Who doesn’t love killing Nazis.
Te presento, Wolfenstein: The New Order! This one is kind of an oldie but definitely a goodie. As a better, bad-assier sequel to the original Wolfenstein games released in 1981, this game definitely lived up to its hype with its release in 2014. This Nazi-killing splendor was super popular with fans of the original games, as well as ones new to the series. As always, spoilers ahead. Let’s dig in and rate this bad boy.
The game follows Captain William “BJ” Blazkowicz as he approaches the compound of Nazi Deathshead. As they approach the plane is shot down and BJ must go in alone. Without giving away a major plot point, the Nazis are winning the war due to their new technology. As BJ escapes the compound with two other soldiers, he is hit in the head with shrapnel that impairs him. He is placed in a hospital and cannot move or speak. As Nazis attack the hospital, BJ regains consciousness and helps save the life of Anya, a woman working at the hospital. The two escape to her grandparents house with a Nazi commander in tow. BJ learns that it is now 1960, and the Nazis have won the war. There is a resistance, small but firm. Anya and BJ leave for Berlin to help the resistance.
This game is great. It’s not so long that players feel like it’s dragging on, with about a 15-hour run time for the main game. This can definitely be completed in a day if players are willing to put in the time, though 15 hours is nothing to shake a stick at. The game, however, doesn’t leave players wanting, and in such a short amount of time, that’s a great accomplishment for a story.
From The Man in High Castle to Fatherland, there are lots of renditions stating how the world would be if Nazi Germany had won World War II. Wolfenstein: The New Order, however, doesn’t shove it in your face. Let’s be honest, the game is mainly about killing Nazis and presenting a decent amount of gore. Yes, you are working for the Nazi Resistance, but there are no logistics to it. It’s just how do we stop the Nazis with the biggest boom possible?
There are a lot great characters in Wolfenstein: The New Order, however, there are a couple of bad ones too. Tekla is one of those characters. Frankly, she’s really annoying and an unnecessary addition to the story. If players choose an alternate timeline, the other character J is fun and easier for players to care about. Tekla is just plain rude.
Some of the dialogue between the characters was predictable. If the players go either way with choices in the beginning, both characters chosen will have regrets and say that the other character was better. This dialogue feels unnecessary. These things could have been said with looks or commemorations within their room. Having it shoved in players faces that they think the other character should have been chosen is obvious and doesn’t need to be said.
This may be an unpopular opinion but the main character, BJ, is really annoying with his dialogue. He talks in a really low voice under his breath about how he’s seen carnage and has nightmares. Did they think that making him this way would seem cool? “I talk in a low voice with gruff because it makes me seem tough and war torn.” Just STOP. He has no personality other than he’s seen some shit. There’s a whole scene where he talks about things that happened to him but “it wasn’t as dark as this” or “it wasn’t as cold as this.” I get it BJ, you’re a badass, but have some personality at least.
Let’s be honest, this game is mainly for the shooty-shooty bang-bang aspect because it’s fun just to blow stuff up. Even the difficulty makes fun of players if they choose to play on a lower difficulty. The gameplay really is reminiscent of Doom. Yes, there’s a bit of story, but it’s mainly there to blow things up. It’s fun and the big loud guns make players feel powerful and in control. Some of the weapons feel ineffective until end-game however. The lazer-cutter was not used to its full potential. It would have been nice to use that to go find some secrets, and yes, there would be a random crate you could cut into that contained armor. There was a lot that weapon could have been used for and it simply wasn’t. End-game however, if the players find all of the upgrades for the lazer-cutter, it is a game changer, especially if players are right near a charging station — then the weapon never runs out of juice.
This game has decent graphics and isn’t super old. The gameplay graphics are worse than the cutscenes, but they usually are. While playing though, the game will randomly switch over to a cutscene for about thirty seconds to a minute and then switch back to gameplay. And most of this is just normal dialogue: a character telling you to retrieve something or saying something random. It seems unnecessary to switch between the two for such a short amount of time. Players don’t need a cutscene just to find a blow-torch that Fergus/Wyatt left at the bottom of a well. This can be said with regular graphics.
Deathshead is a great villain; he’s just the right amount of creepy so that you fear him. Well, players fear him through the tutorial and up until the real game starts. He doesn’t make another appearance until the end of the game. Players kind of completely forget he exists. Yes, there are reminders of characters saying they need to bring him down, but there’s no real fear of him. Frau Engel kind of takes his place here, and she is a cool character; I just wish the biggest baddy would have made more of an appearance. So much more could have been done with him as a villain.
The game is fun and I enjoyed what story was there. It’s a fun game to blow off some steam and, frankly, just kill some Nazis. If you haven’t played this game it is currently free on Xbox Game Pass. With a lack of anything after the end of the main story other than just replaying it, I’m frankly glad I didn’t pay full price when it came out. There’s not a lot of gameplay here, and it’s not worth $60. There are some things that were very meh, but it’s still a great game. I’m excited to play and review the next one as well!
Poor Man's Spoiler 