Cyberpilot’s campaign (if you can call it that) clocks in at under 2 hours, much of which is spent outside of the repurposed Nazi robots the game touts as its selling point. Before you get to make your way to any of the fun, Cyberpilot weighs the experience down with very obvious padding that sees you pulling various levers, pressing buttons, and swapping out chips on the Nazi robots before missions. One such segment has you swinging the Zitadelle around and removing pieces of shrapnel before you can finally move on to the mission, while another has you snapping a few pieces together on a gun before attaching it to a drone. And while these side-activities aren’t offensive independently, they serve to showcase just how little content Cyberpilot actually offers. Beyond these pre-mission activities, you spend less than an hour actually piloting the robots.

"Moving forward or backward is very smooth, but looking right or left is done through snapping, causing a noticeable clipping effect."

Once you push past the padding, you do eventually get to pilot a mechanical dog called a Panzerhund, a small hacking drone, and a giant mech called a Zitadelle. Each has their own brief tutorial and a short mission, and then a final mission brings them all together for about ten minutes worth of additional gameplay. Luckily, these snappy little missions are definitely the best of what Cyberpilot has to offer, but that’s not to say they’re all particularly compelling either.

Each robot has two main abilities assigned to L2 and R2 and a third special ability that is performed by hitting a button to the left of your vision in-game. Additionally, by moving the controller a bit to the right, you can attach it to healing connection and watch as a group of drones descend from above and fix up any damage you’ve taken. Having this little snap-in so close to the general aiming area sometimes caused me to accidentally connect to it and begin healing during a shootout, however, creating a lot of frustration and forcing me to hold my controller awkwardly to the left a bit to avoid it.

You’re free to look around at the destroyed Neu-Paris as you walk through its impressively-detailed areas, and the game features mostly fluid locomotion. Moving forward or backward is very smooth, but looking right or left is done through snapping, causing a noticeable clipping effect. It’s a common camera control choice in VR games, and while it’s not that big of a deal, it’s nevertheless immersion-breaking. Still, considering how many VR games opt for teleportation, I was happy to see that I had freedom to move about in a mostly fluid manner.

Each mission offers a quick romp through a section of Neu-Paris, with perhaps the least enjoyable and most straight-forward being the first of the three – the Panzerhund. I had hoped to feel powerful as I wreaked havoc with the Panzerhund, especially since their presence in the core series is usually one worth fearing. But despite its flamethrower and forward dash ability, the mechanical canine never feels all that good to play. Movement is extremely slow, and since the game’s enemies essentially just stand still and let you kill them, it all ends up feeling bland and uninspired. Seeing as the Panzerhund mission is easily the shortest of the bunch and it’s barely used during the final mission, it’s not unrealistic to assume that the developers were well aware that this was the weakest of the bunch.

Luckily, it’s all over within a few minutes and you’re soon tasked with building a zapping gun to attaching to a small drone. The mission that follows is probably Cyberpilot’s best, opting for a stealth-oriented focus as you fly effortlessly through an interior of a building hacking computers and disintegrating Nazis. The special cloaking ability allows for a bit of leeway to the already forgiving navigation and AI, and sneaking up behind a group of Nazis too explode them with a zap is satisfying. The quick and simple hacking mini-game is used repetitively, but it at least engages you by having you twist and turn your controller and then hold it at the right spot much like unlocking a master lock in real life.

"If you’re itching for a good time with a Wolfenstein game, you’re better off snagging Youngblood and skipping over this tech demo."

The Zitadelle is probably the most traditional of the robots, and its mission is mostly just pure destruction. It’s simple but effective, and blowing up giant mechs with your machinegun and rockets feels good in action. A shield ability rounds things out, but I honestly forgot to even use it thanks to the fact that you can usually just stand still and heal in the open as needed thanks to the aforementioned brain-dead AI. I enjoyed little features like shooting down zeppelins from the sky, and the resulting explosion and descent are visual treats in VR.

But like all of the missions, it’s all over just as you get comfortable with the controls and feel zoned in, and the finale wraps up just as quickly, leaving you with the feeling that you just played through a tutorial. What little narrative ties it all together is doled out through forgettable dialogue over a com, but while it’s all fairly barebones, I at least respected the way it ties one of the main missions so tightly to a latter area of Youngblood, all the way down to layout of the level itself.

There are no collectibles to uncover, no side-missions to undertake, and the three difficulties don’t really change the fact that the game is a breeze to power through in a single sitting. A couple of trophies on its short list to the platinum offer a bit of incentive to replay missions if you’re a trophy hunter, but for the rest of us there’s literally nothing else to do.

All of this leaves Cyberpilot feeling unnecessary in every way. I can’t help but feel like the game could’ve functioned much better as either an add-on for a core entry in the series or a tutorial for a longer experience. As it stands, even the asking price of $19.99 feels a little pricey for what you’re getting from Cyberpilot. If you’re itching for a good time with a Wolfenstein game, you’re better off snagging Youngblood and skipping over this tech demo.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

Wolfenstein is about to see not one, but two new releases very soon, with the co-op-focused (but can also be played solo) Wolfenstein: Youngblood and the virtual reality title Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot. The official Wolfenstein Twitter page has now confirmed that both games have gone gold.

This means that both first person shooter have officially wrapped up development. This doesn’t mean that MachineGames (and also Arkane Studios, who are co-developing Youngblood) will have stopped work on the two altogether- they’ll likely still be ironing out bugs and kinks, which will take the form of patches and updates- but principle development is now complete, and both games are now being pressed onto discs.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood sees players taking on the role of either Jess or Soph, the twin daughters of series protagonist BJ Blazcowicz, as they head to Paris in 1980 in search of their father, who’s MIA. The game can be played co-op, with one player controlling each sister, however the entire campaign can also be played solo, with the other sister being AI-controlled. With roughly 25-30 hours of content, it’s promising to be the biggest Wolfenstein game to date.

