Wolfenstein: Youngblood

[Blue Jam]

This is out on Friday:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_35c6D0LpUM

A couple of decades after the events of The New Colossus, BJ Blazkowicz has gone missing in (still) Nazi-occupied 1980s Paris. His daughters- Jes and Soph to him, "The Terror Twins" to the Nazis- are tasked with finding him and killing lots of Nazis on the way.

Machine Games brought in Arkane Lyon (SQUEEEEEE!) to help them out with level design and apparently Arkane's stamp is all over it. Unlike The New Colossus and The New Order, it won't be linear and will be a bit more open-world and comparable to the structure of Arkane's own Dishonored games. You can play it in two-player co-op mode, or as a solo campaign with the AI taking over one sister, and it looks like you'll get to choose Soph (good at close-quarters fighting and stealth takedowns) or Jes (good with sniper rifles and other long-range weapons) according to your favoured playstyle- again, a bit like choosing between two different player characters and different abilities in Dishonored.

I was hoping Arkane would have a bit of fun with the 1980s setting, and judging by the trailers it looks like there's a bit of a Blade Runner thing going on with some of the graphics, and it seems the soundtrack is pleasingly 80s, a bit like the Italo-disco-inspired Prey soundtrack (though this one's not by Mick Gordon). I'm looking forward to the non-linear structure- everyone's doing open world these days, but with The New Colossus I enjoyed the bonus missions and getting to travel between the different locations in the submarine and the UFO and as much as I enjoyed the previous two games, it will be good to see it move outside the confines of the corridor shooter format.

Youngblood will also be the first Wolfenstein title to be released in Germany in an uncensored version, following the relaxing of Germany's censorship laws- previously only works considered to be "art" could feature Nazi imagery, and this included films, but not video games, now Germany's censors consider all works on a case-by-case basis, and they have decided to give Youngblood a pass. Still, two German versions will be available, one with all the swastikas and mentions of Nazis removed, and one with them present. I will actually be in Berlin of all places when it comes out, and I'm tempted to pick up the censored version to see what the fuck the Nazi-free Wolfenstein experience is like.

Of course the reddit and Steam dudebros and the like are happy about the relaxed FREEZE PEACH laws allowing the swastikas, but they're less happy about the game having two female protagonists who aren't exactly ladylike (er, did they not notice the plot and characters of the previous two games? Or that Arkane like a bit of diversity in their characters?). Some reviews have painted the sisters as a pair of entertainingly obnoxious assholes, while over on Reddit and Steam there's plenty of whining about a supposed SJW agenda. Good- fuck 'em.

Personally, I just hope we still get to play with the Laserkraftwerk and that Fergus is back... I effing love Wolfenstein so I'll definitely be picking this up, maybe even both versions...

[Kelvin]

I'm looking forward to it, but I don't really understand why they had to set it twenty years after the end of the last game, when a) that rather undercuts the ending of Colossus, and b) none of the technology, weapons, of architecture seems to have significantly moved on. Half the stuff in that trailer looks like reused assets tbh.

[Blue Jam]

I understand that Youngblood is something of a stopgap before a planned Wolfenstein 3 where you play as BJ Blazkowicz again- a chance for Machine Games to try something a bit different before the next big installment.

I agree, it does all look a very familiar, but I'm looking forward to the 80s-ness of it and seeing what a more open-world Wolfenstein will be like. Those games are all just immensely satisfying so I'll be picking it up whatever.

I also think I'll start off playing as Soph- as much as I like "going loud", I tend to prefer playing Wolfenstein as a stealth game when I get the chance, creeping up on Commanders before taking them out with the throwing knife. I did that with the bonus missions in The New Colossus, trying to take a stealthy approach the second time around, just as a challenge.

[Blue Jam]

Incidentally, has anyone ever played The New Order or The New Colossus and not chosen to save Fergus? I just love hearing a sweary Glaswegian call me "ya magnificent cunt" or "ya radgie gadgie".

[Kelvin]

I understand that Youngblood is something of a stopgap before a planned Wolfenstein 3 where you play as BJ Blazkowicz again- a chance for Machine Games to try something a bit different before the next big installment.

I agree, it does all look a very familiar, but I'm looking forward to the 80s-ness of it and seeing what a more open-world Wolfenstein will be like. Those games are all just immensely satisfying so I'll be picking it up whatever.

Absolutely. I think Wolfenstein: New Colossus might have the most satisfying gunplay of any shooter I've ever played, and I don't mind them making a stopgap game with old assets. I just wish they weren't using such a cool idea (Sci-Fi Nazis + the 80's) on a game where they clearly haven't got the budget or time to realise it properly.

