B.J. Blazkowicz, a war hero who proved capable of inflicting heavy defeats on the Nazi army, has disappeared, and his traces lead to a Paris still under enemy control. Following the clues will be his two twin daughters, Jess and Soph, protagonists of the new Wolfenstein: Youngblood. Will they be able to convince us? We talk about it in this review!
Where did Blazko go?
Unlike its predecessors, Wolfenstein: Youngblood it does not have its roots in the charisma of B.J. Blazkowicz, opting instead for that of his two twin daughters: Sophie e Jess.
The two girls in fact, despite the soul still as adolescents eager to have fun, were raised as real warriors by their father and mother, and are apparently ready to go hunting for Nazis on which to unload the magazines of their weapons.
The opportunity comes due to the disappearance of their father, whose last traces push the twins to head to that of Paris, or one of the few capitals still under the control of the enemy army in the dystopian and alternative future at the base of the saga.
The protagonists, flanked by Abby (Grace Walker's daughter, met in The New Colossus) and each equipped with a power armor, find themselves crossing the alleys of the city, looking for news of their father and war hero between a dead Nazi and another.
An unexpected development
One of the fundamental and most "worrying" aspects of the new chapter of the series Wolfenstein could have been the chosen period: abandoned the 60s of his predecessors, Youngblood in fact he travels through the streets of the Paris of the 80 years, a change that is not too obvious from an aesthetic point of view.
Apart from the idea behind it, once in the game, the feeling is not that of being in a well-defined historical period, with atmospheres that closely resemble those of New Order e New Colossus, characterized by that strange mix between future and attachment to the historical past.
What makes the real difference, however, is the architecture of the levels which, compared to the past, evolve with a verticality never seen before, due to the participation of the team Arkane Studios. The streets of the capital thus open to the player's eyes with a series of hidden areas, interiors that can be visited and small alleys, easily explored thanks to the ability of the twins to take advantage of double jumps and skillful squatting tactics.
The situation is certainly different with regard to the character models, evident above all in the two protagonists: while Soph is pleasing to the eye, Jess, due to her longer hair, appears almost irritating!
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Unlike previous Wolfenstein
Before talking about the gameplay of the new Wolfenstein: Youngblood, we need to clarify how MachineGames, exceptionally together with Arkane Studios, wished to maintain the structure already proposed in the previous chapters.
In fact, Youngblood continues to offer a game mode from linear development, based on the alternation of shootings and cutscenes with a fairly high narrative quality, with fights against enemies of gradually higher difficulty, in a crescendo that manages not only to make the challenge more complex, but which ends up pushing the player to also focus on strengthening and collaboration between the two protagonists.
A great novelty of the title is in fact represented by the presence of the two sisters, who thus introduce a series of new cooperative mechanics and a completely different management of their game possibilities: just think of the life that, in the case of the twins, is shared , perhaps to encourage cooperation and lead each user to pay attention to the sister who, otherwise, would not be there.
On the other hand, the dubbing, the soundtrack and the artificial intelligence of the enemies are able to maintain a good tone, although the bosses are quite similar to each other, especially in the more advanced stages of the story.
Cooperation is the key word
As previously mentioned, Youngblood has the arduous task of inserting a series of new cooperative mechanics, based on the presence of two protagonists.
A similar feature provides both the ability to play locally and online. In the latter case, you can join someone else's game or host other players, in order to take advantage of collaboration with other users to advance.
A little warning: if you join other players know that you may face some spoilers as the game will resume from where the host player had saved which, obviously, could be ahead of you.
Want to play it safe and join forces with a friend? Bethesda has also thought of you providing you, for only 10 euros more than the basic price of 29,99 €, Buddy Pass.
The latter will in fact allow the owner of the title to invite another player in-game, who will thus be able to continue the adventure with him even without owning Wolfenstein: Youngblood. Obviously, the untitled user will be able to take part in the battle, but will not be able to unlock achievements or additional content.
In addition to the normal collaboration scenes present within the campaign, such as the classic opening of doors, chests and activation of switches, the Pass will give the two players the possibility to completely change the management of both enemies and bosses, but above all of the three shared lives, which can be used to revive your ally and avoid game over.
Wolfenstein: Youngblood, to buy or not?
Wolfenstein: Youngblood it shows itself from the beginning as a title capable of keeping the flag of the saga high enough.
Despite the lack of the charisma of B.J. Blazkowicz be heard, adrenaline-pumping gameplay and the right innovations - brought to a greater extent by the new cooperative mechanics - manage to provide the right degree not only of fun, but also of challenge, leading each player to become attached to the twins and to want to get to the end adventure to find the missing father.
Despite some flaws, such as a pinch of repetitiveness and non-exceptional polygonal models, the title therefore deserves a place in the beloved Wolfenstein series, especially given the affordable price (29,99 €) and the possible possibility of using the Buddy Pass with a friend for only 10 euros more.
Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Pro 
- New cooperative mechanics
- Convincing and captivating storyline
- Unexpected vertical development of levels
- Excellent Italian dubbing
- Buddy Pass to play with a friend
Cons 
- Character realization not great
- AI of enemies unconvincing
- Repetitive bosses
