PC Critic Reviews

MachineGames continues to raise the overall level of the Wolfenstein franchise, although it could have taken more advantage of the cooperative and there is excessive grinding.

Youngblood excels as an entertaining shooter with the right kind of RPG elements and choices. However, when compared to the stellar and shocking storytelling of previous Wolfensteins, this entry comes up short. It has a few interesting breadcrumbs about what happened in the aftermath of Wolfenstein II, including the fates of a couple characters, but this outing is mainly focused on the exploits of its dynamic duo. As far as protagonists go, Jess and Soph are likeable goofballs – a detour from their sad-sack papa – but they don’t have any real character development

Wolfenstein: Youngblood delivers a terrific FPS experience, with a brand new cooperative gameplay and also a brand new approach to level design.

Being with a friend to face daily and weekly assignments, trying to raise the difficulty by touching inhuman vertices of pain, falling and trying again, repeating with the daughters of Blazko the family mantra ("the only good Nazi is a dead Nazi"), it could be a great pastime for these hot summer months.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood is a particular spin-off, which hybridizes the frenetic action of Machine Games shooting to a more open gdr structure, focusing all on the cooperative. Overall the operation was successful, and if you are aware of expecting a different experience than the one offered by all the other chapters of the brand, the purchase is absolutely recommended.

Youngblood is adolescent in all the right ways, anarchic and ferocious on the surface with thoughtful design running underneath. Characters Jess and Soph are loud, goofy and annoying, but that’s exactly as they should be. Some of the writing is a little iffy, and you won’t find much in the way of nuanced storytelling, but to be honest it isn’t required. This a game about two young women blasting racists into goo – for me, that equals a bloody good time.

Wolfenstein Youngblood takes a different approach than previous Wolfenstein installments. Co-op instead of solo-adventuring and a bigger emphasis on exploring. Aside from some small hickups with stealth and enemies, it's a blast from beginning to end.

The usual Wolfenstein brilliance is here, and MachineGames have shown they’ve got a great handle on splattering fascists. They should be commended for being bold enough to take big risks here, and several of those risks have paid off, while those that haven’t only served to make the game a great deal weirder...Games as a medium would be better if risks like this were taken with more beloved games. It’s unlikely, with how expensive the whole AAA development scene is, but this is a glittering example of what can happen, despite its flaws.

Considering it’s ‘only’ a spin-off, this is a riotously fun and well-designed entry in the series - however, it’s built with co-op in mind. Solo play is viable, but play with a friend, and you’ll both have one of the best shooter experiences of the year so far.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood is a new concept for the franchise and the Arkane's hand touches the game design. Not all the innovations fit well with the formula, especially the RPG elements.