Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

There is severe view bobbing while walking, running and turning. It's not possible to disable it in settings, nor did the third-party hacking tool work for me to solve this problem.

I may be biased because I'm impressed with how Machine Games/Bethesda handled this reboot in nearly every way, but I enjoyed this oddball of a sequel. It's not quite what you expect, for better or for worse. It has a "pull the floor out from under you" moment just like the previous two, but they maybe step a little too far into "comic-book realism" territory for some... still, not so much that you can't get used to it. Some people gripe but the overall game has an interesting design in that the "story" part is essentially half (or even a third?) of the game - it's a fairly quick sequel story, followed by simple "assassinate key nazis" missions which although is a fun concept could have been designed better (they basically reuse location maps from the main game but you go through them backwards). It's repetitive but fun enough if you just feel like blowing nazis away. The DLCs are actually OK, although like the main game they don't have perfect writing. You get to play a different character in each one, and again, although the concept is kind of cool, it isn't perfectly executed. (And the first DLC has a weird glitch that corrupts the save game at a certain point, so watch out for that). Overall, I think in an effort to make a fresh new experience for the franchise, they maybe tried too hard and it is spread thin in areas. This game is all over the place and if you're looking for an experience like the previous two, this isn't it, but for people who are completionists and/or dig the story, definitely get it. It's not as bad as all that.

As I continued to play the game I went from giving the game a 4 1/2 star rating to a one star rating because of the large number of lengthy cut scenes and the over done drama they contained. I quit the game halfway through because I couldn’t stand it anymore. The time that went into making all those cut scenes with their over done drama would’ve been better spent on better action play which got to be too repetitive.

To this day, The New Colossus suffers from a mixed-to-negative reputation, which I think is mostly unwarranted: it’s a really fun game. Granted, it has its flaws. I agree with the common criticism that the tone is... all over the place. While previous games managed to struck a delicate balance between pulpy antics and crude depictions of Nazi atrocities, in TNC, it’s not uncommon to have a really bleak and shocking scene followed by toilet humor: not the best way to handle this story, plus the cutscenes can’t be skipped. Still, it’s well-written. The characters are fun, the dialogues are solid and the worldbuilding is good. It also looks pretty great. TNC’s game design also has its faults : some levels feel too short and the path you need to take to progress can be unclear. There are too many stealth sequences, and they are way more frustrating than they were in The New Order. As for the assassination missions, they feel like an excuse to recycle levels - but they’re mercifully optional and basically amount to bonus content. Still, the shooting mechanics definitely redeem the game. The gunplay has been enhanced and made even more satisfying than in previous entries : besides the slightly improved controls, you can now wield two different guns at the same time, all weapons have good upgrade options, the perk system is more streamlined, and the heavily armored enemies are much less of a pain to deal with. Overall, the way the movements and guns handle is incredible, and resonates well with the level design and the enemies. Most combat areas are a blast to shoot your way through, with good cover and enemy placements as well as multiple pathways to exploit: you are encouraged to stay mobile and there’s a weapon for each situation, which I think was lacking from The New Order and is the mark of a great shooter. While I understand some of the hate towards TNC, I genuinely think it’s underrated and an extremely fun FPS game. Get it on sale and see for yourself.

it's a game where you kill nazis in increasingly interesting and fun ways in between cutscenes that drive a story. if you want to slaughter hordes of nazis, buy this game. if you love nazis and don't like slaughtering hordes of them, then you probably shouldn't buy this game.