Wolfenstein: Youngblood (Xbox One X) - Gameplay
1Welcome to Game Play. A series, of sorts, where I check out various video games and share the pure gameplay experience with you.
Today we're taking a look at Wolfenstein: Youngblood on the Xbox One X.
My immediate impressions so far:
Wolfenstein: Youngblood is a solid action game with a nice flow and sense of action. Leaving behind the series' iconic protagonist, BJ Blazkowicz, we instead take on the roles as one of his twin daughters: Jess and Soph. The game offers a robust co-op with a friend or a stranger online which definitely adds to the experience.
However, despite its excellent technical foundation, the game is sadly dragged down a bit by the twin sisters themselves. Being a twin myself, I definitely recognise the strong bond between them and I do appreciate the attempt to go into new territory by featuring new protagonists. I honestly believe that a female protagonist would work amazingly in this universe.
The problem here is simply that I don't find the sisters enjoyable or even approachable. Rather, I found them quite annoying with their extreme "Yo bro! Dude, that's awesome, dude!" attitudes. I came to appreciate BJ's reflective nature in his comeback games, and I would have loved to see some of that in his daughters as well. Instead, they're continuously spouting one-liners during gameplay and cutscenes which sadly render them uninspired and cliché. At least so far. Things might change somewhere down the road, but for now I'm not connecting with either protagonist.
So, this leaves me with a strange experience: on a technical level, the game is an absolute joy and the gameplay mechanics are solid. Even though the video more than highlights my lack of skills, I had no issues with the controls. On the other hand are the twin sisters, who function as my gateway into the game, and I'm just not connecting with either one.
Can I recommend it? Well, it depends. And also keep in mind, that I haven't played more than what you're seeing. These are merely my immediate impressions and observations. But here goes: are you mostly into technical mechanics and gameplay elements then yes, you'll most definitely get a solid experience. But if you're interested in characters, storytelling and the narrative then you might be disappointed. However, it's available on Game Pass so I definitely recommend that you go on ahead and check it out if you're subscribed to that service.
The game was recorded directly on the console to an external HDD. No postwork has been done.