Wolfenstein: The New Colossus Review

Little did he know that would be his last milkshake.

Wolfenstein: The New Colossus came out in 2017, when much of America was still reeling from the election of Donald Trump. Some controversy ensued, mostly because of a marketing campaign that featured the slogan of "Make America Nazi Free Again." A certain subset of gamers denounced the game as pandering to social justice warriors with its inclusion of a diverse, multiracial cast, which is ridiculous. BJ Blazkowiczs, the protagonist and player character, is a white guy (albeit half-Jewish) with a linebacker's physique who can simultaneously dual-wield assault rifles while taking fire. He may be woke, but he's still a sociopath who has no problem murdering as many Nazis as he can. But hey, they're Nazis! Only in Trump's America would a game about killing Nazis be controversial.

Gameplay does not differ significantly from 2015's The New Order. BJ runs and guns with a standard FPS arsenal featuring pistols, submachine guns, assault rifles, and a grenade launcher, most of which can be dual-wielded. The action feels pretty good, although BJ is a glass cannon on higher difficulty levels. You'll be hiding behind pillars rather than getting up close and personal, a la 2016's Doom. Many sections ostensibly have the option of sneaking to take out an officer or two before they are alerted and call reinforcements, but most of the time, this is pretty tough, due to the enemy's tendency to alert everyone when you are spotted. The weapon upgrade system features a silencer for your pistol, and I managed to stealth a couple sections after obtaining this upgrade. Level design is okay. I remember The New Order being better in this regard, for The New Colossus is a corridor shooter. Perhaps this has something to do with the engine switch to idtech 6. I got lost a couple times in this linear game due to the level flow being a little off in some sections. You fight in the radioactive remains of New York City, which basically resembles Fallout 3, as well as New Orleans, which is a bit better, but no areas really stand out except maybe the final sequence in a Nazi airship.

New Orleans

The New Colossus is a very story driven game. Well, the plot is not memorable, but the characters are well-voiced and have actual arcs. BJ deals with his mortality and the looming prospect of fatherhood, as well as his mother's death and his father's cooperation with America's Nazi regime. It's pretty deep stuff for a first person shooter about gunning down Nazis, but I enjoyed the characters. Some of the cutscenes are little long and might try your patience. They also interrupt game flow too much. Shooters do need some down time, but I swear there's a sequence that goes on for twenty minutes. Also, this is a hard M game. There are beheadings, ax blows to the face, a cat with a monkey's body, and a naked pregnant woman covered in blood firing two assault rifles (hah!).

Oh yeah, there's a part where you have to audition to play yourself in a movie Hitler's making on Venus. This game, man.

All in all, I'd recommend Wolfenstein: The New Colossus to fans of story-driven first person shooters. It has a few problems, but the complete package is pretty memorable. Here's hoping Machine Games improves the level design for the sequel.