Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
A first-person shooter set in a Nazi-occupied alternate-history America.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is a 2017 first-person shooter game developed by MachineGames and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the seventh main entry in the Wolfenstein series and the sequel to 2014's Wolfenstein: The New Order, set in an alternate history where the Nazis won the Second World War. The story follows war veteran William 'B.J.' Blazkowicz as he fights the Nazi regime in a Nazi-occupied United States in 1961.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
- Developer
- MachineGames
- Publisher
- Bethesda Softworks
- Director
- Jens Matthies
- Producer
- John Jennings
- Designer
- Andreas Öjerfors · Arcade Berg · Aydin Afzoud
- Programmer
- Jim Kjellin
- Artist
- Axel Torvenius
- Writer
- Jens Matthies · Tommy Tordsson Björk
- Composer
- Mick Gordon · Martin Stig Andersen
- Series
- Wolfenstein
- Engine
- id Tech 6
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game begins immediately after the events of The New Order, with a critically injured Blazkowicz retrieved by the Kreisau Circle. After a five-month coma aboard the captured U-boat Eva's Hammer, Blazkowicz learns his love interest Anya is pregnant with twins. The U-boat is attacked by SS-Obergruppenführer Irene Engel, who captures Caroline. Blazkowicz gets himself captured to reach Engel's airship, the Ausmerzer. Engel kills Caroline when her daughter Sigrun refuses to decapitate her. Sigrun tackles Engel, allowing Blazkowicz to don Caroline's armor and escape with Sigrun and Caroline's body. The group then decides to liberate the United States as a base to free the world, contacting a resistance cell in Manhattan and recruiting Grace Walker and Norman 'Super Spesh' Caldwell. They plan to destroy the Oberkommando in Roswell, New Mexico.
Reader's Guide
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus was released to positive critical response, with particular praise for its characters, narrative, cast performance, gunplay, and general presentation, though level design and gameplay received mixed reactions. The game was nominated for multiple year-end awards and won 'Best Action Game' at The Game Awards 2017. Its marketing campaign attracted controversy for leaning into real-life events. The game introduced improvements over its predecessor, including the ability to dual-wield any combination of weapons. A binary choice in the prologue alters the storyline, replacing some characters and plot points. The game uses a health system with regenerating sections and an overcharged state, and features six difficulty levels plus an extra hard level after completion. The hub area, Eva's Hammer, contains a fully playable version of Wolfenstein 3D. MachineGames released three downloadable content packs collected as Freedom Chronicles. A spin-off, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, followed in 2019.
Did You Know?
- The game was developed using the id Tech 6 engine, requiring a complete overhaul from The New Order's id Tech 5.
- Mick Gordon returned as composer, joined by Martin Stig Andersen.
- Players can dual-wield any combination of weapons in the game.
- A fully playable version of Wolfenstein 3D is hidden inside the game's hub area.
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