‘Wolfenstein: The Old Blood’ Devs Divulge Important Facts Fans Should Know

While standalone story-based DLC packs are nothing new, they are still a rarity, as most require gamers to own the base game in order to play them. However, like “InFamous: First Light” before it, “Wolfenstein: The Old Blood” doesn’t require that gamers own “The New Order” to play. That said, the game’s developer, MachineGames, has released some new details divulging seven important facts gamers need to know about “The Old Blood.”

As noted by the Bethesda Blog, the story of “Wolfenstein: The Old Blood” precedes the events of the main game and is set in 1946, with the Nazis on the brink of winning World War II. The game encompasses eight chapters told via two interconnected stories, “Rudi Jäger and the Den of Wolves” and “The Dark Secrets of Helga Von Schabbs.”

The first fact tackled is the game’s time period, which Executive Producer Jerk Gustafsson says allows the the team to establish a unique tone for “The Old Blood,” a pulp, B-movie vibe that sets it apart from “The New Order.” Senior Producer John Jennings adds that going back in time allowed the team to explore story threads that were only hinted at in the main game.

“We get to explore things that were only hinted at in ‘New Order.’ We get to find out what the Nazis were up to and reveal a little bit about how they actually got some of this advanced technology that let them win World War II,” he explains.

The second fact is that while the team originally intended to re-use gameplay mechanics from “The New Order” as a foundation, they ended up going back in and touching everything from environments to the weapons and enemies in “The Old Blood.” One of the new gameplay mechanics the team is especially proud of is B.J.’s new melee weapon, a metal pipe. The pipe can be connected and pulled apart to allow use as single or dual-wielded weapon and is also useful for climbing, breaking through weak walls and reaching hatches in the ceiling.

Beyond gameplay, the team says that the setting of the Castle Wolfenstein-based setting of “The Old Blood” allows them to bring back characters familiar to series veterans, such as Agent One and Kessler. The team also promises the return of zombie Nazis capable of using rifles and swift dash attacks.

The team goes on to stress that even if gamers have never played the base game, “The Old Blood” is a perfect place to start since it introduces all the required gameplay mechanics. The DLC also fills in some story gaps from the main game and picks up just hours before the opening scenes of “The New Order.”

As noted by DualShockers, “Wolfenstein: The Old Blood” is set for release on May 5 on Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Gamers will not need to own a copy of “Wolfenstein: The New Order” to play the title.