Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks · Studio: MachineGames · Creator: Jens Matthies (creative director)

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Anecdote

A direct sequel to The New Order, The New Colossus was launched in October 2017 by MachineGames under the banner of Bethesda Softworks and shifts the action to 1961 in an America annexed by the Third Reich. The player returns as B.J. Blazkowicz, gravely wounded, who leads a clandestine American revolution from the submarine Eva's Hammer alongside unforgettable figures such as Grace Walker, leader of the Black Revolutionary Front, and Horton Boone, a former union organizer. Director Jens Matthies and writer Tommy Tordsson Björk heightened the political dimension by drawing explicit inspiration from the history of American civil rights movements, from the Black Panther Party to the Freedom Riders. The roughly twelve-hour campaign traverses an irradiated Manhattan, a Roswell that looks like a fascist postcard, and a New Orleans transformed into a ghetto, in a visual grammar indebted as much to Tarantino as to the underground comics of the 1960s. The arsenal diversifies with heavy weapons that can be wielded one-handed, and the upgrade system allows the playstyle to be tailored to each encounter. The performance of actress Alicja Bachleda-Curuś as a pregnant Anya mowing down Nazi soldiers in a hospital corridor has become iconic in gaming culture. Composer Mick Gordon, already celebrated for Doom, delivers an industrial soundtrack that pulses to the rhythm of the confrontations. The American marketing campaign, under the slogan "Make America Nazi-free again," ignited national debates about the place of politics in video games. The title received numerous awards for its writing and art direction. It remains one of the pinnacles of interactive alternate history and confirms MachineGames as one of the foremost studios in narrative FPS.

Popularity & reception

Distinctions — Game Critics Awards – Best Action Game (E3 2017) · BAFTA – Original Property nominated (2018) · The Game Awards – Best Narrative nominated (2017)

🇺🇸 United States🇩🇪 Germany