Hopefully the more open levels are better lit and easier to navigate that the ones in the last game. I know it's not an original observation, but working out where to go was easily the worst part of that game, and with more open levels, it will be even more important to know exactly where you are, and how to get from one point to another. 

[madhair60]

Incidentally, has anyone ever played The New Order or The New Colossus and not chosen to save Fergus? I just love hearing a sweary Glaswegian call me "ya magnificent cunt" or "ya radgie gadgie".

Me. I saved the young chap.

[Egyptian Feast]

Incidentally, has anyone ever played The New Order or The New Colossus and not chosen to save Fergus? I just love hearing a sweary Glaswegian call me "ya magnificent cunt" or "ya radgie gadgie".

I've just played through both games again on the Wyatt timeline and I missed Fergus terribly, especially in The New Order where Wyatt is a complete dullard. He developed a bit of personality when he started dipping into alternate Jimi Hendrix's LSD stash and freaking out in The New Colossus, so I liked him by the end but it felt wrong when he did the final speech instead of Grace.

[Egyptian Feast]

I just finished The Freedom Chronicles DLC this morning incidentally. I knew going in that they weren't supposed to be great, and they're not, but they helped tide me over until Youngblood. There wasn't enough KKKunt slaughtering in The New Colossus for my liking and this gives you the option of flambèing dozens of the fuckers on a Panzerhund, so I was happy enough with the purchase. I'll probably play them all again before Friday. I can't seem to kill enough Nazis this summer. Such is 2019.

[biggytitbo]

Good move to bring in Arkane as one of the biggest flaws of New Collosus was the level design, which was a notable step down from the peerless original, i thought the game was more worthwhile for the outlandish storytelling than the gameplay, so hopefully this one can find more of a balance between the two.

[Thursday]

Me. I saved the young chap.

Same, I did this first time as I figured saving the younger guy made more sense. But I saw some of Fergus dialogue and went with him on a 2nd playthrough.

Some of the different secondary characters in the Wyatt timeline are better though, even though he can be a bit annoying.

[Blue Jam]

Absolutely. I think Wolfenstein: New Colossus might have the most satisfying gunplay of any shooter I've ever played, and I don't mind them making a stopgap game with old assets. I just wish they weren't using such a cool idea (Sci-Fi Nazis + the 80's) on a game where they clearly haven't got the budget or time to realise it properly

If I remember correctly, sales of The New Colossus weren't great, so I can't blame Bethesda for wanting to test the waters with a mid-price experimental thing before committing to a third instalment of The Adventures Of BJ Blazkowicz proper.

Still, I have to agree with you here- the concept of killing retrofuturistic Nazis, 1980s-style, sounds like a lot of fun and I hope that the budget constraints aren't too distracting.

One of my favourite things about The New Colossus was the world-building and attention to detail- I loved playing it as a stealth game partly because I enjoyed creeping up on the Nazi guards and eavesdropping on their conversations before taking them down. My favourite was somewhere in the radioactive ruins of Manhattan, where two guards were asking "What's your death phrase?" and comparing what they liked to shout in the face of an enemy they were shooting and what phrases sounded the most badass, like they were in a Tarantino film. Also the woman having a nice chat with a Klansman, and the ongoing debate over American burgers vs good ol' German wieners (never mind that Hamburgers are actually German- racists being obsessed with a country's history but actually knowing nothing about it, a joke that works on several levels there). It was always pure "banality of evil" stuff- I hope all that stuff is still in there, along with the Nazi pop records, letters, newspaper cuttings etc. In any case I will be playing with the subtitles on...

It would be great if Arkane were involved in the world-building but sadly I don't think that's what they've been brought in for here...

Hopefully the more open levels are better lit

Oh Christ yes...

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

I hope they've fixed the aiming in this, because in the last one it was shit. I think there was too much aim acceleration or something, which made it impossible to make small adjustments. I ended up just firing from the hip or dual wielding. I'd also like to see less jokes about people having a shit on submarines, because they weren't funny, especially by the third time.

[bgmnts]

I don't buy many games on release anymore but I can see this being a purchase.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

I've not played The New Order, but The New Colossus was a huge disappointment to me, with easily the least satisfying gunplay in an FPS that I've played - all generic guns and bullet sponge baddies. It's almost impressive how they managed to take a premise with such potential for over the top fun and make it all feel so dull.

On the other hand, I love the Dishonored games, so this could be interesting.

[Blue Jam]

I've just realised who laughing Soph in the trailer reminds me of:

https://youtu.be/BIpbMsgm5M0

[Famous Mortimer]

The bit in The New Order where J dies - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXPWk48spZ0 - is possibly the most affected I've ever been by a game. Bloody marvellous, it was. I do like killing a whole lot o' Nazis.

I know they're successful and they'll want to keep making more of them, but...I kinda want to see BJ win. I spent ages in The New Colossus killing Hitler even though I'd have to restart the level.

