Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus: an atypical but successful FPS!

Test of the single player FPS Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus released on PS4, Xbox One and PC in October 2017

The Wolfenstein series holds a special place among fans of old school FPS. Indeed, Wolfenstein 3D marked the history of video games in the early 90s. Developed by Id Software, it introduced many gameplay elements that would be reused in Doom a few years later. And we know the capital importance of this game, since FPS have long been called "Doom like", that is to say. Nowadays, the publisher Bethesda is happy to resurrect old licenses. We will think in particular of Fallout, but also of the FPS that made Id Software one of the most important developers of the 90s – 2000s. Doom was able to experience an excellent resurrection last year, and Quake Champions is currently in beta. But the series that interests us today was also able to provide a new opus: Wolfenstein The New Order, followed by a prequel: The Old Blood. Yes, but B.J. Blazkowicz is not done killing Nazi and is entitled to a new turn with Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus

A direct sequel

If you made The New Order (if not, watch out SPOILER), you left B.J. Blazkowicz dying with a final piece of bravery. Not so ultimate since his friends came to recover what was left of him and tried somehow to pick up the pieces. It is after a resolutely comatose ellipse that the tall blond (without black shoe) wakes up while it shoots everywhere in a submarine previously stung to the Nazis. No rest for the brave, it is in a wheelchair that you will defeat your first Nazis. This rather particular beginning sets the tone for the atmosphere that affirms a personality marked from the outset to this Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus.

An atmosphere tinged with grotesque

When I say grotesque, I mean in the first sense of the word. Indeed, the atmosphere will alternate between violence, humor, epic, and will sometimes rise to the grotesque that makes the universe perfectly offbeat. The wheelchair epic at the beginning will perfectly illustrate this atmosphere, and will show that this good William has not finished struggling. Moreover, which can be seen at first sight as a caricatured drunk, B.J. Blazkowicz does not forget to be nuanced at times, with desperate and melancholic expressions and the French dubbing of the legendary Patrick Poivey (French voice of Bruce WIllis) goes perfectly well with the character. He cannot stop the fight, but seems to be aware of only one possible outcome. The main protagonist does not seek victory, but is content to continue a fight that he cannot stop no matter what. On the enemy side, we are in front of a Frau Engel completely barred that would almost think of a joker under acid. The soldiers, on the other hand, seem to be puppets without personalities who laugh mechanically when it is necessary to laugh, and who execute orders in automatic mode. The grotesque reaches its climax in some creepy scenes, or surreal discussions, especially when Nazi Fraulein screams at his daughter because she eats too many cakes. Go ahead and enjoy yourself, it's not like you're attacking the resistance headquarters. But Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus doesn't just accumulate what the fuck like a Saints Row would, but juggles different registers brilliantly. A piece of bravery may be judiciously cut by comedy, or a predictable scene by something unexpected. Obviously, it is a question of playing with the clichés of war fictions imbued with patriotism and dismantling them. The story is therefore a success, a kind of UFO in the world of FPS, and comes out hands down helped by a unique atmosphere.

And the gameplay in all this?

Because we are not at Telltale, we do not just tell a story, but we leave to the player a gameplay to kill Nazis (the guilty pleasure of many people, we are not going to lie). Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is a nervous and well-dosed shooter. Of course, some scenes will ask you to shoot in the pile while advancing in a straight line, others will make you defend a place by dezinging Nazis in waves, but other passages will ask you to kill commanders first so that they do not trigger the alarm. It will then be necessary to exploit the level design to get out of it without too many bobos. The latter is quite successful overall, but it would have been good to vary the environments a little more. Because apart from a few more or less playable scenes (think of the one in the trailer, in the American city, with the Nazi at the bar), you will mostly walk through ruins and rather impersonal buildings. A bit of a shame, especially since the graphics are doing pretty well. Another element: the lack of variety of weapons. It is always possible to equip yourself with a weapon in each hand to vary a little, but overall nothing very crazy. The improvement of weapons by adding spare parts is quite basic, and will be content to make you install a scope or an improved magazine for example. Laser weapons being quite fun to play, we would have liked a little more original weapons to vary a little from the submachine gun or the sniper rifle. Also note that you will cross the game in an armor (a bit exoskeleton type) but that does not change much to the gameplay. A bit disappointing.

A fairly high challenge

If you are tired of FPS that we finish in 5 hours without too much trouble, do not worry: Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus should give you a little trouble. Even in normal, you can quite easily die by taking a few bullets by an average soldier (ein lambdaten zoldat?). If you are fond of challenge, the higher difficulties will offer you a fairly advanced challenge. Beyond that, the lifespan is quite average, especially since there is no ancillary mode to flesh out the experience a little. If you don't want to remake the game in higher difficulty, there's a good chance you'll not touch the game again once it's finished.

I see you coming: "There's no multi?". No, and that wasn't the point. Offering a unique atmosphere that brilliantly plays on the clichés of the genre, without totally switching to parody, Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus will make you follow endearing characters and will keep you on your toes if you hang on to the atmosphere a little special. On the FPS side, you will face Nazis in waves in an effective level design with a rather nervous gameplay. We will regret a little the lack of weapons, and the few defects of the gameplay. Despite these flaws, Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is living proof (well, encoded proof) that good single-player FPS can still be developed.

"By the way Mike, we're stupid, why do we still wear balaclavas since it's legal what we do?"