Wolfenstein: The New Order vs World War Z
Wolfenstein: The New Order is an FPS action-adventure game (2014) while World War Z is an FPS horror game from Saber Interactive Inc (2021).
Quick answer: Wolfenstein: The New Order rates higher, 7.9 to 7.3 on the GamingPickz Score, and World War Z is the cheaper at $14.79.
What each one is
Wolfenstein: The New Order is filed under FPS and Action-Adventure. In contrast, World War Z under FPS and Horror.
Wolfenstein®: The New Order reignites the series that created the first-person shooter genre. Wolfenstein offers a deep game narrative packed with action, adventure and first-person combat.
World War Z is a heart-pounding coop third-person shooter for up to 4 players featuring massive swarms of hundreds of zombies, focused on fast-paced, gruesomely spectacular action.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Setting and characters The New Order is set in alternate history where Nazi Germany deploys advanced technologies to turn the tide against the Allies and ultimately win World War II , taking over most of the world. Its storyline is loosely connected to 2009's Wolfenstein and features returning characters Kreisau Circle leader Caroline Becker ( Bonita Friedericy ) and SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer Wilhelm "Deathshead" Strasse ( Dwight Schultz ), the nemesis of… (Wikipedia)
Characters
The team attempted to develop characters that offer a unique experience to the game. "The overarching goal for us was about building an ensemble of genuinely interesting characters we wanted to interact with", said Matthies. They strived to connect the thoughts and actions of all characters to the human experience, allowing players to know "why a person is doing what they are doing". (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical response Reception Wolfenstein: The New Order received "generally favorable" reviews, according to the review aggregator website Metacritic . The combat mechanics of the game received praise. Daniel Hindes of GameSpot felt that the intensity and variety of the combat in the game has granted the series "a breath of fresh air", and believes that it managed to fulfill his nostalgic expectations from the series. (Wikipedia)
Plot
The novel is framed around a series of interviews conducted by a fictionalized version of Max Brooks, author of The Zombie Survival Guide (this is a real book in-universe, where it is known as the " Civilian Survival Guide"). An agent for the United Nations Postwar Commission, Brooks travels the world a decade after the end of what is most commonly referred to as the "Zombie War". The pandemic begins twenty years previously in the early 21st century,… (Wikipedia)
Characters
Max Brooks as the Interviewer, explicitly identified by name as Max Brooks in the audiobook, an agent of the United Nations Postwar Commission and implied to be the author of the Civilian Survival Guide . Steve Park as Kwang Jingshu, a Chinese physician. Frank Kamai as Nury Televadi, a smuggler and human trafficker. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reviews for the novel have been generally positive. Gilbert Cruz of Entertainment Weekly gave the novel an "A" rating, commenting that the novel shared with great zombie stories the use of a central metaphor, describing it as "an addictively readable oral history. " Steven H Silver identified Brooks's international focus as the novel's greatest strength and commented favorably on Brooks's ability to create an appreciation for the work needed to combat a… (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Wolfenstein: The New Order | World War Z | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.9/10 | 7.3/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (92%, 62,216) | Very Positive (82%, 32,551) |
| Critic aggregate | 81/100 | No aggregate |
| Price | $19.99 | $14.79 |
| Install size | 50 GB | 50 GB |
| Steam Deck | verified | unsupported |
| Released | 2014 | 2021 |
| Developer | — | Saber Interactive Inc |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Wolfenstein: The New Order vs World War Z, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Wolfenstein: The New OrderFPS action-adventure gameWorld War ZFPS horror gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Wolfenstein: The New OrderFPS, Action, Alternate HistoryWorld War ZZombies, Online Co-Op, ActionThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Wolfenstein: The New Order ✓Score 7.9 · 92% on Steam · 81 criticWorld War ZScore 7.3 · 82% on SteamThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Wolfenstein: The New Order62,216 reviews · 1 add-on · 50 GBWorld War Z32,551 reviews · 22 add-ons · 50 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Wolfenstein: The New Order$19.99World War Z ✓$14.79Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Wolfenstein: The New Order ✓VerifiedWorld War ZUnsupportedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Wolfenstein: The New Order takes 2 of the marked rounds to 1. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueWolfenstein: The New Order and World War Z on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Multi-platform
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Wolfenstein: The New Order (GamingPickz Score 7.9)
- The cheaper right now: World War Z ($14.79)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Wolfenstein: The New Order (verified)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
FPSActionShooterSingleplayerGoreFirst-Person
Where they differ
Alternate HistoryWorld War IIAtmosphericStory RichSci-fiStealth
ZombiesMultiplayerOnline Co-OpCo-opThird-Person ShooterPvE
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Wolfenstein: The New Order is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. World War Z is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 4 accessibility features for Wolfenstein: The New Order and 1 for World War Z. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
If you like one, also try
Common questions
How different are Wolfenstein: The New Order and World War Z in scope?
Wolfenstein: The New Order has drawn 62,216 Steam reviews, ships 1 add-on and installs in 50 GB. World War Z has drawn 32,551 Steam reviews, ships 22 add-ons and installs in 50 GB.
Is Wolfenstein: The New Order or World War Z better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Wolfenstein: The New Order rates higher (7.9 to 7.3). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Wolfenstein: The New Order or World War Z?
World War Z is cheaper right now at $14.79, against $19.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get Wolfenstein: The New Order or World War Z?
Wolfenstein: The New Order rates higher, 7.9 to 7.3 on the GamingPickz Score, and World War Z is the cheaper at $14.79. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.