I can NOT justify anyone paying full retail for a Sorry, bland, version of the same game from, back in 2018... Screw that Noise... Speaking of Sorry... let's get on with this review. I should put into this review the same amount of effort they put into making this, grade D quality game.... but, the review would of been done with that first line of text.
I feel like the team behind this games creation, didn't even wanna do this. but, Bethesda made them do it anyway... like a drunk, stepdad telling the kids to chop firewood and, mow in 4 plus acre lawn, in the midsummer, in 109 degree heat...
To be blunt, the game is not good... Let me explain why. Starting with the change up to the formula and overall vibe of the game... That is cool the story is set in 80's Paris and, they tried to make it more open world... However, you wouldn't pick up on that because, most of the Nazis you in encounter are robotic or, wearing black trench coats and, the environments are all in that dull, grey color, that reminds me of Mirrors Edge... but, with no yellow, less red and, more grey. This makes the different levels seem almost identical and lazy.
A testament to that, is the graphics... they look the same as New Colossus. In fact, most of the content looks like it is recycled from New Colossus... Except now, with clipping issues... that annoying black square that pops up, when something explodes... only SOME of the previous characters... no compelling villains, or, the fun... Adding the 80's techno music in the loading screens, did not help.
Now, If you want to play Co-Op, you got to but that for 10 additional dollars. Why? that should come standard and, playing Co-Op or, not doesn't effect the story. It does effect the game play by, making it less of a headache. Trust me... your sister's A.I can be ridiculously stupid at times. Not recovering you if, you are down and need a revival, getting lost in area's, blocking my path... Get in my way, when I'm trying to fire at an enemy... However, the Enemy A.I isn't any better either... getting stuck behind walls, not attacking, even If I'm in point blank range... but, It gets even better...
Stealth is obsolete considering, most of the levels are not really designed for that... No Map, only a little mini map that, give you crap details... They did away with dual wielding weapons larger than handguns. and, New Weapons? No... You get weapon upgrades... and, the 3 upgrades available for each weapon? Basically all same thing: Add head shot damage, improve ammo count and, increase overall damage. Further hindering the combat is that lack luster RPG element they threw in to jazz things up.
That element was almost entirely pointless... almost as much as the Skins you can buy for the guns... that do absolutely nothing extra and, they aren't even that great looking. (The moon skin was kinda cool...) but, not worth real money. Of course.. this being Bethesda... you have micro transactions... It's almost tradition at this point...
All enemies at a lower level than you get wrecked in seconds and, larger enemies are just giant bullet sponges. However, any enemy that is 5 or more levels higher than you, will smash you... anything from drones to that fire breathing dog, will waste you with a one shot kill... That simple. This forces you to grind with side quest... taking all of the fast pace action to crawl. Get use to that... you will be grinding a lot to unlock those perks and, you will need them later on.
However, why aren't B.J's kids as awesome as he was? They should be more awesome considering, they have those power suits on. But, no.... the girls must, slowly grind and, level up to around 27, to gain the ability to hold more than one heavy weapon? WHAT?... SHE IS WEARING AN ARMORED, POWER SUIT!
Speaking about the Enemies... you get little to very little EXP reward for tormenting yourself to fight them. Even on higher difficulty settings! Thus, destroying ANY logical reason to suffer through this crap on again. Most of those enemies are unavoidable in the early levels... So, Prepare to die... A lot... because, As I said before, Your sister is not going to be much of a help.
About the levels... they are repetitive and basic as hell... that's crazy because, Stephan King once said: "Hell Is Repetition... most are fetch quest that, would of been better off as side quest. Some being slightly different objectives, in an area you've seen before... Killing the same robotic or, black trench coat wearing, Nazis you did in the previous levels.
And, who was the genius that thought making the game with, no checkpoints or, in game saving... In a game that has frequent instinct kill parts? And, you gotta start the entire level over if you die? You can't even pause... even in single player... WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA? I want to leave a flaming bag of dog crap in that person's front porch for that... but, that would be petty...
Back to Co-Op... Good lord... prepare yourself for Bethesda.Net screwing with your experience... Like V-Sync issues? they got it! (Just like in the last game... That they STILL didn't fix...) Like animation issues? they got those too! Love connectivity problems? They got that in spades!
Great Job, Bethesda! if, your mission was to frustrate the player... If this mediocrity continues, I feel bad for this series... The Wolfenstien series does not deserve this type of treatment, considering the fact that, this series is one of the pioneers of FPS games, going all the way back to PC... How do you screw up, the simple formula of, killing Nazis with cool guns, in the 1980's? HOW?