MachineGames’ run of Wolfenstein games have excelled in giving players possibilities, often dropping you into small sandbox-style arenas full of enemies that you need to take out however you see fit. For this summer’s Wolfenstein: Youngblood, they’re not just shaking things up with some new protagonists, but expanding the level design into something much more open, in the vein of fellow Bethesda series Dishonored.
Speaking with Official PlayStation magazine for their July 2019 issue, executive producer Jerk Gustafsson 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.”
Set two decades after the events of Wolfenstein II, it features BJ Blazkowicz’s twin daughters as they fight to spark another French Revolution and overthrow Nazi rule. It’s being co-developed by Arkane studios, who created the Dishonored games, and so it makes sense that their expertise is being brought into the game’s design.
Gustafsson explained that this means the game will be broader, but not necessarily as long. If you just follow the main path of the story the game will be shorter when compared to Wolfenstein II, but if you explore the side avenues and missions, the actual amount of gameplay on offer is longer, even adding more missions and challenges once you’ve finished the main campaign.
He said, “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.”
Wolfenstein: Youngblood will be released for PS4, Xbox One, Switch and PC on 26th July.
Source: OPM via Gaming Bolt
