It's hard for me to really describe Wolfenstein: The New Order as one thing. It's one of the finest cinematic action/adventures I've ever played, one of the most remarkable series reboots in gaming history, one of the least objectionable power fantasies ever created, and excels as a set-piece shooter all at once.

I don't think it's a stretch to say that many shooters in the early-to-mid 2010s were set-piece shooters directly inspired by Call of Duty. But Wolfenstein gets something those games don't: it allows it itself to be goofy while taking itself seriously. It's a gritty story told in an inarguably silly world, and the dichotomy of the two makes for moments that stuck with me for so long that they were the main reason I wanted to play through it again recently. The main cast of Wolfenstein is more fleshed out than it has any right to be. Some of that character development happens more through optional biographies that the game gives, but the way that each character is written and acted leaves a lot to the imagination in a good way. A lot of what makes all of this so interesting is that this is a cutscene-heavy game where the cutscenes are fun to watch. Wolfenstein isn't a soapy piece of televised drama; instead, choosing to play more like a campy exploitation film with plenty of style to spare. When the game wants you to feel like the main character you're playing as kicks-ass, it makes you feel like a badass for choosing to play as him. But aside from being the strongest man alive and having a pretty questionable name, B.J. Blazowicz is given a surprising amount of depth here. You hear his inner thoughts frequently, which humanizes him in moments that would have otherwise felt corny. You are playing as an unstoppable killing machine, the likes of which Doom guy would share a beer with at Dominic Torreto's dinner table. But you are also playing as a flawed, wounded soul, and it's done with such genuine intent that it's hard to laugh at. When you're not watching the cutscenes, though, The New Order offers up enough variety in its stages and combat to rarely feel dull. The stand-out feature here is the ability to dual-wield everything: pistols, machine guns, shotguns, sniper rifles, and even knives. You can dual-wield knives. There's no practical reason to do so, and the game doesn't do anything with it. But who cares? It's awesome and totally in line with the absurd world Machinegames has created. There are also alternate fire modes for some of the weapons in your arsenal, namely, shrapnel rounds for your shotguns, rocket launchers for your machine guns, and the ability to turn your sniper rifles into laser guns. And yes, that means you can dual-wield rocket launchers that then turn into machine guns on a whim. I do feel like the system could be streamlined a bit: it took me a good six hours before I realized that changing the mode on one gun didn't change it on another. But otherwise, it's a fantastic system and adds a lot to the gameplay. I wish that Wolfenstein II pushed the envelope further and allowed you to dual-wield two different weapons at once, but that's a conversation for another day.

Of course, as much as I love The New Order, there are a couple of things that stop it from being perfect. For one, the perks system is something that sounds good on paper, but is a bit hokey in practice. Incentivizing different playstyles by rewarding the player for partaking in each one sounds good until you realize that the player either isn't informed that they're making progress or isn't making progress because they didn't use the exact systems that the game wanted them to. What's the difference between using the lean button while you're taking cover to peak a shot at someone and hitting the aim button to make the game do it for you? If you ask the game designers, it's the difference between a participation award and a blue ribbon. What's so frustrating about that is that the cover system in The New Order is just... okay? It's great at telling when you want to aim up, but it struggles with anything that isn't in that direction. If you want to aim to the right from cover or aim beneath it, the lean button is a consistent solution. If you're hoping to use the automatic cover system, it means aiming in a very specific location and hoping that moving an inch doesn't throw the game off. But okay, maybe you can adjust to that. The perk system is incredibly easy to cheese. Let me put it this way: your progress doesn't reset when you die. Like the rest of the system, that sounds fantastic! Running into sections that are too hard for you doesn't set you back and may even reward you. But two obvious downsides cripple this interpretation: one, several of the perks reward doing things in numbers rather than doing them at all. Kill fifty enemies with X gun, or throw X knives and Y amount of enemies. There are a couple that are pretty smart and offer a good amount of challenge, like "kill three enemies with two machine guns without ever releasing the fire button." But they pale in comparison to the number of perks that simply require you to do a lot of the same thing. This inevitably leads to the second issue that bogs this system down. See, you could earn perks by playing through the game, or you can find specific checkpoints that meet the right criteria, do it once, reload the checkpoint, and then do it until you have the perk. The latter is more beneficial and allows you to go after more bonuses than the former does because it means you're more actively seeking the reward out. In so many words, it's a system that feels like a complete afterthought.

Aside from those things, stealth in this game is absurdly busted--albeit in a way that's more amusing than anything else. I love the way that throwing knives turn enemies into liquid and how the silenced pistol makes a lot of this game feel trivial. I could sneak around and preform a stealth takedown on the guy that can call in reinforcements, or I could take out my silenced pistol and headshot him from across the map without anyone seeing me. Like a lot of the things in The New Order that aren't shooting guys and partaking in epic set-pieces or watching cutscenes, it feels underdeveloped. A lot of the risk factor that I love in stealth games simply isn't present here. But also in line with everything else, it's so gleefully out-there that it's hard to look away from. It's not just unbalanced or undercooked, it celebrates both and I am here for it.

The thing that seals all of the things I like a lot (and don't so much) about this game is just how it looks. I'm not much of a graphics person, but occasionally, this game looks artistic, and no, I'm not saying that because it sounds smart. If you want a good example of what I'm talking about, this moment, in particular, had my jaw on the floor: https://i.imgur.com/Myil3EE.jpeg

The game loves to share its concept art with you, and honestly, I can say that it's warranted here. Slightly muddy textures aside, the art direction is superb from all angles and brings the world to life in stunning ways. The New Order is a decent case for the point that while graphics may not be everything, they can enhance an experience. But moreso, it drives home the point that art direction matters a lot more, much further. It's a fascinating intersection between the two.

Overall, I have to say that The New Order is pretty damn good. I liked it but didn't love it when I first beat it on my PS4 but playing it again recently opened my eyes, and I have to say that it's easily become one of my all-time favorites in this genre.