Another title I fired up for the first time since the original release and for the first time on PC and was pleasantly surprised by how well it stands up in 2021.

Big 'Goldeneye' vibes to the level structure, in that a few objectives need to be fulfilled before you can exit and require a bit of exploration rather than linear progression. The weapons all feel good and have different, very specific utility and even the basic pistol still has a use deep into the game. The half WW2 shooter, half Occult Nazi horror aesthetic keeps things interesting throughout and almost every level is visually unique. Enemies range from dumb grunt soldiers to stealthy specialist agents and all the way up to genetically modified Uber soldiers and all require their own approach, again adding to the near constant variety RTCW offers from start to finish.

Still looks good, great music, fairly engaging plot... all that stuff sits as a cherry on a pretty fuckin' tasty cake.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein was a game that I had played back in the early 2000s but never played past the first three levels. After playing Raven Software’s 2009 Wolfenstein entry earlier in the year, I thought I would revisit Return to Castle Wolfenstein and give the game a fair shake.

Despite the game being released in 2001, thus being one of the first games to make use of the id Tech 3 engine to power it, the game still looks relatively good for its age. Levels are not a straight forward corridor that you follow along to the end of the level; there’s no golden arrow on the screen to lead you down the critical path. There are a few times that game will present the objective behind a locked door and it's up to you to find an alternate path, almost like the level itself is a puzzle.

Gunplay works well enough, as one would expect for a game using the engine that powered id’s Quake III Arena, and the sound design for each weapon makes them feel powerful and equally dangerous, especially those being used by the Nazis soldiers.

There’s also a nice variety to the objectives of the levels too. A good majority of the levels are a straightforward gun-down-all-the-Nazis-until-you-reach-the-end type of objectives, sometimes while picking up a specific item within the level. However, there were a couple of the levels that require you to play through quietly as you’re infiltrating a stronghold. A particular highlight was quietly navigating through a village and assassinating high-valued Nazis without setting off any alarms.

However, there are a few niggling issues that I had with the game that I fear may turn people away from the game.

While I liked that I had navigate the levels without the game explicitly telling me which way to go, there were a few occasions where I was stumped on how to progress. A door I needed to go through would be locked so I have to spend a good 10 minutes exploring every nook and cranny for a missed switch or vent that will allow me to continue with the game. One level had me backtracking close to the beginning to go through a door that I had missed on my initial pass.

Along with the obtuse level navigation, enemy placement within levels often feels sadistic. There were a number of times that enemy soldiers would cut me down because they were hiding in an obscure corner of the room. While one can quick save and quick load throughout the game, which does mitigate the problem, these incidents always felt cheap in terms of providing a genuine challenge throughout the levels.

The “X-Creatures” are total bullshit. There’s no other way to say out that doesn’t express my frustration towards these enemies. The “X-Creatures” leap across the level with such speed that it makes it difficult to accurately shoot them before they’re on top of you. Not only that, the “X-Creatures’” electrical attacks deals so much damage to the player that they’ll rip through your health and armour in a matter of seconds. While there are only a small number of encounters with them, I wouldn’t be surprised if these enemies were the cause of many rage quits back when the game first released.

There’s also redundancy with the weapons, which is a common problem with shooters of the era. You could use dual wielding pistols in the game…or you could use the machine gun that you’ve been using since the start of the game. You could pick up a silencer for your pistol, to allow you to pick off enemies quietly…or you could use the silenced machine gun that deals more damage and has a larger clip.

The biggest offense of the game is that it doesn’t really feel much like a game that’s part of the Wolfenstein series; the game lacks any real identity that makes it stand out. Yes, you kill Nazis and deal with some supernatural creatures but B.J. Blazkowicz, the player character of every Wolfenstein game, is not much of a character. B.J. doesn’t speak any lines and barely appears in any of the cutscenes. If it wasn’t for a few characters mentioning Blazkowicz’s name in the cutscenes, which only serve to establish brief context to the level missions, you could have slapped any name on the box and called it a day.

