Wolfenstein: Youngblood

Wolfenstein: Youngblood is a first-person shooter developed by MachineGames and Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks in 2019. It is set in 1980, nineteen years after the events of Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. The Nazi regime still controls much of the world, and the game moves the series’ conflict from the United States to occupied France.

The story follows Jess and Soph Blazkowicz, twin daughters of resistance fighter B.J. Blazkowicz and Anya Oliwa. When B.J. disappears in Paris, the sisters travel there to find him. They are teenagers with little experience of combat, but both have trained with their parents and are determined to act. Their search leads them into the Paris resistance and against the Nazi authorities who govern the city.

Youngblood’s Paris is divided into large districts that players can explore and revisit. Its main areas include the riverside, the underground transit system, and Nazi-controlled buildings and facilities. Rather than following only a sequence of tightly connected levels, the game sends the sisters on missions for resistance members and lets them return to districts to complete additional objectives. The central campaign focuses on finding B.J. and reaching the Nazi research complex called Lab X.

The game was designed around cooperative play. A second player can control one sister while the other is controlled by the computer; online play also allows two players to team up. The sisters can perform a shared signal move called a pep signal, choosing gestures that restore health or armor, provide extra lives, or support their partner in other ways. This cooperative setup is part of the fiction as well as the combat system: Jess and Soph are family members learning to fight together, not two interchangeable soldiers.

Combat retains familiar Wolfenstein elements, including firearms, stealth takedowns, and fights against heavily armored enemies. Youngblood adds enemy armor types that reward choosing suitable weapons and ammunition. Players earn experience and spend ability points on upgrades, while weapons can be modified with parts that affect their performance. These systems give the sisters distinct progression without changing the series’ emphasis on aggressive action.

MachineGames developed the title with support from Arkane Studios, known for Dishonored and Prey. The collaboration is reflected in Youngblood’s larger, revisitable environments and its mission structure. The game was released for Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, with a Stadia version arriving later. Its story continued the Blazkowicz family’s fight against Nazi rule, but shifted the perspective to the next generation and made partnership central to the campaign.