Oodles Of Old Blood: An Hour Of Wolfenstein

Wolfenstein [official site] ranks as one of the best and biggest surprises of last year, stretching beyond its source material to offer a romp through wonderfully designed levels, non-linear stealth, and even a plot that strayed into unfamiliar territory like "heart-warming" and "actually funny." More, then, is what we wanted and what Bethesda intend to supply with The Old Blood, a smaller standalone prequel coming in May. PAX East hosted the first public play session and it was all streamed on Twitch. Check it out below.

I will happily take more of the same with a bit of spice. It all comes down to length now. The $20 price tag and digital only release, along with shorter dev time means something less substantial than The New Order, but The Old Blood will need to be meaty enough to let you experiment with new toys. Given the setting and BJ's solo nature, it's unlikely the hub area of the first game will make a return. Or that there'll be quite as many cutscenes.

Interesting too to hear about the challenges of shipping on five platforms and how difficult it was compared to this digital-only, PC and new-gen exclusive. While the slow phasing out of the 360 and PS3 won't effect us directly, it's possible we'll see an uptick in graphical quality as teams are spread less thin and don't have to compromise for decade-old technology.

I'm saving myself for release, but there was a second livestream if you'd like more Old Blood in your veins. Game's out May 5th.