Gaming

‘Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus’ Is Going To Start A Lot Of Conversations


Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is going to get people talking. The follow-up to 2014’s Wolfenstein: The New Order, a reboot of the classic first-person shooter series that started the overwhelming FPS rush of the early ’90s, is also going to start a lot of arguments. In fact, it already has. For some reason, MachineGames’ marketing tagline of “Make America Nazi-Free Again” is controversial among a certain demographic (Nazi sympathizers).

If the group of people that finds butchering Nazis by the hundreds offensive ends up playing the astonishingly beautiful and incredibly brutal action game, they’re going to starting up hashtag boycott campaigns as if “Crooked Hillary” funded the title. Nevermind that the game, at a fundamental level, is excellent, it’s just that Wolfenstein 2 makes its universe uncomfortably clear: There is no room for centrists. A line has been drawn, and in the United States of Germany, sides must be picked. You’re either learning your German, or you’re a terrorist.

The sequel ups the ante of its prequel in every way — the game is weirder, more violent, prettier, and far more unforgiving in its portrayal of a country that not only lost WWII, but slowly accepted Nazism with a tired shrug.

Before we get into the spoiler-heavy subtext of the game’s plot — something that’s inspired the phrase “SJW” to be thrown around in an alarming amount of user reviews, we’ll put it simply: If you enjoyed The New Order’s over the top alternate-reality featuring a Nazi helmet full of brains and ultraviolence, The New Colossus is for you. If you’re looking for a triple-A single-player experience, a thing that’s rapidly disappearing from the gaming industry, The New Colossus is for you. If watching videos of current white supremacists/Nazis getting punched upside the head elicits a furious cheer from your squeaky office chair, The New Colossus is for you.

Spoilers

Wolfenstein II is going to make people uncomfortable in ways that sadly seem more relevant than ever. In 1960s America, most of the citizens on the periphery are oblivious to what the occupation of Germany is ultimately leading to — mass genocide and the eradication of anyone the Nazi regime considers an “undesirable.” Newspaper articles and letters strewed throughout the game paint a picture of exhaustion and complacency by the American citizens, mixed in with some good ol’ boy righteousness. The Nazis gave the South to the KKK to govern, but that doesn’t stop the Reich from mocking white-hooded yokels with terrible German accents.

And the German soldiers themselves are consistently painted as real, terrible people. The satire is on the nose, yes, but the conversations between Nazi cannon fodder you can listen in on paint a picture of terrible people who believe they’re doing the right thing. It’s those terrorists, the Black Liberation Front, the Jews, and Terror-Billy BJ Blaskowicz who is making the world a more dangerous place. Winners write the history books indeed.

Beyond the social commentary, the game allows for multiple playthroughs via pathing decisions that we won’t give away here, but the decisions you do make do send ripples throughout the game. Unfortunately, it seems like MachineGames and Bethesda are either playing a little sly on the whole “we didn’t expect this to be so relevant” thing or they really backed into something worthy of serious discussion — the debasing of social justice, slowly being chipped away by a government infested by white supremacists. It hits close to home.

Unfortunately, the title seems to want gamers to take down this commentary with a spoonful of sugar: Fart jokes. The shifts in tone are often jarring and poorly paced, with FPS tropes that have existed since the dawn of the first person shooter consistently rearing their tired head. Ludonarrative dissonance is a conflict between a video game’s narrative and its gameplay, and Wolfenstein 2 makes some good examples of what not to do in a game anymore. Can anyone explain why Blaskowicz would stop to read a letter or a newspaper in the middle of a firefight as bullets whizz past his head? If the only way you can get a plot across is with cutscenes and jarring exposition found on pieces of paper, then go back to 2006.

In the span of a few hours, you’ll hear the n-word, as a young BJ, you’re forced to (potentially) kill your dog, your Jewish mother is beaten by your white supremacist father whose business is failing — which he blames on everything from his son being “sweet on a black girl” to Jews (sound familiar?) — to dance parties, pig rides and sex in a submarine. It’s like someone farted on a pool of blood then laughed at the ripples.

So what this game isn’t, despite its promises, is a shooter pushing the genre forward. There are a lot of technical issues that rear their head like the old game —picking up items is a slog and slow. Going around, picking up ammo and armor seems more passé by the year, and it’s difficult to figure out where you need to go. The game is also damn hard, mostly be narrative design. BJ is a broken man in the beginning and stuck at 50 health which can lead to some frustration with the weak aim assist on the console versions of the game. It’s interesting plot-wise, but in practice, you’ll need to turn up your analog sensitivity, lower the difficulty and inch your way through by scum saving.

So for as gorgeous as the game is, and as fun as it is to chop a Nazi’s legs off while spouting a one-liner, the game is ultimately made for white males who want to shoot things. Just like every shooter ever. Therein lies the irony. There are boxes checked — powerful women, social commentary, and multiple #Resistance fist pump moments — but for every interesting wrinkle in a gaming genre that’s been tired for years, there’s wonky pacing, poor character development (or development that comes too late), and mechanics that feel like they’ve been around since the dawn of gaming themselves, except sloppier. If I run over some armor, let me pick it up. And why can I wear a supersuit of armor and take damage so easily anyway?

Also, BJ is Jewish, but he looks like an Aryan god. It feels like for as “woke” as this game wants to be, it’s still all about the White Savior™.

Additionally, there are a few meta moments that really push the boundaries of game narrative that I won’t spoil for you, but the game also has a habit of falling into line and not taking a shooter fan out of their comfort zone. Kill. Kill. Kill. Thoughtful comment, fart joke. Kill. Kill. Kill.

Ultimately, I love every facet of this game individually, but as a whole, it can be boring and eye-rolling at times. The graphics push modern, non-Xbox One X and PS4 Pro consoles to the limit at a smooth 60 FPS, it has an interesting plot that, when it wants to, is in your face with some pertinent things to say. But when you dig down deep, it just seems that Wolfenstein 2 really wants to let you know that it has a black friend.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is now available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

This review was provided a review code for the game by the publisher.