Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus has become an incredibly divisive game since its release in 2017. While it brought some hefty and frenetic gunplay with excellent presentation, the actual gameplay aspects took a backseat to a poorly written and sloppily paced story mode. While BJ Blazkowicz was still a fairly deep and interesting character (along with being portrayed wonderfully by actor Brian Bloom), most of the supporting cast were caricatures in the vein of grindhouse films without any of the same charm. It also didn’t help that the story mode peaked around the mid-point and petered out without much fanfare at the end.
When Wolfenstein: Youngblood was announced, I was happy that MachineGames was sidelining BJ for a bit. While the man is captivating and a clear anchor for this series, taking a step away from the legendary figure to focus on his offspring could lend some new ideas that may strengthen the inevitable Wolfenstein III. Breaking it out into a co-op game, too, could allow for a stronger focus on gameplay versus the overwhelming story bits from II.
MachineGames has certainly succeeded in catering more to the gameplay aspect than last time, but it hasn’t quite nailed the same formula that made The New Order feel so refreshing five years ago.
Source: Destructoid Review: Wolfenstein: Youngblood