Wolfenstein: Youngblood

Wolfenstein: Youngblood is a co-op action shooter set in 1980s Paris, developed by MachineGames alongside Arkane Studios. You play as Jess or Soph Blazkowicz, daughters of series veteran BJ, hunting for their missing father through a Nazi-occupied city. The setup is fun on paper, and the buddy-action tone is a genuine tonal shift from the heavy, cinematic single-player entries in the franchise. Structurally, though, this is less of a straight shooter and more of a loot-lite RPG, and that distinction matters a lot depending on what you came here for. The co-op is the clear reason to show up. Online two-player co-op works well mechanically: you can revive each other, share resources, and coordinate ability use across the two sisters, who each carry different power suits with distinct ability trees. Jess leans into stealth and agility; Soph can take more punishment up front. Swapping roles or doubling up on a playstyle both work. The problem is that the game is balanced almost exclusively around co-op, and the solo experience with an AI partner feels noticeably worse. There is no local split-screen, which is a real miss for a game selling itself on the buddy dynamic. The RPG layer is where opinions split hard. Enemies have visible health bars and level brackets, and if you walk into an area above your current power level, bullets feel like they barely connect. Longtime Wolfenstein fans expecting the chunky, immediate gunfeel of The New Order or The New Colossus are going to bounce off this fast. If you can accept the grind and treat it more like a co-op RPG shooter in the vein of Borderlands-lite, the loop of unlocking new abilities, upgrading weapons, and clearing mission districts has reasonable momentum. The Paris hub itself is decent to explore, though it feels smaller and less reactive than it probably should. The writing is where the game struggles most. The sisters are trying to carry a tone that is lighter and more comedic than the rest of the series, but the script does not fully land the jokes, and some of the voice-acted banter gets repetitive quickly after a few hours. The villain setup is thin, and the story wraps up feeling like a side chapter rather than something with real stakes. The Nazis-as-enemy design is reliably satisfying to shoot, at least, and the weapon variety, including the Laser, Plasma, and Auto weapon categories that each suit different playstyles, gives you enough options to keep gunfights from going stale. At its best, Wolfenstein: Youngblood is a serviceable weekend co-op game for two friends who want something with more structure than a pure shooter but do not need deep narrative payoff. At its worst, it is a frustrating level-gated grind that strips away what made the mainline games feel great. The Mixed Steam reviews with under half positive ratings reflect a genuinely divided player base, and that split is fair. Go in with the right expectations, bring a friend online, and you will probably have an okay time. Go in expecting a true Wolfenstein sequel and you will be disappointed well before the credits roll.

Riley · Scout Team

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