Wolfenstein: Youngblood is an experience. It was the best definition I could find after playing it in two ways: what the developers had planned and another that claimed to be a purely solo game. As a cooperative game, Youngblood shines at its best and ends up being fun to kill Nazis with a friend. Imagine that you are alone, things are not working very well.
While playing I was reading reviews and comments rejecting the game, hypnotized calls and thumbnails in the best clickbait style that "Bethesda killed the franchise", a comment that, in my opinion, does not make sense Experimentally, obviously not Everyone will appreciate the changes and direction of the franchise, especially the more orthodox and inflexible fans. In fact, there are some very interesting new mechanics and some less interesting ones, especially the "new" RPG system that I will detail later. The world is like that, there is no way to please everyone.
If I can advance anything now: it is always Wolfenstein. The same shooter, the same Nazis, the same feel the franchise established during its reboot / remake of The New Order. However, with a new philosophy and new design decisions, good and bad.
Where are you, BJ?
The most important change was the change of protagonist. Now protagonists, actually. We play with twins Terror Billy, Zofia and Jessie Blazkowicz. Designed as a cooperative game from the start, each player controls a sister, with no difference in gameplay. Jess and Soph are young adults trained every day by their parents to survive in a world dominated by the Nazis in the 80s. Although the resistance unleashed Nazi influence from North America, the job is far from over.
Strange storms dominate the area of Texas where the family lives. BJ, suspicious, hides his intentions from his wife and daughters and disappears without a trace. Where did our hero go? What was happening? These are some of the questions that the sisters try to answer throughout the plot. Abby Walker, daughter of American Resistance leader Grace Walker, finds a simple clue by spying on her mother's conversation with the twins' mother Anya, which could help Jess and Soph find their father: BJ was spotted by him. The last time in Paris.
Without asking questions or blinking, the sisters head straight for the French capital, still under Red rule. From this point on, few scenes blend into the plot and the game, weakening the story as a whole. Due to this, there have been serious impacts in this stage, even affecting the development of the protagonists and their relationships with other characters in the story. Jessie and Zofia have interactions and mini-dialogues that only serve as a hideout, which makes you want to know more about both of them.
With an obvious twist of intrigue and an anti-climactic ending, the story here clearly wasn't a priority, which is bad news for fans hoping for a return of BJ's existential and narrative monologues.
Nazi pose in the club
Youngblood recently sparked one of my biggest video game fears - turning an FPS into a lightweight RPG. Enemies now have a health bar, armor, a higher-level character, unlocked abilities, and a totally useless set of rays when it comes to classic FPS. It was the same nightmare as when I played Far Cry New Dawn, an artificial difficulty caused by sponge enemies that could support thirty balls to the head.
This can happen in Youngblood if the player does not pay attention to the basic elements that the game offers from the beginning: each enemy is divided into levels on a scale from I to IV. The biggest, the strongest and the best equipped. In addition to the first few levels, most Nazis can have two types of armor, which are represented by squares next to the health bar. All weapons in your arsenal have specialized ammo for both types, and if the player uses the correct weapon, the problem is solved. Otherwise, the Nazi army becomes an army of sponges.
This whole "new" system implemented here explains why Bethesda has transformed Wolfenstein into a live service, with daily and weekly missions, as well as challenges to keep the player engaged for longer. Although the microtransactions are not intrusive, the intentions are clear and society is experimenting with a sequel to The New Colossus, without making me very optimistic about the future of the franchise. Do we really need this stretch forced to repeat missions and complete mocking challenges to earn coins?
Effort should be focused on providing quality content that adds to the overall experience, not clogging holes to justify unnecessary work as the player unlocks all abilities in the game or purchases a different armor paint. But we know how video games work today: the investment must be justifiable.
To bring Youngblood to life, the MachineGames producer is partnering with Arkane Studios (Dishonored) to produce the level designs for virtually every phase of the game. The result is the best look Youngblood can have, with great verticalization, interconnected levels, alternate passages, and various approaches such as stealth or total mayhem. The movement of the protagonists is also very fluid and makes it more fun to discover and solve puzzles in Neu-Paris.
The game also abounds in collectibles of all kinds: newspapers, audio cassettes, VHS movie mockups (known as UVK in the Wolfenstein world), and various radios that broadcast parodied songs by real artists. from the 80s tells the history of this world and details the cultural problems and fascism that dominated Europe and the world. These are small details that make a difference.
Ultimately, this game is characterized by exceptional exploration and gameplay, an experience occasionally hampered by enemies that absorb more damage than the regular and occasional insects. I saw several Nazis come out of nowhere in front of me, without any explanation. Instability in the early days of using the friend pass also contributed to frustration when practicing cooperation.
And the cooperative experience?
As I said before, this game was designed to be played with a friend. All of their dynamics are made to benefit both of you, especially when it comes to winning. When I co-played with one of my friends to do this analysis, I can assure you that this was one of the best cooperative experiences I have had in a long time. It was fun, I laughed a lot, and all the possible frustrations I might have playing alone were eliminated.
On the other hand, I also tried the solo game, where the AI controls one of the sisters and it certainly wasn't the best of the games. Artificial intelligence is incredibly complex, messy, and to some extent pointless. Of course, she revived me when I needed it and usually didn't die that much, but when that was the case, it was the height of frustration.
If you have a friend to play with, so much the better. Otherwise, think twice. Don't pretend this game is alone, it won't be a headache to deal with this AI, and playing randomly on the internet is never a good idea to play with a friend. The passing system, included in the deluxe version (which could be available in the regular version, right Bethesda?), Is also a good option if you are willing to spend a little more to invite an acquaintance to play. .
The good nazi is the dead nazi
The adventures of the Blazkowicz sisters, mentioned at the beginning of the text, were an experience and would not work for many people. Changing the mission and philosophy from phase design to a true service format will not please everyone and this is perfectly understandable. At first, I was very reluctant, especially when implementing the role-play system, but I had a lot more fun than worrying about these details.
Youngblood is not as structurally bad or troublesome as many people have made it seem. It was an experience that gave MachineGames the freedom to test different models with a very different specific approach than what we are used to. Although I prefer the old-fashioned, old-school FPS model, sometimes it's nice to open up to change. It may hurt at first, but give it a try. Especially if you have someone to play with.
This review was written on the basis of the PC version kindly provided by the dealer.