A fast-paced stealth/cover/run-and-gun that's surprisingly cinematic and story-dense. The combat sections are decently entertaining, and the plot makes the entire experience quite engaging. It's a complete experience, though it leans more on its atmosphere instead of its gameplay.


I'd say that Wolfenstein: The New Order feels like someone took the concept of Wolfenstein(the series), but rebooted it with the mindset of Metro 2033. It's a game that's acutely focused on its world and characters, and it frequently reinforces them with the use of cinematic events and cutscenes. For the most part, this works in the game's favor, as you're generally given plenty of reminders about your goals, empathy for who you are fighting for, and no remorse for whom you are killing.


As for the gameplay, there isn't really much to say about it. It's your usual area to area shooting. You clear one area, open a door, and then clear another. For some areas, you enter them in stealth mode, allowing you to trim down the herd of enemies before you engage in a formal firefight. The enemy usually has a few commanders, which can reinforce the area with additional troops if you are detected. You can choose to eliminate those commanders silently, making the proceeding firefight easier. Alternatively, you can charge in with dual machine guns and sort it out manually.

I will say that the difficulty of the combat is inconsistent at times. As mentioned before, there are several options for each combat encounter. Stealth through, run in guns blazing, or cover shooting and tactics. Depending on the encounter, one is preferable over the other. What's odd about it is that the game doesn't really telegraph which one is preferred for an area.

It's as if the game says, "Try whatever you want!", and then you run into the room with dual machine guns only to be annihilated by a heavy unit right around the corner. You might stealth into a section that has enemy units that can't be eliminated by stealth. You'll be using cover mechanics in a hallway, and your enemies can shoot straight through your cover. While trial and error can be great at times, the vast majority of my deaths came from these "Gotcha!" scenarios.

I guess my gripe is that, while I do agree that part of gaming is learning an encounter, many of these scenarios boiled down to hindsight. I'd invest several minutes into a firefight only to realize the path I chose and my style of play wasn't viable, and I don't have the resources or positioning to recover from my mistake. I suppose the developer wants me to try different styles of play, but this probably could have been handled with a positive reinforcement, rather than a negative one.


The game's atmosphere is that of a mild hyper-reality. Machismo is the word of law, and the more over the top you are, the less likely you are to see repercussions. The game bounces between realism and hyper-realism often, creating a slightly jarring tonal dissonance at times.

Sure, the game will wink and nod at how insane it is that the protagonist can get stabbed eight times and walk it off like it was nothing. However, it's one thing to ignore the fact that our main character can take hundreds of rounds of enemy fire and then eat dog food to heal it off. It's another when characters in-cutscene acknowledge you've been shot or stabbed, and treat it like its a big deal.

Countless times throughout the story, the protagonist gets strapped to a nazi torture chair or device, and is mutilated and tortured. I know I'm supposed to be afraid or appalled, but why should I be? My character(and secondary characters) can shrug off tranquilizers, fire, bullets, and stab wounds mid-cutscene. Even the ending feels somewhat odd, as the "finality"(no spoilers) of it doesn't seem realistic given how extremely resilient our protagonist is both in and out of cutscene.


That's where I feel the game takes a slight dive. There is nothing wrong with having cinematic events that strike a chord with the player. Heck, the mid-game twist in Bioshock 1 is legendary. The one with the hand in Bioshock Infinite is insignificant, but still memorable and effective. The one at the end of Dead Space 2 is another notable one.

However, Wolfenstein tries to do this too often and too intensely. Almost every level has some objective-triggered trap for you to fall into. As I mentioned before, most of them were just excuses to have torture scenes. You get stabbed so many times during cinematic events, that it loses a lot of its shock value. Even more insulting is that they are all mandatory. If I know this guy is hiding behind this door, can't I just bypass it? Do I have to fall for every trap?

Upon replaying the game for collectibles, I'd get to a section right before a cinematic event, trigger it, and then get up to get a drink. "Oh yeah, this is the unskippable part where they torture me for 3 minutes, time to get take a break."


Despite the gripes, it's still a good shooter. The variety in the gameplay, as well as the interesting narrative, makes the game a rather smooth experience. If you're looking for a shooter that's cinematic, then this is a good choice. If you're not interested in a story, and you just want long streams of uninterrupted shooting, then it's a toss up.


