Image credit: Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus - © MachineGames / Bethesda Softworks.
Source: Steam Store
Summary
- 🎮 Name of the game: Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
- 📅 Launch date: October 27, 2017
- 🏢 Developer: Machine Games
- 📌 Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
- 🖥️ Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
- ⚔️ Genre: FPS (first person shooter)
- 🌍 ContextAlternative dystopia in which the Nazis won World War II and control the United States.
History and narrative
The game is a totally direct continuation of the events of the first title, where previously our protagonist was seriously wounded after being hit by a grenade explosion. In the previous game we didn't know whether Blazkowicz had died or not, since the scene is cut at the end; however, in this one we see that he survives, although he is left a disgrace, practically in a coma again, which seems to be already typical of the character who always ends up on the verge of death.
Wolfenstein is a “what if the Nazis had won World War II”, creating a world where they effectively won. The whole world lives under the oppression of this regime, and we will have to put an end to it by encouraging the United States to rise again and fight for freedom, now led mainly by Blazkowicz.
This time around the game features more cinematic and longer cutscenes, giving us several memorable moments. The world ruled under this regime is expanded a bit more, although I feel that New Colossus is a bit more censored compared to The New Order, which I think was more violent, aggressive and showed a possibly more realistic world. The story in general is quite simple but functional, focused on giving the player a good experience: a narrative that is easy to understand, but entertaining. I must admit that the narrative level had a small drop compared to its prequel, but not enough to say it's a weak point, it just wasn't as good and had the potential to tell more.
Like its prequel, the best part of the script is the characters, each one very charismatic and with a purpose. The problem is that there are several of them and the game is still relatively short for all of them to develop or stand out enough to connect with the player. Also, if you like dark humor, you're sure to laugh on more than one occasion with how the characters are and interact.
At the very beginning you are allowed to follow the story depending on whether you saved Fergus or Wyatt. In my case, in New Order I saved Fergus, but in the New Colossus line I decided to play with Wyatt.
The game got several laughs out of me, I won't deny it. For example (spoiler alert): Super Spesh being impressed that there was a functional toilet in the submarine, in which he sits for hours using it; the surprise relationship between Sigrun and Bombate, who couldn't stand the urge before going on a mission; Sigrun locating Grace, which was a good scene; the whole sequence to save Blazkowicz after being executed by Frau Engel; Anya rescuing Blazkowicz being the most agile pregnant woman I've ever seen in a video game; or the whole birthday party scene.
They really have material to make a movie, because there were also unexpected moments like Caroline Becker's death or being able to kick the Nazi leader in the face (which I did like 10 times, even though I knew it was instakill, but it was worth every restart; I wish the game had allowed to really kill him).
Wolfenstein is still a game with very well-done and interesting characters, which I highlight even more than the story itself. I feel that without them the narrative would not be as good. In addition, we explore more of our protagonist's past, reflecting a reality of those times marked by racism and machismo in homes, which was an interesting part of playing.
Even though the story isn't as deep as other games, it's really enjoyable and the characters are very memorable. I even consider that it could perfectly be adapted into a series or movie, let's just hope it lives up to it.
Gameplay
The game's strong point: combat. It's pure fast action with stealth options, although stealth is not good for many players. I didn't find it interesting and in the end I ended up shooting everything that moved, it was more fun for me. Several times I tried to pass areas in stealth and it always ended in violence. The stealth could be better.
One point I appreciate that they improved was the weapon selection: now it is much more precise and less confusing. Choosing a weapon or two is more practical, something they had to improve compared to New Order. Again we have rifles, submachine guns, pistols, shotguns and original special weapons of the saga, plus the option to use double weapons, which I highly recommend to eliminate heavy enemies.
The controls have been improved and are more precise, something very important due to the frenetic pace of the game. A not so good point was the AI of the enemies: they are soldiers that seem to not give a damn about taking cover or trying not to die, they dive for everything, to the point that you can see some running towards you to shoot you from a meter away or even to hit you, which doesn't make much sense in the context of the combat. Sometimes they leave the cover area completely exposed.
The difficulty can be very high in some parts, such as the trial area of the protagonist or the final battle on the Ausmerzer. For me, there are moments that are completely unbalanced compared to the rest of the game. I understand that there are challenges, but here it's like a roller coaster: sometimes you're down, out of nowhere an exaggerated climb and then to the floor again. The difficulty curve is not always well measured. The mechanics are easy to understand, but using them in areas full of enemies can be challenging because they don't give you a break. You end up wondering if you should lower the difficulty, which in fact you can.
Another point to improve are the distance shots: in my experience shooting at medium or long range didn't seem to hit the enemies, even if the sight was overhead, and sometimes the bullets looked very slow. I know they don't go at the speed of light, but it's not as if the speed of sound was slow either...
The health and ammo system remains the same as in the previous game, only now there are no health upgrades. That makes playing a large part of the game with 50 health complicated, until our character is upgraded to 100. In my case I chose the armor that Anya holds. Already in the final parts of the game, having armor was useless.
The exo-suits were an interesting new mechanic and fun to use. The weapon upgrades do have a good purpose and are in line with what we need to kill Nazis. There are missions like the attack on Roswell or Venus with an interesting combat design. Overall, the game is very entertaining, with some points to improve, but it provides a rewarding experience. And come on, who doesn't want to kill Nazis?
