Wolfenstein: The Old Blood Review

Back in May 2014 when Bethesda released Wolfenstein: The New Order by MachineGames. It revitalised the Wolfenstein franchise and brought us a fantastic story-driven shooter set in alternative 1960s; where the Nazis had won the war and the world was under a new order (see what I did there). Everything from the story’s pacing, shooting and other game mechanics were solid, precise and a whole lot of fun. It’s such a great game, that it’s on my list of Top five first-person shooters of 2014. Jump to now, one year later and Machine Games are back, bringing us more of what we loved from The New Order into a new standalone title; taking place during the second world war and in the infamous Castle Wolfenstein. This is Wolfenstein: The Old Blood.

Taking place in the same universe, prior to the events of The New Order; The Old Blood is set in 1946 following the story as the blood-stained war veteran, William "B.J." Blazkowicz. Your mission, alongside your comrade is to infiltrate Castle Wolfenstein and steal secret documents that contains the location of Deathshead compound. The same compound that your team assaults at the start of The New Order. What starts as an infiltration mission, soon escalates and you and your comrade (Agent One) are captured in The Old Blood’s first of a two-part story, Rudi Jager and the Den of Wolves. Jager being a brute Nazi officer and dog handler who feeds his pets on a diet of prisoners and disobedient Nazi soldiers.

The Old Blood plays exactly like The New Order, once you’ve picked up a gun, you’ll soon be dual-wielding rifles and blasting your through Nazis with ease, although the skills you can gain are lacking in comparison only having set of key skills included from The New Order; such as health upgrade or larger ammo clips. Other than that, the game has very few changes to the original formula and after all, why would it? It’s an extension on the already established series. It is not without its additions of course, the best addition would be the use of a trusty lead pipe,not only does it act as your weapon for stealth, but is also used for climbing and opening grates on doors, vents, hatches etc. Although its primary function by BJ is to bash and impale the Nazis. As much as it is a nostalgia 90s trip to head back to the dark and dank aesthetics of Castle Wolfenstein, it’s all in a very linear fashion. You’ll be trudging through room after room either going guns blazing, or taking the stealth approach; silently taking out the officers so not to alert more Nazis.

One different take early on is the game’s Super Soldiers, these massive, daunting, walking doom machines are now tethered to power sources, and you have to either take them head-on or disable their power, disabling them for a short time allowing you to finish them off quietly before working your way through to the others. It’s a different take, but short-lived, as later on you’ll be fighting the same Super Soldiers as you would have in The New Order. Nonetheless, I'm in favour of it keeping the same style and rhythm of The New Order instead of it being forcibly changed, which can ruin the overall experience.

Once you’ve broken out of the gates of Castle Wolfenstein, satisfyingly killing all Nazis in your way, you eventually arrive in the nearby village of Wulfburg in part two - The Dark Secrets of Helga Von Schabbs. This is where everything takes a turn for the supernatural. Helga Von Schabbs is a crazed scientist, specialising in the secret of the dark occult (something that was absent in The New Order). The documents BJ seeks are in her possession and as soon as it comes close to BJ’s grasp everything falls apart and all hell breaks loose, quite literally. The Nazis demolish a cave outside the village releasing the evil within and raising the dead. Leading to not only shambling zombies, but Nazi shambling zombies with guns (I ain't kidding!).

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood takes a cue from previously released, low priced, standalone titles such as Infamous: First Light, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. Even though it does have some nods to The New Order, it isn't a sequel or necessarily a prequel, but its own self-contained story within the same universe. The story isn't as well established as The New Order, it lacks character development, but secrets, collectables and Easter eggs galore are still in, as well as more nostalgia tripping with a return to classic Wolfenstein 3D in the form of Nightmares found in each of the chapters.

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood still retains all the satisfying gameplay that made The New Order one of the best shooters of 2014. It’s not as long as the original; lasting around 4-5 hours, but it does include a decent challenge mode to increase longevity. For £14.99 digitally it's worth it for a nice afternoon of killing some Nazis.