Thank you Signo Vir for gifting us this game to review!

Wolfenstein 3D popularized first person shooters when it debuted in 1992.  The main character and US soldier, BJ Blazkowicz was a one-man army that pummeled the Nazi regime in their fortress, Castle Wolfenstein.   Wolfenstein: The New Order is a soft reboot that takes place in 1946 where the U.S. soldiers were out-gunned and outclassed against the high-tech weaponry of Nazi Germany.  The main character, William J Blazkowicz, is incapacitated in battle and recovers fourteen years later in a mental hospital.  The world he knew and fought for has utterly changed as the Nazis have won the war and now rule the world.  William re-kindles his hatred for the Nazis and vows to rescue any US survivors and will kill any Nazi that gets between him and the resistance. 

Like many 3D first person shooters, there are plenty of weapons at your disposal and the ability to dual wield knives, handguns, and machine guns is great as long as you have enough ammunition on hand.    Playing this game on the “Don’t Hurt Me” difficulty provided ample amounts of health, armor, and ammunition drops.  This game will shame you for playing on the easiest difficulty “Can I Play Daddy?” and makes you feel guilty when exiting the game by making you confirm that you are a “weenie”.

The language in the game is far worse than “weenie” though. Every word in the book is used including the F bomb and the Lord’s name is taken in vain on several occasions.  There are some Christian friendly moments where a family is shown praying and the main character, William Blazkowicz, states that he believes in God when talking to a Jewish prisoner who is questioning his faith.  While those are some redeeming moments in the game, it still has many moral issues including: rape, consensual sex, abortion, drug use, and lots and lots of blood and violence.

The ID 5 engine is used in this game and the graphics are phenomenal.  The character models look amazing and gruesome when needed.  There are two story branches in this game that hinge on which character you let live early on in the game.  Each timeline has sixteen chapters and completing one of them took me less than ten hours to do.   Playing the other branch and trying out the harder difficulty modes will extend the gameplay further.

Besides having a ton of Nazis to kill, each level has several items to locate and unlock better weapons, armor, and game modes.  By collecting multiple enigma codes throughout the levels I was able to unlock a retro game mode that resembled the classic 1992 version of the game.  There are Steam achievements for locating all of the hidden letters, gold, and for unlocking various perks.

While most of this game revolves around killing Nazis, you get to do so in many interesting locations including prison fortresses, underwater, and even on the moon!  With the help of stolen technology, the Nazis have constructed many impressive buildings and technological marvels.  All of which you get to destroy!

The Nazis are appropriately vilified, while the characters in the resistance are unique and have various side quests to get to know them better.  I learned the hard way that progressing the story does not give you a chance to complete many side quests, so be sure to do those first.  One of the resistance members takes a liking to William Blazkowicz and a couple of unavoidable sex scenes are shown as a result.  Plenty of skin is shown, but not graphic details.  

If you don’t mind the sex scenes, gratuitous violence, and strong language, Wolfenstein: The New Order provides a good story and plenty of adrenaline pumping action. Nearly two years after its release the asking price is still $60 which is rather steep for a ten-hour game.  It has been on sale for $20 or less and for that price it’s worth getting if the previously mentioned issues mentioned don’t bother you.