Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus Review (Mangovník)
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is a good game, but unfortunately, it doesn't quite hold up to the previous entries in the reboot.
The main issue for me is the story. The previous games maintained a consistently heavy tone throughout. While Wolfenstein II has some strong moments and isn't bad overall, it's frequently diluted by unnecessary comedic relief and other nonsense that breaks the immersion.
Next is the perk system, which I've never particularly enjoyed in any Wolfenstein game. The least offensive version was in The Old Blood, where the system featured only a few perks that were easy to complete (and since the game was shorter, this made sense). However, Wolfenstein II has the worst iteration of the perk system: kill 100 Nazis in this specific way, 500 Nazis in another way, 50 more in yet another way, and so on. Many of these challenges force you into gameplay decisions that feel bad and disrupt the flow of combat. An upgrade system is a good idea, but completing uninspired achievements that feel copy-pasted from an MMO is not.
Navigating the levels was intuitive in the previous games. If I got lost, a quick glance at the map would help me get back on track—I always knew where the level was leading me. In Wolfenstein II, however, I had the exact opposite experience. It was often unclear where I was supposed to go. Pressing G (a hotkey that highlights your next objective) usually didn't show anything useful, and when it did, the indicator often blended into the background. In the hub area, I frequently found myself running in circles, struggling to find my objective. The map, which used to take up the entire screen in previous games, is now just a small square. To make matters worse, the same hotkey (J) is used to access the map and all other menus (perks, collectibles, etc.), and the game decides which menu to open. Did you just pick up a useless collectible and want to open the map? Too bad! You have to look at the list of collectibles first.
Speaking of menus, they look worse than in previous games. The older titles had clear menus that made it easy to find the information you needed. In Wolfenstein II, the UI feels like it blends together, and I found it hard to focus on specific elements. The new white paper theme is also worse than the red interface from previous games—it just doesn't feel as clean and informative.
But it's not all gloom and doom. The gunplay and moment-to-moment gameplay are still GREAT. The soundtrack is also fantastic—I just wish it were given more prominence in the game.