Wolfenstein: Youngblood
NOT QUITE REICH ON THE NIGHT DAVE MEIKLEHAM
PUBLISHER BETHESDA / DEVELOPER MACHINEGAMES / RELEASE DATE OUT NOW / COST £24.99/$29.99
The game was originally going to be more story-focused and would have followed only one twinTHE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 073REVIEW
in order to tackle Destiny-lite raids
and repetitive fetch quests.
Set decades after the last game,
you play as either Jess or Soph
Blazkowicz, with the other twin
controlled by an online friend or the
AI, if you’re playing solo. The teenage
daughters of a super beardy BJ follow
a lead to Paris circa 1980, after their
war hero pop goes AWOL. This being
Wolfenstein, you’re once again dealing
with an alternate version of history;
one in which the Germans won the
Second World War, and in doing so,
became the globe’s dominant power.
That means the streets of this ‘Neu
Paris’ are adorned in Nazi iconography,
with dudes in berets merrily eating
pastries being given the heave-ho
by giant Panzerhunds that singe the
French streets with their fiery breath.Thick and twin
Like BJ’s adventures,
Youngblood is tonally all
over the shop. Moments ofAs the Eurythmics
attested in its 1985
banger, “Sisters
are doin’ it for
themselves”. Only
in the case of this
uneven shooter’s twin stars, they’re
not so much “ringin’ on their own
bells” as smashing Nazi skulls to
pieces with a shotgun. They’re also
“standin’ on their own two feet”,
albeit ones shelled inside metallic
armour that turn BJ Blazkowicz’s
daughters into teen RoboCops.
A spin-off of MachineGames
beloved Blaz’ reboots, Wolfenstein:
Youngblood carries the same
muscular, Hitler-hating DNA of its
parent titles. Yet where New Order
and New Colossus used eccentric
storytelling and impeccable
pacing to pull you through their
campaigns, this companion
piece mostly ditches bespoke
set-pieces in favour of
forcing you to grind for XP
violence are punctuated by silly jokes,
though in this spin-off’s defence, the
switch to a younger cast gives the
story a lighter tone. Play the game
with an online pal, set your pads
down, and the twins soon start to
banter back and forth. “Sarah Jane
stole your lunch money at school,
Soph, that doesn’t make her a Nazi...
well, close enough.” At times, Jess
and Soph’s interplay is endearing.
The switch to BJ’s offspring is quite
a big deal, but even more significant
is the addition of Arkane Studios...
at least on paper. The Dishonored
team partners up with MachineGames
this time out, and in theory, the
studio’s immaculate worldbuilding
and expertise in drum-tight stealth
play should make Youngblood a top
tier sneaky shooter. Assuming you’ve
already taken a sly peek at the score- naughty, naughty – you’ll sadly know
that hasn’t quite worked out.
One of the biggest problems Blaz’
reboots have suffered is confusing
ABOVE For
tougher foes,
it’s a good idea
to let the AI
draw their fire
if you’re playing
on your own.
LEFT There’s a
significant time
jump between
Youngblood and
The New
Colossus.