by Do you have a burning urge to explode, dismember and violently exterminate Nazis? The long-term Wolfenstein franchise has been allowing players to express their violent frustrations with the Third Reich for more than 40 years.
Along the way, its groundbreaking stealth mechanics played a crucial role in the history of first-person shooters, causing a number of controversies for its violence (it also offends Nazis, which can only be a good thing). So, where to start with this illustrious franchise? There are a few play orders to keep in mind, so let’s dig deeper.
Chronologically by issue
I hope you’re prepared for some intense retro gaming, because the very first Wolfenstein – Wolfenstein Castle – was released 42 years ago(!) in 1981. Inspired by The guns of NavaroneIn this Apple II action adventure, you play an unnamed prisoner of war trying to escape the titular castle. A sequel three years later – Past Wolfenstein Castle – refined the mechanisms and ordered you to kill Hitler.
But it’s 1992 Wolfenstein 3D who saw the world sit up and take notice. This was an early title from iD Software, with industry icons John Carmack and John Romero laying the foundation for all the first-person shooters that would follow with a fast-paced, graphically beautiful (for the time) and immersive experience unlike anything else before. also. play.
iD would quickly shift the focus to all things DOOMof Wolfenstein resurfaced in 2001 Return to Wolfenstein Castle. Eight years later, the franchise was rebooted in the form of the Dubious Wolfenstein (2009), which has now been virtually erased from memory. Luckily, that game spawned MachineGames’ brilliant alt-history series of games, which are some of the best single-player FPS campaigns of all time.
So here’s the full list:
- Wolfenstein Castle (Apple II, 1981)
- Past Wolfenstein Castle (Apple II/Commodore 64, 1984)
- Wolfenstein 3D (PC, 1992)
- Spear of Fate (Mission Pack, PC, 1992)
- Return to Wolfenstein Castle (PC, 2001)
- Wolfenstein: enemy territory (Multiplayer spin-off PC, 2003)
- Wolfenstein RPG (Java, iOS, 2008)
- Wolfenstein (PlayStation 3/Xbox 360/PC, 2009)
- Wolfenstein: The New Order (PlayStation 3/PlayStation 4/PC/Xbox 360/Xbox One, 2014)
- Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (PlayStation 4/Xbox One/PC, 2015)
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (PlayStation 4/Xbox One/PC/Switch, 2017)
- Wolfenstein: Youngblood (PlayStation 4/Xbox One/PC, 2017)
- Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot (PSVR, PC, 2019)
You would have to be seriously committed to it Wolfenstein to play all these games. The 1980s titles are prehistoric, several are locked to outdated devices, and Wolfenstein (2009) has been removed from online stores altogether. So let’s go back a bit to the most important games in the franchise:
- Wolfenstein 3D (PC, 1992)
- Return to Wolfenstein Castle (PC, 2001)
- Wolfenstein: The New Order (PlayStation 3/PlayStation 4/PC/Xbox 360/Xbox One, 2014)
- Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (PlayStation 4/Xbox One/PC, 2015)
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (PlayStation 4/Xbox One/PC/Switch, 2017)
This gives you a comprehensive overview Wolfenstein experience and each of these titles is easily available on modern platforms (you can even play Wolfenstein 3D in a browser if you like).
There is another realistic option: the full story (so far) of BJ Blaskowicz. Voiced by Brian Bloom, he’s far more complex than the game’s enthusiastic aesthetic suggests, and he’s one of my favorite video game heroes. Very technically, this version of the character’s story begins with Wolfenstein (2009), although there’s little connection to later games, so feel free to skip it. If you just want games that tell its story in chronological order, play:
- Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (PlayStation 4/Xbox One/PC, 2015)
- Wolfenstein: The New Order (PlayStation 3/PlayStation 4/PC/Xbox 360/Xbox One, 2014)
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (PlayStation 4/Xbox One/PC/Switch, 2017)
- Wolfenstein: Youngblood (PlayStation 4/Xbox One/PC, 2017)
Youngblood is about Blaskowicz’s children searching for him after he goes missing, so he is off-screen for much of the game, but does appear in cutscenes.
That’s a cover for it Wolfensteinat least for now. We hope for a full sequel Colossus is developing now as a look at the political landscape suggests it’s once again time to pick up a giant weapon and reduce the fascists to a pink mist. There are indications that a new game is indeed in the works at MachineGames, with the company’s Pete Hines saying in 2018 that “we’re definitely making a Wolfenstein3.”
Let’s hope we get some final details after MachineGames’ Indiana Jones and the Great Circle releases this December on Xbox consoles and PC.
