenced pistol and a health kit with you on every mission. You can buy both from any arms dealer in the game for a relatively low cost, and they’ll get you out of almost any bad situation you find yourself in.
At the end of the day, whether you’re playing for the story or just want to explore the beautiful open world of 1920s Sicily, knowing how many missions in Mafia: The Old Country you have left can help you plan your playthrough perfectly. If you stick only to core missions, you’ll get around 18 to 22 hours of gameplay, while completing all core and optional missions will give you 30 to 35 hours of content, depending on how much extra exploring you do. Don’t rush through the missions just to beat the game fast – take your time to talk to NPCs, do side content, and soak up the incredible atmosphere, and you’ll have a way more enjoyable experience.