Steam Curator

[b]A fast-paced stealth/cover/run-and-gun that's surprisingly cinematic and story-dense. The combat sections are decently entertaining, and the plot makes the entire experience quite engaging. It's a complete experience, though it leans more on its atmosphere instead of its gameplay.[/b] I'd say that Wolfenstein: The New Order feels like someone took the concept of Wolfenstein(the series), but rebooted it with the mindset of Metro 2033. It's a game that's acutely focused on its world and characters, and it frequently reinforces them with the use of cinematic events and cutscenes. For the most part, this works in the game's favor, as you're generally given plenty of reminders about your goals, empathy for who you are fighting for, and no remorse for whom you are killing. As for the gameplay, there isn't really much to say about it. It's your usual area to area shooting. You clear one area, open a door, and then clear another. For some areas, you enter them in stealth mode, allowing you to trim down the herd of enemies before you engage in a formal firefight. The enemy usually has a few commanders, which can reinforce the area with additional troops if you are detected. You can choose to eliminate those commanders silently, making the proceeding firefight easier. Alternatively, you can charge in with dual machine guns and sort it out manually. I will say that the difficulty of the combat is inconsistent at times. As mentioned before, there are several options for each combat encounter. Stealth through, run in guns blazing, or cover shooting and tactics. Depending on the encounter, one is preferable over the other. What's odd about it is that the game doesn't really telegraph which one is preferred for an area. It's as if the game says, "Try whatever you want!", and then you run into the room with dual machine guns only to be annihilated by a heavy unit right around the corner. You might stealth into a section that has enemy units that can't be eliminated by stealth. You'll be using cover mechanics in a hallway, and your enemies can shoot straight through your cover. While trial and error can be great at times, the vast majority of my deaths came from these "Gotcha!" scenarios. I guess my gripe is that, while I do agree that part of gaming is learning an encounter, many of these scenarios boiled down to hindsight. I'd invest several minutes into a firefight only to realize the path I chose and my style of play wasn't viable, and I don't have the resources or positioning to recover from my mistake. I suppose the developer wants me to try different styles of play, but this probably could have been handled with a positive reinforcement, rather than a negative one. The game's atmosphere is that of a mild hyper-reality. Machismo is the word of law, and the more over the top you are, the less likely you are to see repercussions. The game bounces between realism and hyper-realism often, creating a slightly jarring tonal dissonance at times. Sure, the game will wink and nod at how insane it is that the protagonist can get stabbed eight times and walk it off like it was nothing. However, it's one thing to ignore the fact that our main character can take hundreds of rounds of enemy fire and then eat dog food to heal it off. It's another when characters in-cutscene acknowledge you've been shot or stabbed, and treat it like its a big deal. Countless times throughout the story, the protagonist gets strapped to a nazi torture chair or device, and is mutilated and tortured. I know I'm supposed to be afraid or appalled, but why should I be? My character(and secondary characters) can shrug off tranquilizers, fire, bullets, and stab wounds mid-cutscene. Even the ending feels somewhat odd, as the "finality"(no spoilers) of it doesn't seem realistic given how extremely resilient our protagonist is both in and out of cutscene. That's where I feel the game takes a slight dive. There is nothing wrong with having cinematic events that strike a chord with the player. Heck, the mid-game twist in Bioshock 1 is legendary. The one with the hand in Bioshock Infinite is insignificant, but still memorable and effective. The one at the end of Dead Space 2 is another notable one. However, Wolfenstein tries to do this too often and too intensely. Almost every level has some objective-triggered trap for you to fall into. As I mentioned before, most of them were just excuses to have torture scenes. You get stabbed so many times during cinematic events, that it loses a lot of its shock value. Even more insulting is that they are all mandatory. If I know this guy is hiding behind this door, can't I just bypass it? Do I have to fall for every trap? Upon replaying the game for collectibles, I'd get to a section right before a cinematic event, trigger it, and then get up to get a drink. "Oh yeah, this is the unskippable part where they torture me for 3 minutes, time to get take a break." Despite the gripes, it's still a good shooter. The variety in the gameplay, as well as the interesting narrative, makes the game a rather smooth experience. If you're looking for a shooter that's cinematic, then this is a good choice. If you're not interested in a story, and you just want long streams of uninterrupted shooting, then it's a toss up. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33370076/]Steam Curator[/url]