Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Twin daughters hunt their father in Nazi-occupied Paris.
Wolfenstein: Youngblood is a first-person shooter from 2019, developed by MachineGames and Arkane Lyon, and published by Bethesda Softworks. As a spin-off in the Wolfenstein series, the story takes place nineteen years after the events of *Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus*. Players control B.J. Blazkowicz’s teenage twin daughters, Jessie and Zofia, who head to France to find their missing father and stumble onto a Nazi conspiracy involving a weather-based doomsday device.
The game launched for Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in July 2019, with a Stadia release following in November 2019 as a launch title. Critics gave it mixed reviews, noting it felt like a step down from earlier entries, though some praised the combat.
Players take the role of either Jessie or Zofia in first-person, with an optional cooperative multiplayer mode. The game can be played with another person or with an AI partner. Missions are non-linear, and players unlock new gear and abilities as they progress.
In the plot, set in 1980, the United States has been freed from Nazi rule, and the Kreisau Circle’s members—including B.J., his wife Anya, and the late Caroline—are celebrated as revolutionary heroes, some holding government posts. Liberation efforts elsewhere stalled due to infighting, leaving Europe under Nazi control. B.J. and Anya retire to raise their twin daughters, teaching them self-defense.
When B.J. vanishes, Jessie, Zofia, and their friend Abby (daughter of FBI Director Grace Walker) find a hidden attic room with a map showing he went to Nazi-occupied Neu-Paris to meet the French Resistance. The girls steal an FBI helicopter and powered armor suits to follow him. In Neu-Paris, Resistance leader Juju confirms she met B.J. but doesn’t know his whereabouts. They learn he’s trying to access a secret Nazi facility called Lab X. To get in, the girls help hack the “Brothers,” three security towers holding the keys. After reviewing the data, Abby realizes Juju is a Nazi agent working with General Lothar, the disgraced commander of Neu-Paris. The girls fake drinking drugged wine, and Lothar reveals his plan to start a Fourth Reich without interference from Berlin. A fight breaks out; Lothar and Juju escape, and Abby is stabbed in the eye, leaving the sisters to find Lab X alone.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Wolfenstein: Youngblood
- Developer
- MachineGames · Arkane Lyon
- Publisher
- Bethesda Softworks
- Director
- Dinga Bakaba · Jerk Gustafsson
- Producer
- Kari Koivistoinen
- Artist
- Damien Laurent · Sébastien Mitton · Axel Torvenius
- Writer
- Roar Thoresen · Tommy Tordsson
- Composer
- Martin Stig Andersen · Tom Salta · Ross Tregenza
- Series
- Wolfenstein
- Engine
- id Tech 6
- Platforms
- Windows · Nintendo Switch · PlayStation 4 · Xbox One · Stadia
- Released
- Windows · July 25, 2019 · Switch, PS4, Xbox One · July 26, 2019 · Stadia · November 19, 2019
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Set 19 years after Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, the game depicts a liberated United States and a dissolved global coalition, leaving Europe under Nazi control. B.J. Blazkowicz and his wife Anya retire to raise their twin daughters Jessie and Zofia, teaching them self-defense. In 1980, Blazkowicz disappears, and the twins, with their friend Abby, discover a map leading to Nazi-occupied Neu-Paris. They steal an FBI helicopter and powered armor suits to follow him.
In Neu-Paris, the twins meet Resistance leader Juju, who claims no knowledge of Blazkowicz's location. They learn he sought entry to a secret Nazi installation called Lab X. To gain access, the girls help hack the "Brothers" security towers. Abby discovers Juju is a Nazi agent working with General Lothar. After a struggle, Lothar and Juju escape, and Abby is stabbed in the eye. The twins breach Lab X and find Blazkowicz, who reveals that Adolf Hitler ordered a weather control doomsday device; after Hitler's death in the 1960s, a fail-safe activated the device, threatening Earth. Blazkowicz upgrades the twins' armor and directs them to stop Lothar, who stages a coup. Jessie and Zofia kill Juju and Lothar. Anya and Grace arrive, and the Blazkowicz family calls on the world to fight the Fourth Reich.
Reader's Guide
Wolfenstein: Youngblood received mixed reviews, with critics noting it was a step down from previous installments, though some praised the combat. The game introduced cooperative multiplayer, allowing two players to control the twin sisters, and offered non-linear mission completion. It was the first game to use the German USK's "social adequacy clause" allowing Nazi imagery in relevant contexts, though major German retailers refused to sell the uncensored version. The game's Deluxe Edition included a Buddy Pass for co-op play without purchase. Sales were moderate: it became the second-best-selling retail game in the UK behind Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and sold about 2,740 physical PS4 units in Japan during launch week. The title expanded the Wolfenstein narrative by focusing on the next generation, but its reception highlighted challenges in transitioning the series to a co-op, RPG-lite structure.
Did You Know?
- The game was developed by MachineGames and Arkane Lyon, with the Switch version outsourced to Panic Button.
- The Nintendo Switch version offered no physical game card; only a download code was included in retail boxes.
- The game's plot involves a weather control doomsday device activated by a fail-safe after Hitler's death.
- Major German retailers like MediaMarkt and Saturn refused to sell the uncensored version, offering only a version without Nazi imagery.
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