Wolfenstein 2 rounds out its pulpy but middling DLC today
Farewell to the Freedom Chronicles
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus's story-led DLC to date has been big - well, medium - on character but low on novelty, recycling chunks of the main game into vignettes starring new characters with borrowed Blazcowiz powers. I've looked at three out of four of 'em, and wound up wearing my 'disappointed, but not bitterly so' face, much like the one I sported when taken to the legendarily underwhelming Flintstones theme park on a US holiday in the early 90s. The final chunk of the season pass DLC lands today, and, like before, tells a new micro-tale from the wider Wolfenverse, this time with a pulpy war comics vibe.
The Freedom Chronicles Episode 3 - The Deeds of Captain Wilkins stars the titular US Army veteran and resistance fighter, and it says much about the nature of the recent Wolfenstein games that a World War II soldier now seems unusual for 'em. He's all about using stolen tech to destroy a Nazi super-weapon, and his DLC looks a little like this, or at least it does once Ian Marketing's had his way with it:
Even when passed through the prism of trailer bombast, it's pretty clear to me that this'll be in much the same vein as the earlier DLC, which is to say a handful of levels in recycled environments, bookended by comic-style cutscenes, and not linked to the other episodes by anything other than title title. In fact, early reports - including full playthroughs on YouTube - suggest this is even shorter than the other tales, clocking in at about the hour point.
It's hard to shake the feeling that Wolf 2's DLC was left a little bit unloved for some reason, even though their writing and voice acting isn't a bad time. Let's hope we get more, and more ambitious, Wolfenstein a little further down the line.
The Deeds of Captain Wilkins is out now via Steam, available on its own for £7.99/$9.99, or as part of the four-part season pass package for the currently-discounted rate of £10.99/$14.99. Clearly the later makes a lot more sense, though bear in mind that the first of its four chapters is merely selected highlights from the following three, so don't factor it into your money-maths. The season pass discount ends on 19 Mar, at which point the price'll spike to £17.99.