Meanwhile Cyberpilot is a VR first person shooter set between Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus and Youngblood. Players take on the role of a hacker in the French Resistance. The game is rails free and offers full mobility, allowing for a full-fledged first person shooter experience in virtual reality.

Both Youngblood and Cyberpilot are out on July 26, with the former being available on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC, and the latter releasing for HTC Vive and PSVR. Minimum and recommended PC system requirements for Youngblood were also recently revealed- take a look through here.

#Wolfenstein: Youngblood and Cyberpilot have gone gold! Check out the PC specs and preload & unlock details: https://t.co/NNLp6xHQ3w pic.twitter.com/udOvwpakrq

— Wolfenstein (@wolfenstein) July 11, 2019

July 26 will be a big day for Wolfenstein fans. Not only is Wolfenstein: Youngblood launching then, but VR fans get their own unique VR exclusive in Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot.

Bethesda has confirmed that the game will launch on that day, with a Steam listing for the title going up (as promised by Bethesda, their games on PC will be launching on Steam). The title is apparently going to be $20, and at least at launch, it seems like it may be PC VR exclusive (at the very least, Amazon has not updated the release date for the PlayStation VR version of it yet).

Personally, given the frenetic first person shooting action Wolfenstein games provide, I would love to be able to see this in VR myself. I can only hope the translation to the format captures more of the essence of the base game than DOOM VFR managed, with its neutered movement options.

Welcome to the 1980s. Fight against the Nazi regime in #Wolfenstein: Youngblood and Cyberpilot on 7/26! pic.twitter.com/EQ925vEgwn

— Bethesda (@bethesda) March 27, 2019

Taking a leaf out of Microsoft’s book, Bethesda has announced on Twitter that, in addition to offering its eagerly anticipated upcoming games on its own Bethesda.Net launcher, it will also be offering them on Steam. This means that Wolfenstein: Youngblood, RAGE 2, and yes, DOOM Eternal, will all be coming to Steam.

Additionally, Bethesda also confirmed its intent to launch Fallout 76 on Steam later this year, while noting that Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot, the VR Wolfenstein game, will be coming to Steam as well.

This is all around good news. Bethesda’s launcher has been besought with issues, and those would likely have kept a lot of PC gamers away, meaning that a lot of Bethesda’s games would have seen their sales performance capped if Bethesda hadn’t decided to capitulate. Bringing Fallout 76 to Steam is also good news, because, again, it means that game has a chance at a larger audience. In the end, being available on multiple launchers just means more choice for customers—no one should have any issues with that.

We’re pleased to announce that RAGE 2, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot, and DOOM Eternal will be released on Steam as well as https://t.co/p0BARqmTBp. We will also be bringing Fallout 76 to Steam later this year.

— Bethesda (@bethesda) March 25, 2019

Fallout and The Elder Scrolls publisher Bethesda Softworks has announced a new office opening in Moscow, Russia. The new office will help with Bethesda’s current roster of games, and presumably with future titles. Simeon Chirikov is managing director, and along with experience at Electronic Arts, he’s also worked at Wargaming, which developed the popular World of Tanks.

The Moscow office will have other functions – along with overseeing sales in Russia and CIS, it will also handle marketing. In a recent statement, Bethesda Europe managing director Sean Brennan stated, “The opening of the office in Moscow is a very exciting moment for Bethesda.

“We have an incredible roster of upcoming games including Fallout 76, The Elder Scrolls: Blades, RAGE 2, Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot, Wolfenstein: Youngblood and DOOM Eternal, as well as a number of live titles that continue to perform well including The Elder Scrolls Online, Quake Champions, and The Elder Scrolls: Legends. Simeon’s extensive knowledge of the Russian and CIS markets will help us to maximize and deliver upon all these titles’ potential.”

This will be Bethesda’s ninth office worldwide, joining key publishing locations like London, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Sydney, and so on. Currently, Bethesda Game Studios is working on Fallout 76, which will be going into beta on October 23rd for Xbox One and October 30th for PS4 and PC. The game will officially launch on November 14th, but the studio also has Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 in development for the future.

Though Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot was mentioned briefly during Bethesda’s E3 2018 conference, it did finally release a trailer today. This is a virtual reality title in development for PlayStation VR and PC. As the name indicates, players will assume the role of a French resistance hacker controlling various Nazi machines to dismantle the Reich. Check it out below.

Taking place two decades after Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus in 1980s Paris (the same setting for the recently announced Wolfenstein: Youngblood), the trailer showcases a Panzerhund under the player’s control. Breathing fire, ramming enemies and throwing objects is all in a day’s work. However, near the end of the trailer, a Zitadelle – the giant robot from The New Colossus – is also teased.

Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot is slated to release in 2019. Wolfenstein: Youngblood will also release next year but is a traditional shooter for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. A version for the Nintendo Switch has also been rumoured.

Bethesda has been a pioneer of bringing full fledged AAA experiences to VR over the last few years, and it will be continuing that stream this year with limited VR compatibility for Prey and Woflenstein 2: The New Colossus.

Let’s get Prey out of the way first- the Typhon Hunter mode that will be a part of the future update for the game, which basically sees you trying to hunt Typhons mimicking potentially anything around you (so a canonized form of Prop Hunter), will be playable in VR. Some form of single player mode will also be made playable in VR, but the exact specifics of that are unknown.

As for Wolfenstein 2, it will get a brand new VR mode, Cyberpilot, where you can hack into Nazi mech suits and war machines and set them against the Nazis themselves. That’s one way to take on Nazis in VR, then! Both VR updates will be available later in the year.