Wolfenstein Youngblood is a very good cooperative shooter that leaves the linear narrative legacy to venture more to the RPG side of things. The result is brilliant as long as you have a good pal to play with.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood falls a step behind previous games... Which doesn't mean it's bad at all. The formula works as fine as ever, and there are some very welcome changes. You can kill Nazis with a friend, too, which means this games freaking rules.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood is some of the most fun I've had with the new saga of Wolfenstein games, but that came at the cost of the hallmark storytelling that MachineGames has become synonymous with. It's a gratifying cooperative experience that I can wholeheartedly recommend if you have a friend to blast through it with, but I can't provide the same sentiment if you're a solo player. It suffers from a myriad of issues that keep it from being something extraordinary, but that doesn't mean Youngblood isn't worth experiencing if someone can join you for the ride.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood is trying to do something, it can't. Shooting Nazis together can be a lot of fun, but without the dark and boundary-seeking humor, the strong storytelling and impressive cast, there is not much left of Wolfenstein.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood just never finds the right groove. The game’s needless RPG elements, microtransactions, and sloppy non-linear structure are obvious mistakes, but it also has some surprising basic level design and pacing problems. Wolfenstein: Youngblood can still be good, visceral fun in fits and starts, but overall, the game lacks the maturity of the elder Blazkowicz’ adventures.

New Colossus fans will probably dislike its unfocused narrative and fussy levelling system, but Youngblood offers plenty of blood and thunder if you give it time.

At $30, I expected a short but dense Wolfenstein experience with two new protagonists and a tangible narrative thread connecting them to the original games, their father B.J. Blazkowicz. What we got was a horrible imitation of the rest of the series, complete with an absolutely senseless plot, unacceptably bad and annoying characters, and joyless combat. I find that a weak plot can be forgiven if gameplay is flawless and satisfying, and sometimes weaker gameplay can be ignored in favor of an incredible story, but you cannot botch BOTH aspects and expect people to like your game.