Wolfenstein: The Old Blood Review (PC)

excellent
key review info
  • Game: Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
  • Platform: PC
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Wolfenstein: The Old Blood review on PC

The Wolfenstein series has delivered some pretty impressive shooter experiences over the years, but in recent times, things haven't gone so well for the franchise, as it's swapped developers multiple times.

As such, many people didn't have big expectations when Wolfenstein: The New Order arrived last year from rookie studio MachineGames and publisher Bethesda. Fortunately, the two companies managed to surpass even the wildest expectations by delivering a fantastic shooter experience.

Instead of adding any new story chapters through DLC, MachineGames decided to bring forth a standalone expansion that acts as a sort of prologue to the events in The New Order. That new experience, called Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, is finally available, bringing fresh adventures for protagonist BJ Blazkowicz, while offering new enemies, weapons, and more.

Does The Old Blood manage to meet the high standards set by its predecessor or should MachineGames rest on its laurels? Let's find out.

Story

Wolfenstein: The New Order kicked off with a suicide mission against General Deathshead's compound, and then quickly moves forward in time, chronicling the victory of the Nazis after World War 2 and BJ Blazkowicz's crusade against them.

The Old Blood focuses on his adventures before the actual start of The New Order, as Blazkowicz went through quite a few interesting moments while trying to find the location of General Deathshead's castle. What's more, those adventures take BJ to the actual Castle Wolfenstein, while searching for information, and then to a few interesting German villages.

Through the two main parts of the story campaign, which are split into eight total chapters, players can learn a bit more about BJ but also about the other leaders of the German military besides The New Order's Deathshead.

There are quite a few interesting moments in terms of plot but its rapid pace makes relating to some of the other characters a bit hard to do. Even so, you're in for a good story that explores the universe even more.

Visit Castle Wolfenstein in The Old Blood
Visit Castle Wolfenstein in The Old Blood

Gameplay

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood keeps the solid shooter mechanics from The New Order, sporting an old-school, fast-paced movement system as well as responsive weapons that feel awesome to use.

Some weapons make a return from The New Order, including the solid assault rifle or the quite potent pistol, but there's plenty of new gear that can be used by BJ to trim down the Nazi horde. One of the first things you get to try out is a versatile pipe that can be used as a single, long component, or be split into two and used to scale walls. This mechanic is used fairly often, and while it takes a bit of time to get used to its control system, it soon becomes second nature.

There's a powerful gun that fires explosive flares, a new bolt-action rifle, as well as a pretty powerful shotgun-like shrapnel hammer. What's more, most of the game's weapons can be dual-wielded. Towards the end of the campaign, you also get to use a very impressive sawed-off shotgun, which makes getting rid of the new enemies even more satisfying.

Speaking of opponents, while you'll mostly be mowing down regular soldiers, there are a few new types of foes, including prototype versions of the hulking cyborgs seen in The New Order as well as the special surprise from the game's end - Nazi Zombies. These undead are quite powerful, and while some will just shamble around, others will rush BJ, so make sure you have places to fall back to.

Levels are quite varied, and while some areas might feel like rehashes of previous zones, especially towards the beginning, when you're making your way through the Wolfenstein prison, you'll soon reach some impressive environments, from cable car stations to the interior of Castle Wolfenstein, or a burning, zombie-infested German villages.

There are quite a few new perks that once again unlock as you perform specific actions, such as overcharging your health, dual-wielding weapons, and so on.

Like any old-school shooter, there are plenty of secret areas, hidden collectibles, and other such things, but also brand new Nightmare sequences. In case you forgot, The New Order allowed BJ to have a "nightmare" that took him to the first stage of the original Wolfenstein 3D. The Old Blood brings a new Nightmare stage for each of the eight chapters, taking BJ through the entirety of Wolfenstein 3D's first episode, complete with the secret stage or the Hans Grosser boss fight.

While the game in general makes a pretty solid showing, there are some stages where it's unclear what exactly you have to do or where it's quite hard to sneak through without alerting guards. These moments aren't that numerous, but they do keep it from perfection.

Cable car combat in The Old Blood
Cable car combat in The Old Blood

Visuals and sound

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood looks very good and uses the solid engine from The New Order to bring detailed environments, great character models, as well as fluid animations. The Nazi Zombies in particular look quite spooky and the flames engulfing most of them are well done.

The soundtrack is quite good but doesn't stand out all that much. Even so, the voice acting makes up for this, as BJ sounds as stoic as ever, whereas the rest of the cast brings a bit more humanity. Special mention goes to some of the hilarious dialog between the Nazi guards, as well as the taunts from boss enemies like Rudi Jager.


The Good

  • Polished gameplay
  • Fun new weapons
  • Nice new enemies and Nazi Zombies
  • Great visuals
  • Nightmare levels are a great addition

The Bad

  • Soundtrack doesn't stand out all that much
  • Early levels aren't that interesting
  • Some sequences are confusing

Conclusion

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood is a great follow-up to The New Order, adding plenty of adventures for BJ, not to mention new enemies, weapons, and more. Throw in the Nightmare stages and you have a compelling package with great value for your money.
story 8
gameplay 9
concept 9
graphics 10
audio 8
multiplayer 0
final rating 9
Editor's review
excellent
 

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood screenshots (20 Images)

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood review on PCVisit Castle Wolfenstein in The Old BloodShoot Nazis in The Old BloodClimb using your pipes in The Old BloodPower down enemies in The Old Blood
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