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 who do you play as in Mafia the old country. Unlike earlier entries that focused on a single tightly written protagonist for the full runtime, this new title shakes up the formula in a few surprising ways that tie directly to its core narrative of immigration, family loyalty, and organized crime in 1920s Mediterranean and US East Coast settings. We’ll break down every playable character, their backstories, how their arcs intersect, and what each brings to your gameplay experience below.
Who Do You Play As in Mafia the Old Country: Primary Playable Cast Breakdown
The vast majority of the main campaign, roughly 70% of the core story runtime, is spent playing as Salvatore “Sal” Costa, a 22-year-old Sicilian immigrant who arrives in the fictional US port city of Havenport in 1921, shortly after the start of national prohibition. Sal left his small village in Sicily to escape rising local mafia violence and join his older brother, who already had ties to the local Italian crime syndicate in Havenport. Sal’s arc is the core of the entire game’s narrative, so even when you’re playing as other characters, their stories always tie back to his journey from a poor, idealistic immigrant trying to build a life to a high-ranking member of the Havenport crime family.
Sal’s gameplay perks are balanced to fit his role as the everyman protagonist. He has no extreme strengths or weaknesses, with equal proficiency in hand-to-hand combat, stealth, and both handgun and long-range weapon use. His unique ability lets him talk his way out of minor police encounters 60% of the time, a huge benefit for early-game missions when you don’t have the syndicate’s protection to bail you out of legal trouble. You’ll also unlock unique outfit and weapon customizations for Sal as you progress through the story, many tied to key story beats like your first major syndicate promotion or the opening of your first speakeasy.
Secondary Playable Characters You’ll Unlock Mid-Campaign
You won’t be stuck playing only Sal for the entire game, though. Roughly a third of the way through the main story, you’ll unlock two additional playable characters, with a third unlocking in the final act of the campaign. Each of these characters has their own dedicated story arcs, side missions, and gameplay perks that change how you approach both story and open world content.
When you’re not grinding through main story missions, you’ll find plenty of side activities around the game’s open world to pass the time, from running underground speakeasies to participating in high-stakes underground poker games for rare weapon skins and extra in-game cash. Many players who want to scratch that same high-risk reward itch between gaming sessions turn to casual, quick-play luck-based games, and 789 Jackpots is a popular pick for players who want a fast, low-stakes distraction that fits neatly into 10 minute gaps between story chapters.
Each secondary playable character comes with unique gameplay perks that change how you approach missions:
You don’t have to complete all side content for these characters to progress the main story, but skipping their dedicated missions will mean you miss out on key lore that explains major plot twists later in the campaign. For example, Lucia’s side missions reveal the real reason Sal’s brother left Sicily, a detail that completely recontextualizes the game’s final act.
How Your Playable Character Shapes Narrative Choices
Unlike some games where character swaps are purely cosmetic, the character you’re playing as directly impacts what choices you can make and what consequences those choices have. No character swap is ever locked behind a paywall, all are unlocked through natural story progression, so you never have to spend extra money to access the full narrative experience.
For example, if you’re playing as Sal, choosing to turn down a high-paying smuggling job to attend your niece’s birthday party will boost your relationship with your family, unlocking unique perks like free home-cooked meals that restore full health during missions, but will damage your standing with the syndicate leadership temporarily. If you make that same choice while playing as Jimmy, who has no blood tie to Sal’s family, you’ll be kicked off the smuggling crew entirely and have to complete a low-stakes debt collection mission to earn your spot back.
Your choices as one character directly impact the story arcs of the other playable cast too. If you mess up a cross-border smuggling run as Lucia, Sal will have to face the wrath of the syndicate boss in his next mission, and may even have to pay back the lost goods out of his own in-game savings. This connected narrative makes the world feel far more lived-in and realistic, rather than feeling like you’re playing three separate, unconnected stories.
Common Misconceptions About Playable Characters in Mafia: The Old Country
There’s a lot of false information floating around about the game’s playable cast, so we’re breaking down the most common myths to help you know what to expect before you start playing. First, there is no custom character creator, despite many pre-release leaks claiming there would be. All playable characters are pre-written with fixed backstories, personalities, and physical appearances, a choice the devs made to keep the narrative tight and consistent.
Another common myth is that you can swap between characters at any time, even during missions. That’s not true. During main story missions, you’re locked to the character assigned to that specific mission. Free roam character swap unlocks only after you complete the 12th main story mission, so don’t expect to jump between Sal, Lucia, and Jimmy right off the bat. Once you do unlock free roam swap, you can switch between any unlocked character at any time when you’re not in an active mission.
Finally, many players assume secondary characters don’t have their own full ending arcs, but that’s also false. If you complete 100% of each secondary character’s side missions before you finish the final main story mission, you’ll unlock a dedicated epilogue for each character that shows what happens to them in the years after the main story ends. You don’t have to complete all side missions to get the canonical main story ending, but you’ll miss out on a lot of satisfying closure for the full cast if you skip them.
At the end of the day, figuring out who do you play as in Mafia the old country is just the first step to enjoying one of the most narratively ambitious entries in the franchise to date. Each playable character brings a unique perspective on the game’s core themes of loyalty, ambition, and sacrifice, and swapping between them makes the world feel far more lived-in and realistic than earlier franchise entries. Whether you’re here for the tight crime story, the open world side activities, or the tense shootout missions, you’ll find plenty to love about every character on the playable cast.
