Wolfenstein: Youngblood Story Trailer – ’80s Chic

Wolfenstein is back!  Check out the new Wolfenstein: Youngblood Story Trailer.  From the press release:

BJ Blazkowicz has gone missing in Paris, and it’s up to his twin daughters, Jess and Soph, to track him down. Wolfenstein: Youngblood drops you into 80s Nazi-occupied Paris, and for the first time in the series, you’ll be able to explore the world of Wolfenstein and wreck Nazis with a partner.  From a new base of operations located deep in the heart of the Paris catacombs, plan how and when to attack and dismantle the Nazi regime.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood is the first modern co-op Wolfenstein adventure.

Team up with a friend or play solo as one of BJ Blazkowicz’s twin daughters and wield a powerful arsenal of new weapons, gadgets, and abilities to liberate Paris from the Nazis.
The Deluxe Edition includes:

• The Buddy Pass, allowing you and a friend to play the entire game together, even if they don’t own the game themselves
• The Cyborg Skin Pack

Pre-order the game and you get some bonuses:

• The Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus Jacket Power Suit
• BJ’s US Army Power Suit
• The Wolfenstein: Old Blood Pipe
• The Wolfenstein: Old Blood Knife
• A WW2 Weapon Skin Set for all ranged weapons

Wolfenstein: Youngblood is coming July 26th, 2019 to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC.  The Standard Edition is $29.99, and the Deluxe Edition is $39.99.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood Story Trailer Impressions

I’m unsure about this one.  Firstly, they introduce co-op.  Co-op games are hardly known for having a strong narrative focus (besides a few exceptions, e.g. ‘A Way Out’).  Usually the co-op mechanic itself is used as a crutch to hide the lack of story.  I’ve played and enjoyed Wolfenstein: The New Order because it had a great story.

Generally speaking, FPS games just don’t much for me anymore.  Once you’ve played them this many years as I have; you’ve seen them all.  So a nice story makes them stand out.  Also the game description has a few words that don’t necessary inspire confidence in a cohesive adventure — “open-ended” and “non-linear mission structure“.  I could be wrong (and I hope so), but at least with MachineGames part of the formula, I may have nothing to worry about.

I think they are experimenting with the co-op to increase sales, which I’m all for (as long as we can get future quality games like TNO).  Hence the Buddy Pass in the Deluxe Edition.  And again, it’s very similar to A Way Out where you can buy a copy of the game and a buddy can download and play along with you.  I also like the release date — it’s out in the summer where there aren’t a lot of other games releasing.

Microtransactions

Have a look at the Wolfenstein: Youngblood FAQ.  The most interesting bits are that they are not doing lootboxes, but they will have microtransactions for cosmetic items.  I thought microtransactions were one of the dumbest things while playing Far Cry: New Dawn.  Part of the replay-ability of New Dawn was acquiring outfits… which you never see!  Because it’s a first-person game; not third-person.  And I played the game entirely solo, because I’m a solo player.  Even if I did play co-op, I wouldn’t give a care what a co-op player may wear.



Wolfenstein: Youngblood is set in 1980s Paris and has a cool ’80s cover art.  It’s also supposed to have some cool synth soundtrack.  What do you think of the game?  You think it will be better than Wolfenstein: The Old Blood?  Leave a comment below.  A VR game, Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot is also coming out the same day, but honestly it doesn’t look that interesting.