Wolfenstein: The Old Blood Reviews
Hardcore fans of the Wolfenstein series can find a lot to enjoy with The Old Blood. It's practically much of the same when comparing it to The New Order, though it features none of those irritating 'errand boy' segments, and that's a very good thing! The Old Blood is nothing but action that can entertain for a few hours. Plus, completists will find that there are plenty of collectibles to discover.
Now that I've returned to the world of Castle Wolfenstein [by finishing Old Blood], I'll definitely pull my copy of Wolfenstein: The New Order off the shelf and give it a go. And I suspect – or at least hope – it will be a little more fulfilling.
The New Order is a far superior game in many ways, but take Wolfenstein: The Old Blood as a companion piece to its predecessor, and there is still the same great arcade FPS and stealth gameplay here that will satisfy fans of MachineGames' previous entry. It isn't as fleshed-out or exciting as the 2014 title, but it holds up well as its own standalone Wolfenstein game.
At the end of the day, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood checks the necessary boxes to make it a suitable follow-up to the prior game. In terms of the gameplay, level design and overall pacing, The Old Blood has learned a handful of lessons and made the appropriate tweaks to improve the play experience from its predecessor. Unfortunately some of the spark that make last year's game oddly inspiring is gone, which makes it decent fun for shooter fans, but ultimately unsatisfying for anyone beyond that.
Coming in at only $19.99, there's plenty of content and story here to make a return to Wolfenstein worth a purchase.
Did you like Wolfenstein: The New Order? If so, you'll probably like this standalone expansion.
A DLC care package that just underperforms
It feels a little unfair to have to compare this to another game so much, but The Old Blood runs off of the same frameworks, characters and style that the The New Order came to define. Shooting Nazis until they explode is a fun diversion, but there's a better game that does that, and it's called Wolfenstein: The New Order.
Even the zombie material, which is still painfully boring and overdone conceptually, manages a few surprises.
Overall, The Old Blood is a nice addition to the new Wolfenstein world. It understandably isn't quite as filling as The New Order but it's still pretty solid for DLC. Grab it if The New Order left you yearning for more.
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood boasts a ton of content for a rather tiny price tag, but ends up suffering from some of the same design issues that held its predecessor back. Still, there's a solid and enjoyable game here, and it's one that first-person shooter fans will want to add to their collections.
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood has its fair share of problems – but it's still worth playing. With an enormous amount of content available for such a slender sum, fans of The New Order shouldn't hesitate when it comes to this alternate history treat.
'Wolfenstein: The Old Blood' succeeds at delivering more of 'The New Order's excellent gunplay, but derivative enemy encounters and the lack of compelling narrative weight it down.
Wolfenstein: The New Order established a new life into the Wolfenstein series. While that life has not been squashed with The Old Blood's release, it has taken a slight hit. Many of the key aspects that made The New Order so enjoyable have not been carried over into The Old Blood. Of course, the enjoyable combat is still available to all, and is still a blast to partake in with the new weapons being absolutely brilliant additions. But, in the end, you cannot help but think, "this could and should have been so much more."
If The New Order was up your alley, The Old Blood will be, too. But here, it's all about murdering nazis and zombie nazis, with less of the reflection.
The Old Blood's madcap attitude shines throughout its campaign, but the game fumbles when it strays from its Nazi-filled levels.
The Old Blood mostly nailed the components that made New Order good, but it doesn't quite manage to capture what made it great.
MachineGames are still masters of first-person violence, but this return to Castle Wolfenstein doesn't give them anything new to work with.
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood doubles down on blood and guts, but in doing so sacrifices some of its heart.
The New Blood is a highly enjoyable old-school expansion that is slightly brought down by a weaker second half and some minor technical issues.