Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus Review

The latest game in the Wolfenstein Saga, Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is the most ambitious, bombastic, and intense Wolfenstein to date. The game’s scale, graphics, and Nazi-killing fun have been dialed up to 11 from previous installments, and continues to do a fantastic job of covering an alternate universe where the Nazis win the Second World War and complete world domination.

Occurring mere moments after the ending of The New Order, protagonist William BJ Blazkowicz awakens after sustaining severe injuries from fighting General Deathshead. BJ’s consciousness lapses, flashing back from the present to his childhood, revealing a tumultuous upbringing caused by his abusive father. BJ properly wakes up and finds himself scarred and crippled, being forced to use a wheelchair. He has no time for rest however, as Nazi soldiers are attacking the American Resistance.

The player now has control, but in a weakened state, as he now has half as much health and has to lumber around in a wheelchair. Even as he acquires a power suit that restores his mobility, BJ still feels like he could drop dead any moment, and he knows it. Much of the first half of the game involves BJ trying to come to terms with his mortality. Internal monologues and story scenes combined with the player being weakened themselves captures a crushing feeling of vulnerability.

Not to say that BJ’s Nazi-killing ability has been diminished in any way, The New Colossus revamped its gameplay mechanics from previous games. Now the player can dual-wield any combination of weapon they want, and with the inclusion of three weapon upgrades for every single gun. From 90-round drum SMGs to ricochet Shotguns, BJ is not lacking in firepower one bit, and for good reason. The New Colossus implements the brand new idTech 6 engine used in games such as Doom 2016, allowing for impressive graphical fidelity, beautiful set pieces, larger enemy encounters, and more blood, guts, and gore than ever before. However, this scale comes at a cost.

The New Colossus’ attempt at one-upping The New Order resulted in many parts of the game feeling less fleshed out. The main plotline falls flat after the halfway point. After BJ regains his strength, the story rushes itself, adding new characters and setpieces that are introduced, but not properly explored. The expanded combat system does not iterate upon its stealth mechanics, making this style of play more difficult. The game’s new hub system was a missed opportunity as it lacked meaningful content outside of the main storyline. Finally, the specialized side missions, Übercommander Assassination, feels more like filler than extra content as it reuses the exact same levels as the main plotline.

Overall, The New Colossus does a good job of expanding the Wolfenstein formula, but lacks the laser focus in gameplay, story, and characterization of its predecessor. Here’s hoping the next game in Blazkowicz’ saga remedies the issues this title faced.