Wolfenstein: Youngblood is looking like it’s going to be a pretty different experience from MachineGames’ previous Wolfenstein titles. Not only because it’s set several years after The New Colossus and features different protagonists, but also because it’s promising a different brand of gameplay, one that’s much more open ended and allows for greater freedom in terms of exploration and side activities.
What’s also interesting is that it’s being co-developed by Arkane Studios, developers of Prey (2017) and the Dishonored games, and it seems their influence is certainly going to show. Speaking with the Official PlayStation Magazine in their July 2019 issue (Issue 162), executive producer Jerk Gustafsson revealed that the game’s level design will have many similarities with what you’d remember from the Dishonored titles.
He said: “I think players will see a lot of similarities to level design in the Dishonored games, so in that sense it can be a little bit different as an experience but it can be for the benefit of the game, especially when it comes to finding different ways of approaching a combat scenario or a mission in general.”
Gustafsson also spoke about the content on offer in the game, and its focus on story. He said that though the developers have still focused on story the way they had in previous Wolfenstein titles, the amount of story material in Youngblood is less than its predecessors, since the game is now much more open ended. As a result, though, while story content is shorter, the overall gameplay time is greater, with a lot more side activities and side quests than previous Wolfenstein games.
“The open-ended structure and co-op aspect has made it a little more difficult when it comes to the narrative,” he said. “We do think we have a strong story, but it’s quite different from what we have done before; it’s a little bit lighter, not only in tone but also when it comes to the amount of content, and I think that’s the big change when it comes to previous titles: the campaign is a bit shorter but the amount of gameplay time is greater.”
“Players will be able to stay in the game for a long time,” he continued. “We’ll add additional side-missions and new challenges once the campaign is completed. There’s a lot more activities and side-missions that you can do in Wolfenstein: Youngblood than in previous Wolfenstein games.”
Wolfenstein: Youngblood is out on July 26 for the PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch. The game’s Switch version is being handled by port wizards Panic Button.