15 Risky AAA Games

Wolfenstein: The New Order

Wolfenstein is generally considered to be the granddaddy of first person shooters, and while the series enjoyed great critical acclaim in the 90s – it slowly and steadily faded into obscurity as it tried to play catch up to modern shooter trends. After failing to be relevant in the modern gaming landscape, Wolfenstein was put on a hold – that is until MachineGames’ The New Order came out in 2014.

This was a bold project that put the franchise back on the map. Wolfenstein: The New Order ditched the modern shooter formula completely and got rid of regenerating health bars, cover based shooting, and limited weapon loadouts for a blistering fast experience that dares you to clear your way to the objective by blasting your enemies with shotguns and rocket launchers.

The alternate history setting was the perfect setup for legitimizing this over-the-top action, but The New Story even managed to tell a gripping story that’s surprisingly emotional. Wolfenstein’s radical changes from modern FPS norms were a big risk that could have failed miserably, but it ended up being just the breath of fresh air that the genre needed.