Er, this new game looks decent, count me in.

[Abnormal Palm]

Be careful if you don't like to spend your money unnecessarily. Every Wolfensetein game will be on sale inside three months. This is the habit of Bethesda. Maybe 50% to 30% cheaper.

[Timothy]

Don't think that's gonna happen here. Release price is 30 pounds.

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

It will end up much cheaper though. I'll probably end up buying it from CEX for a tenner in about six months.

[Blue Jam]

It'll be on Game Pass eventually... Ah fuck it, I love Wolfenstein...

[Blue Jam]

Also I am currently in Berlin and have a massive earworm for Changeover Day. No way am I listening to that on the hotel's wifi though... I really hope the collectible records are back..

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

There was quite a good vaguely psychedelic dreamy pop song in New Order I think it was. You heard it at the prison camp while you were sneaking around where Engel and her toyboy were staying.

[Timothy]

Reviews arent good. Apparently no story and it feels like a Wolfenstein mod. Waiting for a sale.

[Blue Jam]

This has a free demo available on the Xbone (and possibly elsewhere) if anyone is still undecided.

[bgmnts]

Getting shite reviews, bugger.

[Egyptian Feast]

I'm about a third of the way through and still enjoying myself, but it is disappointingly slight and a tad repetitive. I'm easy to please when it comes to these games, but I haven't exactly felt the urge to whizz through it like the others. It might be worth waiting until the price comes down to about a tenner.

On the plus side, I do like the goofiness of the sisters. My partner is matchmaking them with Hank and Dean Venture in her head. The ability to add all the big fuck-off weapons to your inventory and upgrade them is a welcome addition, but at the stage I'm at the ammo doesn't last long.

[Blue Jam]

Fuckit purchased... started this last night and my hopes are high so far; I chose to play as Soph with the quieter gun and the cloaking ability so I'm looking forward to getting a bit stealthy (though how that will work as one half of a tag-team I'm not sure).

The gameplay has been a bit frustrating so far but I'm only on the first mission and still getting my head round this reviving-my-buddy thing- I'm getting a bit bored of perma-dying and having to restart an entire map so I may just drop the difficulty a bit and then raise it once I've figured everything out. It feels like there's a bit of a learning curve, a bit like Mooncrash but wihout the difficulty starting low and getting higher as you progress. The display is also a bit messy, with labels over characters' heads like you're in an online multiplayer game, but I probably just need to change the settings. Nice map though.

Also: Floppy discs! Cassette tapes! Neon! Nazi 80's arcade game ads!  Nazi synth-pop, some of which seems to be covers of songs from the earlier games just to keep it nice and meta! I knew there was some fun to be had with all this. Also the Zeppelin is nice and decadent, like the crew quarters in Prey, I'm looking forward to checking out more of the design.

The sisters are a pair of cocky little pricks and I love it. I like having a pair of excitable chancers who are out of their depth as protagonists rather than some stoic, battle-hardened cliché. I can't help comparing them to Beatrice and Eugenie from The Windsors but that's just adding to my enjoyment.

[H-O-W-L]

New Colossus was a clattering hunk of shite (and not because of the political content, don't take me for an arsejabber there) because its gameplay balance was unbelievably fucked and they decided in all their wisdom to release a patch two days after release that fucked everything up. Not to mention the fact the piece of shit barely ran at launch because it uses Vulkan, one of the most unfathomably temperamental rendering softwares I've had the misfortune of sticking my nose into.

I have absolutely no hope for this one and I've put it on the list of games I'm going to give a solid three or four years before I touch just because the opinions on it are so shudderingly polarized that I don't even want to get involved with any of the metacommentary on the game or its leanings or whatever yae fuck. Get tae fuck. Get tae fuck and stay tae fuck. I'm fine with games being political but ultimately discussion of Wolf2's politics wasn't really about Wolf2's politics, it was about whatever politics the people participating in the argument had, and whether or not that made Wolf2 shit or not. Nobody ever talked about how wank the balance was on every difficulty or how the level design was shit or how the visuals were distractingly arsey... etc etc.

Really love The New Order and The Old Blood, far prefer the latter because it has less gimmicky shit and more raw gunning down Nazi bastards, but Wolf 2 thoroughly disappointed me and I think it's one of my most hated games purely for how hard they fucked up what really was an easy act to follow.

[Thursday]

Nobody ever talked about how wank the balance was on every difficulty or how the level design was shit or how the visuals were distractingly arsey... etc etc.

They did, although it was one of those things where people did it retrospectively, shortly after the release.

I feel like you get this in reviews of sequels a lot people... people just seem excited to get to review a sequel to a game they liked... and so what they actually do is review the first game.