A chip off the old block, I’m glad that Wolfenstein goes all out with its arcade influences. When you find yourself mowing down space Nazis on the moon with dual assault rifles, you know you’re not playing Battlefield anymore. On that, the combat is pretty quality. Nothing crazy or trailblazing here, but I’ll give bonus kudos for allowing all weapon types to be dual-wielded. My only gripe is they could have mayhaps made the shooting and movement a little more weighty. I know they’re emulating legacy titles, but at further distances and with the larger enemy health pools it was hard to tell if I was doing any damage before they keeled over.

The story was fine, some more character development would have been preferred. It’s Wolfenstein though so it’s no big deal. I mean the main enemy is named Deathshead, so the game’s not afraid to lean into its aesthetic. It embraces its narrative tropes and cliches just as it should. The choice in the intro mission to save one ally was an interesting quandary. I’m not sure the game needed it and I’m skeptical of its effect on the story, but it warrants another play before I decide on that. One thing I can get on board with is how they integrated the cutscenes. They’re short, load ultra-quick, and flow into the gameplay flawlessly. It helps break up the larger cutscenes with smaller transitions into the next objective.

This historical what-if is far from realistic, yet I couldn’t help but be absorbed by the little newspaper articles and written blurbs about how drastically different the world is from our own. Like seeing the rest of the game, it’s an unserious glimpse of a worst-case scenario where you're the best and only man that can fix it through stoic strength and rippling patriotism. Wolfenstein is a power fantasy inside and out. One that I think sticks the landing. Just know that what you see is what you get. That being a whole can of cathartic whoop-ass on some Nazi clowns.