Wolfenstein: Youngblood

Wolfenstein Youngblood is a hard to pin game as far as exactly how I feel about it.

It is absolutely nowhere near the level of wolfenstein 1 and even 2 in terms of design and quality but at the same time I honestly really liked playing this game. While the mission structure got a tad repetitive as things went on, the girls were fairly likeable, the story was somewhat interesting, it keeps the same cheesy goofiness that wolfenstein 2 more-so went for which could be pretty hit or miss depending on how ya felt. The biggest downfall with this one is that due to the focus as more of a co-op replayable shooter, the story is kinda just there and over so quickly that it's kinda funny to me that they even bothered with it even if I did like the scenes as presented. Also it kinda maybe spoils whatever Wolfenstein 3 is gonna be which is really really weird if it takes place before this game.

The gunplay still feels really good, upgrading yourself and your weapons is fun as you explore these controlled areas and do your best to do more missions in order to level up your stuff. Best parts being the little world buildy conversations the two sisters keep delivering. It's a good time.

But yeah going through shotgunning some nazi's solo was pretty fun and satisfying, the game is way easier then either of the earlier games combined. It's a good turn off your brain, shoot some nazi's maybe with a friend kinda game and I vibed pretty hard with it. Good times <3

Wolfenstein: The Youngblood is not the worst game of 2019. In fact, I found myself having fun playing it. But it is a giant misstep for this franchise after the forward momentum of the past 3 games that Machine Games has released in their Wolfenstein series. The Youngblood jumps forward almost 20 years to 1980. The United States of America has been liberated from its Nazi occupiers in the Second American Revolution, seen during and at the end of The New Colossus. The Third Reich is on its last legs. Europe is still in the thralls of the Nazi rule, but resistance is spreading throughout the world. BJ Blazkowicz has vanished, no one knows where he ran off to. But his daughters, Jessie and Zofia, leap into actions and go to Neu-Paris where their father was last seen. The game is a co-op game which I have nothing against, and I found myself killing some time in between waiting for the next big game release by playing this game with my friends. Most of the gunplay and mechanics are the same as The New Colossus though the maps are much larger and are kind of free-roam like (think Destiny) where you have a giant area and various missions and side missions that take place within these mission areas. The designs have changed slightly to reflect the 1980s setting and some of the technology has advanced as well. But the AI can be very bad, both in regards to enemies and the AI that takes over your sister if you are playing alone. The story is very predictable and bare bones, but the set pieces and action make up for it somewhat. I found myself wanting to know more about this gap between the New Colossus and The Youngblood. Very important plot points have transpired setting up the third and possibly final entry in Machine Games’ Wolfenstein series. But we only get to hear about what is going on in the world presently and brief references to what has occurred in the past that we don’t see. The game tends to wear out its welcome after a while and becomes rather boring, dull and surface level. There are challenges and numerous things that attempt to entice you to keep coming back for more, but it just doesn’t work. I think this was probably an idea or a response to fans, to create an “online Wolfenstein experience”. But it just doesn’t cut the mustard. If you like killing Nazis, go for it. But if you are looking for a very solid entry into the Wolfenstein series, you might want to look elsewhere.

Rating: 3.5/5

A game that is Wolfenstein in name and in world design, but nothing else. A surface deep-RPG system mars the entire experience.
 
The idea of co-op Wolfenstein was good, but the implementation could not have been worse. They added a leveling and skill system (literally just increasing your damage by 2% per level) onto The New Order's gameplay, then stripped out everything that made The New Order fun. You replay the same levels over and over, fighting the same enemies in the same placement every time. You fight bullet sponge bosses and enemies that have to be attacked by a specific weapon type (of which only three of your default 8 deal) to deal a significant amount of damage. Difficulty is all over the place, with the game being borderline impossible at stages due to lack of ammo, then being a cakewalk at others due to the revive and "pep" systems.
 
The only redeemable aspect of this game is the world building. It's got the stellar writing Wolfenstein has always had with loads of alternate history articles, music, tapes, and goodies to dig into. I was going to include the story in this, but the two protagonists, despite being actually well written for a pair of dumb-as-bricks teenagers, ultimately aren't very likable. The story sets up for some potentially very interesting content with multiple realities, apocalyptic doomsday weather machines, and God Keys, but ends before any of these are explored with any depth at all.