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Wolfenstein: The New Order was a revelation when it burst onto the scene way back in 2014. Nobody expected anything from MachineGames’ new take on the series that so many had tried and failed to bring back to life over the years. What chance did this brand-new studio have of turning a series all about killing Nazis in the most generic ways possible into something compelling? Turns out a pretty big one, since it knocked it out of the park.
New Order introduced us to a new version of legendary protagonist BJ Blazkowicz, who had so many personal reasons to despise the Nazi regime, rather than just slaughtering them without remorse. Which is also totally cool — because f**k Nazis — but by having this man serve in the war, lose, and be forced to watch his country slowly surrender to fascism as he was powerless to stop, it meant we had a personal reason to fight back. You cared about his character, the people he met, and the world he was trying to save.
MachineGames continued this streak of excellence with New Colossus in 2017, pushing the story and characters into a new decade as Nazis began to integrate themselves into normal everyday life. Fighting back as normal citizens was becoming harder than ever before, which meant Blazkowicz and company had to form a resistance designed to strike at the very heart of Hitler’s regime. Another excellent shooter with one of the best solo campaigns of the time, and since then we have yet to receive a direct continuation.
Why MachineGames Jumped The Shark With Wolfenstein Youngblood
Then along came Youngblood in 2019, a joint effort between MachineGames and Arkane Studios which pushed the timeline forward several decades with BJ now having two twin daughters called Jessie and Zofia, who had predictably been raised to despise the fascist menace as much as their parents.
Gameplay became less of a solo effort focused on story and more of a co-op campaign where weapons, perks, and damage numbers took priority. Playing together with a friend was fun, as were levels which took inspiration from incredible immersive sims like Dishonored and Prey, but at the same time, it felt like a betrayal of what the first two games did so well: linear yet compelling blockbusters about fighting against an impossible enemy with a small yet beloved cast of characters.
MachineGames told NoClip in an interview last year that Wolfenstein was always envisioned as a trilogy, with Youngblood viewed as a side project of sorts.
By moving the universe forward by several decades and revealing that Adolf Hitler died at some point and yet the Nazi regime remains, you neuter almost everything New Order and Colossus were building towards. The bizarre sequel seemed more interested in trying to capitalise on co-op gameplay trends at the time instead of being a great experience on its own terms. Fan sentiment was predictably lukewarm, and half a decade later people rarely speak about Youngblood on glowing terms. People want Wolfenstein 3, and fortunately, it seems MachineGames is working on exactly that as its next project.
Little is known about the game right now. It hasn’t even been officially announced, and the developer only just released the final DLC for Indiana Jones and The Great Circle. But I still can’t help but speculate about what form this sequel might take. If the studio is willing to take risks and put this series on the right track, it would treat the events of Youngblood as non-canon and produce a direct -up to New Colossus. I assumed that was the plan all along, considering how the second game concludes with a wonderful cliffhanger that shows how BJ and company are ready and willing to fight back against the Nazis.
And How It Can Right The Ship With Wolfenstein 3
Spoiler warning for a game that came out almost a decade ago, but New Colossus ends with BJ and the resistance storming a Hollywood recording studio where Nazi Commander Irene Engel is appearing on a talk show. You murder her in front of the entire nation and kickstart a revolution across the United States, and at the same time slaughter her ubercommanders to ensure that nobody else can rise up in their place. The revolution unfolds across the credits, but we don’t take part in it ourselves. This ending feels like the start of something, the seed of a larger war across the entire world we were destined to take part in ourselves.
A lot of people were slightly bummed out that we didn’t end up fighting Mechahitler at the end of New Colossus, but given the Fuhrer’s ailing health, all the pieces are in place to make it a reality in Wolfenstein 3.
This would be the perfect means to kick off Wolfenstein 3. Put us in the midst of an ongoing revolution across America and ask us to help spread that ideology further all while Hitler desperately tries to restore order from his lofty base on the Moon. Nukes could end up being dropped as mechs are built, and the fascists do everything in their power to try to put down the common people. But just like in real life, we’ll always be there to fight back.
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Wolfenstein 3 will be a fascinating game to witness in the modern political era for a number of reasons, but putting that comparison aside, I want to see this narrative have a chance to reach a conclusion we’ve been waiting almost a decade for. Youngblood killed its momentum and made me stop caring about a world that once had so much potential, and now the folks at MachineGames have a chance to restore that faith and deliver a masterpiece.
