“Wolfenstein: The Old Blood” Review – When Old Becomes New
“Wolfenstein: The New Order” was one of the biggest surprises of 2014 for me. The gameplay was incredibly tight, it was gorgeous, and the narrative was a decent story that made me enjoy the characters. Developer Machine Games showed us that BJ Blazkowicz could be fun and relevant even twenty years after his creation. So it was no surprise that publisher Bethesda wanted more for their fans. That’s where “Wolfenstein: The Old Blood” comes in.
“The Old Blood” is a prequel to “The New Order” that follows Blazkowicz as he tries to infiltrate Castle Wolfenstein to uncover the location of a Nazi compound. He begins his mission with his British colleague, Wesley, but as you might expect, things go awry. The game’s villain, Rudi Jager, is interesting enough but follows typical 80’s action movie tropes. He’s a meathead who makes random appearances to spout clichéd one-liners along side his vicious canine companion. The story is more than simply a vehicle for Blazkowicz to kill more Nazi’s, especially if you take the time to read the notes and articles scattered throughout the game.
The story isn’t the focal point of this game, however; the game shines with its solid shooting mechanics and intense stealth sequences. “The Old Blood” reminded me of the gameplay in “The New Order”, but is considerably more challenging. Much like before, you have the option to take out your enemies with stealth rather than guns blazing. Jamming your blade into the skull of an unsuspecting Nazi is just as satisfying as watching his limbs launch against the wall from the blast of your shotgun. Early on, there are areas where you are forced to take a stealthy approach; this lack of choice is a tad annoying, but once past that, the decision is yours to follow your play style preference.
The visuals for Old Blood are just as stunning as the previous installment. On more than one occasion, I found myself stopping to take a look at the landscape just to soak it in. Even the weapons are incredible to look at and show a great attention to detail. The stealth-kill animations never get old to me, either. Unfortunately, the game does force you to do some awkward movements that don’t always work on the first try. It was infuriating to try and slide under a door to grab the metal pipe propping it open only to end up, instead, hitting an invisible wall. Although this didn’t happen too frequently, I nearly wanted to rage quit because it would result in my getting shot.
As mentioned above, “The Old Blood” isn’t easy. I played the entire campaign on the medium setting, and I found a few set pieces to be overly difficult. There were either too many enemies on the screen, or perhaps I was just too slow to reload to take cover. Regardless, I was offered some trial and error moments and was better off for it.
In conclusion, “Wolfenstein: The Old Blood” is a rehash (both mechanically and visually) of its predecessor, but it offers some new challenges throughout that makes it feel different and new. If you are a fan of the previous game, then I highly recommend playing it. The visuals, gameplay, and story are well-worth the lower price point. Considering some full-priced games have about the same length (I’m looking at you, “The Order: 1886”), I’m very happy with my 4-6 hours of gameplay. Whether you just want to kill a few hours (or a few Nazi’s), don’t miss this title.
Final Score: 8/10
Pros:
- Satisfying shooting/stealth mechanics
- Familiar control scheme
- Great visuals and attention to detail
Cons:
- Occasional frustrations with character movement
- Intense difficulty spike
Robert Steltenpohl
Contributing Reviewer
The Gaming Outsider
