Wolfenstein Youngblood

What do you actually do in Wolfenstein Youngblood?

Shoot enemies of varying difficulty. The shooting feels great, better in my opinion than Wolfenstein 2. There’s a bit more stickiness to aiming that allows you to move around a lot, which is necessary as the enemy AI is super aggressive and enemies will come at you from every corner. They also respawn very quickly, so there’s never a dull moment, almost to the point of drowning you in the shootery-ness of it all.

Emote with your twin to boost yours and her health. There’s another booster, too, but I forget what it is as the health one is all that really matters, especially against some of the Nazi mobs that will flank (read: spawn in) behind you.

Traverse sections of Neu-Paris repeatedly, on differing missions of varying difficulty. There are few quiet moments, but those that do exist allow you to breathe in the amazing design of both interior and exterior spaces of a city that feels like it could almost exist in real life. Whenever I spy an open apartment door or window, you can bet I’m going in there to look around!

Double-jump. Off the bat, it’s there for you to use, thanks to your exo-suit. It’s generous and fun and makes you feel so cool when you leap like 20 feet up to a balcony to go through a cheeky shortcut.

Whittle down enemy shields and spongey health bars. At first, I was a bit worried about this, but it’s actually quite fun. Encountering elite enemies really does elicit an ‘oh shit!’ response as you just know taking it down is going to take all your moves and most of your ammo. And when three heavies all turn up to the party, along with half a dozen other Nazis, well it’s the best kind of chaotic. Running away is a legitimate tactic, too, as there are certain areas designated for certain levels, which are very easy to be led into via the random missions that pop up but don’t seem to have any care for your actual character level. So, much like an MMO, you will find yourself amidst an almost instant kill zone and the only way to survive is to scamper out of there quick smart. (I was just informed on Twitter that the game employs specific shield and gun pairings - with other weapons not being effective at all. I never had this communicated to me in the game, and thus have not mentioned it. This is something of a presentation flaw and might help with my ammo problem!)

Follow mission markers through maze-like levels designed by Arkane Studios. This feels like you are pushing through Dishonored levels in a Wolfenstein game. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that most of what makes Youngblood works is the level design. It is complex enough that you can get lost even when you find yourself returning to the same general area a half dozen times, Criss-crossing the city’s districts on various missions that are doled out by the NPCs back at the underground base of operations.

Upgrade. There are personal upgrades, such as more health and armour, as well as new skills to unlock with skill points, which you earn as you level up. There are also weapon upgrades, which you pay for with coins found in the game world. There are boosters you can buy, too, that increase things like XP and coins found. The progression of upgrades is fine. However, they don’t make you feel particularly changed, mostly because enemies appear to scale with you, so you constantly feel some resistance as you traverse each district.

Fast travel a lot. The somewhat fractured nature of the game sees you exploring city districts, which are accessed by fast travel map points located at underground train stations. Some missions require you to go back and forth between above and below ground areas, several loading screens interspersed between. You also need to fast travel back to HQ in order to turn in quests and restock ammo, the latter of which is absolutely necessary because you will burn through it at  a rate that would impress even Rambo.

Avoid micro-transactions. There are emotes and skins and a lot of other crap that mean nothing that you can buy with gold bars, which are purchased with real money. Quite frankly, this is a blight on the Wolfenstein series and a worrying shift in focus. Thankfully, they don’t seem at all necessary and hopefully they fail miserably so they aren’t in Wolf 3. (They will be, won’t they?)

Not pause. Ever. Even if you’re playing by yourself, disallowing anyone to join your game, the game still never stops. This can be somewhat cheated on the Switch by pressing the home button, but pity the player who has an active phone life or is expecting package deliveries.

Replay sections upon death. The check pointing is quite good, although the Raid missions are particularly unforgiving, with the ENTIRE level requiring replay if you succumb to one of the frustrating and difficult bosses. Hopefully, this will get patched soon, as there is nothing worse than feeling like you’ve wasted half an hour.

Timeline - how long to beat, any trophy/achievement issues, how much is left after passing?

The opening level is the most linear, but after a couple of hours you’ll pretty much see and do most of the actual things you will be doing for as long as it feels interesting to you. Once you’ve levelled up enough, you can take on the four towers that gate the ending of the game, so really it’s up to you and how long you’re happy to run around inside this labyrinth repeating quests.

Saving Frustration - any issues with the save system for parents/players with regular interruptions?

Apart from non-pause-ability, Youngblood is constantly saving, with death rarely providing a setback. As mentioned, though, some boss sections can result in long stretches of game needing to be replayed, but when the gunplay is almost the whole focus of the experience, and given that you will level up just by embracing the action, it’s never too hard to just go off and do something else for a while before returning. No particular mission feels terribly important. This, combined with the Switch as a portable console, helps alleviate some of the frustration that console players might feel, being so locked in.

Patchwork - how is the game being supported with updates?

There was a day one patch as well as another one that fixes a cheat exploit, so hopefully more are on the way that deal with the raid check pointing, constant lack of ammo and the incredibly quick enemy respawn rates. Bethesda is usually good at keeping its finger on the pulse, so there is precedent for games settling after an initial rocky period.

Online - any online details and population trends

Co-op is the go here, with options for public or private games. I haven’t tested this because I don’t have a Nintendo Online subscription, but other coverage I’ve read suggests the game works fine at what it promises.

Summary - an elevator pitch to sum up the experience

Take Wolfenstein, make a well in the centre. Add some Division mobs, Dishonored level design  and desiccated Destiny. Mix with an MMO spice of your choice. Sprinkle with micro-transaction. Cook until firm.