Review for Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. Game for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 27/10/2017 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 29/06/2018
Is the single player running out of hours? Perhaps it is a bit early to say, however recent events do not bode well for the future. The closure of Visceral Games it was a bad shot, especially since their interesting story-driven project dedicated to Star Wars will never see the light. We are in an era of massive online experiences, loot boxes, streamers and competition: it is therefore undeniable that the money is online right now, but how long can this golden period actually last? Fads can last a few months as well as several years, but when in doubt some development teams have decided not to give up their identity and rather specialize in what they do best: the single player!
Here, MachineGames are one of these white flies and Bethesda has focused on them to breathe new life into the historic Wolfenstein brand. The first episode was a moderate success, however, it is with its sequel, The New Colossus, that the Swedish developers want to show the whole world that yes, in 2017 there can still be a single player shooter entirely focused on narration.
To the unwary eye, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus might seem like a light title despite the delicate themes it deals with, however, the truth is quite different. In fact, MachineGames wanted to tackle racial hatred, Nazi-fascism and war with a good dose of irreverent irony without being disrespectful or ridiculous. The result obtained is truly remarkable and this also thanks to the excellent characterization of the protagonist Blazkowicz, the supporting actors and the various villains that we will meet along our way. Of the plot, however, we will not tell you more: the twists in fact begin to be dropped from the very first moments of the game and will lead to an adrenaline-filled succession of events with increasing intensity. A painstaking work to characterize the game world was then done, which thanks to documents, newspaper clippings and images scattered around the levels turns out to be extremely convincing.
During our interview with senior game designer Arcade Berg (link), it emerged that the action in this sequel would be even more "action" than in the past. There and then we hadn't fully grasped what Berg meant, once we went into the countryside but we were finally able to realize the true meaning of those words. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is a fast-paced, fast-paced, fast-paced, fluid and evil first-person shooter. In fact, it takes what worked in the prequel and enhances it by correcting the defects and smoothing the edges. Tackling a level therefore requires a great alertness but at the same time also a pinch of strategy since shooting blindly at the enemy leads, most of the time, to a disappointing game over. However, if you know how to make your own the numerous game mechanics made available by MachineGames, you will become an extremely lethal war machine that has at the same time the agility of a ballet dancer.
So what does this Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus consist of? First of all, we have an excellent arsenal of firearms, each of which can be upgraded and modified to better adapt it to the player's needs. These can be used both individually and in pairs and, in this regard, the dual weapon system has been improved and simplified for an instant and simple use. The level design is very different from the usual corridor camouflaged to which many FPS have accustomed us: here the environments are full of strategic points, tunnels, alternative routes and shelters that it is almost essential to use in order to continue in the adventure. What about artificial intelligence? Badass that too, don't worry! Berg's words during the interview were true: now the enemy soldiers are much smarter than before, they collaborate more with each other and are able to respond to our actions with elaborate attack strategies.
Among the perhaps less brilliant aspects of the prequel there was the graphic component, which thanks to the cross-gen nature of the project was so pleasant to see, but not without imperfections and smudges. With Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus the burden represented by the old consoles no longer exists and the team has been able to indulge themselves with the most advanced visual effects. The result is a game that technically shines as much as its brother Doom, and that runs smoothly even on the standard version of PlayStation 4. This time, a much more varied color palette was chosen than in The New Order which, however, did not distort the oppressive and dark atmospheres of the German fascist regime. Finally, the sound sector is excellent: also in this case MachineGames has done a painstaking job in creating the songs that make up the tracklist and also the various effects always seemed to us to be accurate and relevant to what happened on the screen.
Wolfenstein II is simply… WOW! MachineGames has managed to learn from the few mistakes made with The New Order and to craft an extremely addictive single player shooter. The game is made up of many different souls, the sparacchina one, the exploratory one, the stealth one, the narrative one, etc., yet what is surprising are not these "souls" taken individually, but rather the perfect cohesion between them. A feature that hasn't been seen for a very long time in a first person shooter and that at times recalls great masterpieces like Half Life 2. The single player has the hours numbered? William "BJ" Blazkowicz answers you with a nice middle finger!
► Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is a Shooter type game developed by MachineGames and published by Bethesda for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 27/10/2017 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 29/06/2018
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