Wolfenstein II

Released: 2017 — API: Vulkan — Engine: id Tech 6

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is the continuation of the alt-history classic in which the Nazis win World War II. The story is advanced by decades, into a time where our protagonist BJ Blazkowicz finds himself part of a resistance cell fighting off the Nazis in occupied USA. It's a refreshing change from other WWII-inspired stories. Over time, Nazis have also perfected technology, which adds a retro-futuristic and cyberpunk feel to the game.

Based on id Tech 6, Wolfenstein II is probably the first AAA game that supports no other API than Vulkan (no OpenGL fallbacks, either). It's reasonably taxing on the machine, and uses virtual texturing, tessellated surfaces and physically based rendering.