Wolfenstein: Youngblood
ONLY REALLY FUN WITH A FRIEND.
WOLFENSTEIN: YOUNGBLOOD LACKS the brash obsession with forward momentum that made its predecessors so endlessly captivating. It’s an adventure that sacrifices any semblance of nuance in favour of an open-ended design that its action and content can barely stretch across. It’s a game that fails so spectacularly to replicate the subtlety in storytelling that made B.J. Blazkowicz’s endeavors through alternate history such a strangely intoxicating exploration of friendships and family at the end of the world. Wolfenstein: Youngblood isn’t a bad game per se, but it is one that let its broader ambitions get the better of it.
That isn’t to say that the development teams shouldn’t be commended for at least trying to expand the scope of Wolfenstein. If ever there is an opportunity to try and infuse an established franchise with new blood, a budget-priced standalone is surely the place to do it. That may sound like damning praise, but it’s there all the same because there is enjoyment to be had with Youngblood – so long as you have a friend along with you for the ride. Spending 15-hours aggressively gorging card-carrying members of the Third Reich with an array of increasingly audacious weaponry is a good time. Because how could it not be, right? But to say that Youngblood makes up for its misgivings because of this online-only co-operative support would belie the point. Play with a stranger or switch it up to solo play (where an infrequently incompetent AI will take control of one of the Blazkowicz siblings), and you’ll begin to crave company and conversation to help distract you from the mundanity born out of the repetitive mission design and open-ended approach to progression. The gunplay, movement, and spatial navigation is a true delight, which makes Wolfenstein a game that largely enjoyable in the moment, but not necessarily worth any real reflection. Played alone, cracks quickly begin to appear in Youngblood’s structure, with the game losing its sense of momentum in the process.