Graphics and visual design
The graphic quality is notorious and a considerable leap in the models of characters, enemies and scenarios, which this time are more military bases. The submarine, which is our base, can be confusing: it is not impossible to navigate, but it has several hiding places or hidden areas that are difficult to see.
Many enemies are repeated or do not differ much from each other, especially the soldiers. The machines, on the other hand, are more noticeable. I think they focused more on the character models than on the enemies, because the difference in detail between them is very marked.
The weapons are good in their design, although they could look better. I feel that the Dieselkraft and its derivatives are the most striking, but taking advantage of the futuristic world, they could have given a more distinctive look to the rest.
The style is once again dark and realistic, showing us a devastated United States with a futuristic Nazi aesthetic. The game is up to the level of several of its competitors, although it is not the best; for example, compared to Doom it lags a little behind. Even so, it does well for its time.
Sound and music
The soundtrack complies with the setting, although again falls into the problem of being generic music to give excitement to the game. There are no memorable songs or sound effects that stick with you, at least not in my case.
The sound effects are fine, although they could have been much better to compete with other titles in the genre. However, some of them stand out, like those of the last robots that you have to defeat to take the Ausmerzer, which really make you tense.
The voice acting surpasses the first game considerably. I think this time the dialogues and the participation of the characters in the script allowed the actors to show off more. In both English and Spanish, the acting conveys drama and humor in the scenes.
Difficulty and accessibility
The game in general is not difficult. It's very linear, intuitive, with clear and easy to accomplish objectives, basically there's no way to get lost. Maybe some scenarios are a bit more confusing, but nothing that the player can't figure out by himself; I at least didn't have any problems.
Wolfenstein II has several difficulty modes, including the humorous one where Blazkowicz appears as a baby, clearly indicating that it is the easiest. In my case I played on the “Let Them Come” difficulty, and overall it wasn't complicated, except for the final battle on the Ausmerzer, which took me 4 tries because I hadn't seen a tunnel to avoid the big robot attacks, which were torture. Higher difficulty can become more of a challenge than a smooth experience. If you are looking for a balance between something neither too easy nor too hard, I recommend “Que Vengan”.
In terms of accessibility, what I observed is limited: text size settings, some visual aids and little else. Not bad, but a little more could be expected.
Additional content
The main campaign can take between 10 to 15 hours, depending on the difficulty. I took about 12 hours because I like to explore a bit. Its length is very similar to the first game. They added more content with secondary activities, such as missions to hunt Nazi commanders (Ubercommanders) by deciphering enigma codes, which are obtained by eliminating leaders during the campaign.
The replayability remains stagnant: after finishing the campaign, the game hardly encourages you to play again. Maybe hunting commanders entertains for a while, but beyond that I didn't see much. The choices in the story only change minimal things.
The game has several DLCs that in my case did not call my attention, but if you really liked the game, do not hesitate to buy them.
Technical Aspects
It has solid performance on PC and consoles, with stable 60 fps on most settings. I played it on PS5 and I must say that it has good performance, although I did have a problem with a message saying that they could not verify the license of the game, as if it did not recognize that I was the owner. In the end I gave it accept and that was it, I could continue playing. For Switch users I have read that the resolution and performance are more modest.
I did have minor bugs, but nothing serious: disoriented enemies, frozen without knowing where the player is, or corpses moving on their own. Nothing that breaks the experience.
Value for money
Its launch price was 59.99 USD. I bought it for 6 dollars and it was completely worth it, although I think it did not justify its original price. The secondary serves to add content, but it's not enough. The game is basically just the campaign, which isn't very long either. It offers commander fighters and uninteresting collectibles.
I would recommend paying at most about $20. Less than that, I fully recommend it. And if you get an edition with the DLCs, even better.
Trophies / Achievements
- Platinum obtained: No.
- Percentage of trophies: 35% without DLCs
- Estimated time: 30-50 hours
- Platinum difficulty: 10 out of 10. This platinum I will not even try, it has one of the most difficult trophies ever made and is the famous Mein Leben trophy (My life in German) which is to win the game in a single game without checkpoints, no manual save, without dying and in a difficulty that you practically die of a shot. This trophy is crazy and makes it one of the most difficult games to platinum, my respects to those who have it.
Conclusion
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus left me with a fairly entertaining experience, with its ups and downs. The story isn't perfect and feels a bit weaker than its prequel, but it delivers, mostly thanks to the characters that really carry the script and are what make the game memorable. The gameplay remains its strongest point, with frenetic action that doesn't give respite, albeit with details like questionable AI and unpolished stealth. Visually it complies and improves quite a bit over the previous one, the sound is fine without being something you'll remember and technically it remains solid in most of the platforms.
It's not a perfect game, but it's a very fun game that knows what it wants to deliver which is to shoot Nazis in the most brutal way possible while telling you a story of resistance full of crazy, serious and even comical moments. It's not quite a masterpiece, but it's a game that I enjoyed quite a bit and would recommend trying, especially if you've already played The New Order.
My final rating for Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is:
3.9 / 5.0
