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The one where the torch of fighting Nazis is passed to a new generation – who are not very impressive

STORY
It has been two decades after the events of Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. The twin daughters of B.J. Blazkowicz, Jessie and Zofia have grown into young women and trained in the arts of violence and Nazi-killing. Although the USA is implied to be free from the Nazi reign, they are not gone for good and the war goes on. When B.J. disappears, the sisters learn he is somewhere in Paris. The two make their way to France, and in the usual Wolfenstein fashion, join up with the local resistance to give the Nazis a black eye. (And probably a bunch of worse injuries as well while at it).

GAMEPLAY
You will control either Zofia or Jessie. While the game was designed apaprently with a focus on co-op multiplayer, it is entirely possible to complete the game on singleplayer as well, with the other sister will be AI-controlled.
Youngblood has several notable differences in gameplay when compared to just about all of the previous games – which might or might not be its first mistake. Unlike before, the enemies have different levels. This is a disservice especially because the game is supposedly meant to be more open than the earlier titles, but this is effectively prevented by enemies who will at the early stages of the game be too strong for the sisters to take on. As a result, where you can go is heavily limited until you have leveled up enough.
Another oddball element is that the enemies now have different types of armors. Because of this, it is effectively mandatory to use specific weapons in many of the battles, which makes the combat mechanics rather restricted.

You can complete side missions to help you to gain levels and weapon upgrades more quickly, but it's not particularly satisfying. If the game is trying to be open world, it fails miserably. Not only due to high-level enemies blocking your path, but the areas aren't really that big. It's entirely possible you will get a quest that requires you to go to a specific location – one which you may have unknowingly stumbled into before.

There are some mechanics that work well. For one, after gaining some levels, you can unlock the ability to perform stealth takedowns on the Super Soldiers, something I imagine many players have wanted to do for a long time. Furthermore, the AI-controlled sister fulfills her role well relatively speaking. She will prep you up to give you a health boost often, and she will reliably seek to revive you if you suffer mortal injuries.
In addition, the AI-controlled sister can be useful in drawing the attention and fire of more troublesome enemies, such as Super Soldiers and Panzerhunds, whose vulnerable spots, the fuel tanks, are on their backs. Or the arm-weapons of the Zerstörers. Many of the enemy weak spots are obviously far easier to aim at when you are not the one he is locked on.

Alas, some handy gameplay mechanics do little to mitigate what is arguably the game's biggest shortcoming – the story. Or more accurately, the absence of the story.
Prologue mission and starter boss, infiltrating three strongholds, hunt for the main villain and the final boss fight. That's it. That's all there is to it. And the lack of a proper story might also be the reason the Blazkowicz sisters don't have that detailed personalities or character development, the two behave like stereotypical teenagers who are seemingly more interested in dancing during long elevator rides than saving the world. Quite frankly, how the players are meant to grow attached to the two eludes me.
Possibly the worst part is that you won't be able to advance in the story until you have leveled the sisters up enough. A great deal of work for what amounts barely as a filler episode in the Wolfenstein saga, if you ask me.

THE GOOD

+ Some good gameplay mechanics
+ The AI of the non-player sister does its work reliably and well enough

THE BAD
– Heavily restricted gameplay. Both in terms of combat and exploration
– Easily the shortest story in the entire franchise, but requires a fair amount of level grinding to complete
– No meaningful character development at all

VERDICT

3,5-5/10

It is unfortunately painfully obvious that even if there are some good ideas among the gameplay mechanics, Wolfenstein: Youngblood is a massive downgrade from the earlier games of the series. Heavily restricted gameplay, lack of story, personality-lacking protagonists who are more cringeworthy than funny, and the fact that the game seems to be uncertain which genre it is meant to be all lead to an end result I would describe simply as ”lackluster”.

If the franchise comes to an end in the near future, years from now people will say about Youngblood: ”This was the moment when Wolfenstein became the joke”.
Mercifully, while the level grinding took some doing, it took me overall less than 24 hours to complete the main story of the game. In addition, since the mixed reviews of the game were no secret, I purchased it while it was on sale.

If you want to go through the entire story of Wolfenstein, I highly recommend you do the same – get this one at a major discount. For it is not worth any more.