In conclusion, while I did largely enjoy my time with Return to Castle Wolfenstein, more so than I expected, I would be hard pressed to recommend the game to people to play. There are better Wolfenstein games alreay out there, as well as better first person shooters in the id Tech 3 engine. However, for less than £5 on Steam and GOG, it's a low barrier of entry for the curious.

This game was cool at first, but around halfway through it lost me. The gunplay feels like it should be like call of duty or something, but its still in that DOOM era. Need so much more precision aiming than I could realistically do. Honestly starting feeling like counter strike to me with spray pattern shit. The electric jumping enemies also just made me give up and start god moding because I just dont understand how to fight those.

I do like the vibe of it, kind of. I think its a little too dry sometimes, especially when the leaders are talking about stuff. The game also has heavy goldeneye vibes to me for some reason, and Tomb Raider, so thats cool.

Never particularly been a fan of the 'tactical' cover shooter systems old games like this use. Focusing on crouching down behind cover to keep your weapon's hilarious gamble of a spread tight, moving slowly to get accurate shots on enemies that don't have remotely decent pathing to feel satisfying. Weapons do each have their own system of accuracy that keeps them viable but things don't really feel good to do unless you're mowing enemies down in bursts (provided the spread is kind to you).

Level design utilizes some of its strengths to make dickish ambushes on you and I was moderately impressed with how much it stayed true to its aesthetic. Highlights including crypt traps and closing the doors on you, and bonus points for slowly opening doors that keep you stuck in the encounter.

All that being said, wasn't particularly engaged and I probably wouldn't have even touched this game were it not for the game club that chose this for the month. Certainly could do with worse!

Don't really have a good chance to try the multiplayer but I've heard good things there. Can't say I'm interested but there's plenty there.

lo termine solo porque lo tenia pendiente desde que tengo como 10, me gustaba una banda la primera mision, pasar por el castillo y despues llegar al teleferico ese, epico, me gustaron mucho los entornos pero tambien tiene unas bases genericas re aburridas.
cuando peleas contra soldados comunes el juego se siente entretenido, tenes que ir juntando municion, cubriendote, pensando un toque los encuentros, queseyo.. ahora, cuando meten enemigos especiales se vuelve una verga, porque no se quien quiere estar 20 MINUTOS DISPARANDO COMO UN PELOTUDITO A ESPONJAS (todas hitscans, por cierto) CON 20 ARMITAS QUE SON CASI TODAS RESKINS DE OTRAS 4 Y QUE SUENAN COMO SI TE ESTUVIESEN MARTILLANDO EL CRANEO DESDE ADENTRO

tedioso por diseño

Really underrated FPS. Don't see many people talking about it but it is genuinely really good and well done. Guns may feel kinda weak at first but it gets really satisfying after some time, specially with the different ways you can approach some enemies. There is stealth, it is not the most advanced one but still gets the job done, except at the first level of Mission 3. However, I thought the ending felt pretty rushed and dissapointing.

Overall a pretty solid shooter. I need to play other Wolfenstein games

This game is disappointing, I hate to say this about a wolfenstein game. I very much love the franchise and saying that is sad to say because I had very high expectations for this. Purely because of how many people said that this game is the apex for the Wolfenstein franchise.

The negatives I have for this game is that the combat/gunplay can be incredibly inconsistent, A.I. is stupidly difficult to deal with on "I AM DEATH INCARNATE", saving is annoying, boss battles are uninteresting and the stealth sections are atrociously designed.

And the only real positives I have of this game is the semi competent story, it ain't anything special but its somewhat good. Locations are visually fascinating and can keep me interested when the gameplay isn't, weapons are varied and unique but its a damn shame that the gun play doesn't work as desired.

Overall I can't recommend this game at all, If you want a great wolfenstein experience try to hunt down the 2009 game, the original or just play the New Order.