Wolfenstein: Youngblood is not what we were expecting. First of all, those surprises go beyond this being a dedicated co-op game set in the '80s. This doesn’t mean it is terrible, or anything, but Youngblood takes the franchise in a different direction from what most fans of the franchise are probably expecting.
It’s just, again, not what we were expecting, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. To help players decide if this is the game for them, here are a few tips and forewarnings to make all of the new information go down easier.
10 Sister, Sister
Wolfenstein: Youngblood is a full co-op experience. This means that from start to finish, no matter if one is playing solo or actually with another player, there will always be a second sister.
This is a big step for Wolfenstein history as no game has ever attempted this sort of gameplay before. Not many games try this in general. There are a few other great things about co-op, which we will fill in as this list continues.
9 Leveling Up
One of the most striking additions to this game is the leveling up system. Not only do the girls have levels that increase as more kills are accumulated, like in any RPG, but soldiers have levels as well. While it is cool to have an upgrade system that can be customized to turn players into tank heavy gun machines or agile panther-like assassins, it comes with a price.
Because there are always two players, the difficulty is stacked against the players. That is to say, there are always huge waves of bullet sponge absorbing Nazis waiting around every corner.
8 Can’t Pause
This is the Dark Souls of Wolfenstein games. We know that term gets thrown around a lot, but this description is quite literal. Wolfenstein: Youngblood, like Dark Souls, cannot be paused. Makes sense to not pause during multiplayer, right? Why not include it in offline, solo play though?
Before jumping into the campaign, just know that there may be long stretches of gameplay where pausing is impossible. This may affect whether, or not someone buys the game so we thought it was important to note.
7 Character Customization
At the start of the game, players can choose to play as either Jessica or Sophia. The only thing different about them in terms of gameplay is...nothing. They are both exactly the same, which is nice since the aforementioned upgrade system will let players customize these girls to their liking.
Aside from that stuff, their power suits can also be stylized using cash found throughout the adventure. There are tons of skins to unlock for both the suits and weapons. There are also microtransactions if one so chooses, but they thankfully don’t get in the way.
6 Not Wolfenstein 3
The marketing hasn't been really clear about where this game falls in terms of importance for the franchise. So let’s make it abundantly clear: Youngblood is not Wolfenstein III. We know. Having it set years after the last game wrapped up is an odd choice, not to mention the fact they don’t really clue players in on what happened in-between these two games.
By the end it sort of makes sense, but basically it might be important to know this is a side thing. Don’t expect as much production value is basically what we are trying to say.
5 Graphical Downgrades
Speaking of production values, woof, let’s talk about the graphics. We checked this baby out on a PS4 and it looked like a last-gen title at times. This was usually only in the cutscenes, but the gameplay, while it looked way better, was not perfect either.
This was a co-op experiment that sort of feels rushed out the door. It is good, but nowhere near as high ranking as the last two core titles.
4 Like A Boss
There has sort of been boss battles in the past games, but not really. Wolfenstein: Youngblood has quite a handful of both optional and mandatory ones. They are unfortunately one of the worst things about the game.
If one thought the enemies absorbed a lot of bullets already, well then get ready for the bosses. They will surely test one’s merits in patience. The final one in fact is a real doozy of a dud.
3 The Metro
While there were optional quests in the last game, they were quite restrictive. In Wolfenstein: Youngblood, the developers opened up the world just a tad more. From the base, players can talk to resistance members to gain quests.
Going into mission areas will then present players with the option to head toward the main objective, or to go on a new adventure. It all ends up with players killing Nazis so there isn’t a lot of variety, but the rewards and experience are worth the extra exploring.
2 Shared Lives
The game throws a lot at the player, which can be tricky even with a real-life co-op partner. However, there is a mechanic that levels the playing field. Once a character runs out of life they can be infinitely revived as long as their bleed out meter doesn’t expire.
On top of that, if either partner actually does die, there are extra lives called Shared Lives that will revive people on the spot. At the start, players can have three of these little lifesavers squirreled away. If all of those run out well then checkpoints are pretty generous too.
1 The Buddy Pass
The best thing about a co-op campaign is that there are a lot of ways to set it up. The easiest method is for two people to buy the game. Simple, right? Well, there is another option for those wishing to fork over some extra money. The Deluxe Edition of the game comes with a Buddy Pass.
This can be given away to multiple people. However, they can’t play the game alone as this copy is restricted. Being able to share it with say ten people is still a nice bonus though even if they can’t experience it alone. Who wants to play alone anyway?