Played using the ecwolf sourceport
So I saw Warhammer 40k: Boltgun and thought "that looks like a lot of fun, but I still haven't played many of the FPS classics, so I'll do that first" So I'm about to play Shadow Warrior then I'm like "man I haven't even played Doom II yet, I should do that first" So I'm about to play Doom II then I'm like "y'know I haven't even played Wolfenstein 3D, let's just go back to the beginning" and alas here we are.
It's gonna be hard to say anything that hasn't been said about this game, so I'm just gonna give my own thoughts, which have probably already been thought by everyone else.
While Wolfenstein 3D technically isn't even CLOSE to being the first FPS game, in my heart it's the first FPS game, Maze War, tank sims, clunky RPGs, all came first, but this was the first game that truly felt like the FPS genre we know today.
It's hard to be critically fair to this game considering I've played through Doom like five times, and Doom does everything this game does 10x better, but I tried my best. Wolfenstein 3D still brings a good amount of fun and excitement today, something about these early shooters are just endlessly satisfying.
Levels are only hallways or slightly open rooms, but maps are MASSIVE sprawling labyrinths that are headache inducing. You WILL get lost, you WILL backtrack, and honestly it is not that fun! Level design is the biggest issue with this game, as it's more frustrating and confusing than it is engaging. Doom later remedied these level design woes so I guess ID learned from their mistakes.
Gun-play is tight enough, fast, and satisfying. It still holds up to this day, even though enemies can shoot you through doors and sometimes through walls, but you can get around it.
I'll briefly touch on the soundtrack, it's honestly pretty weak. There's a couple good songs, with the best being the main menu theme, but the music here just isn't noteworthy. I find myself listening to the Doom soundtrack from time to time, but I have no desire to listen to this one.
The game also suffers from tedium and repetitiveness. This game felt WAY longer than Doom, and I don't know if that's just because you get lost in levels so often or if there really is just that much more content. I personally would've preferred a little less, as you are basically walking down the same exact corridors shooting the same 3-5 enemy types with the same three weapons (only two are viable) and each boss fight is very simple. It gets kinda boring after so many hours, but it really isn't too bad, I just wished they'd switch things up with the level design to make it more interesting, but the level design arguably gets WORSE as the game progresses, with chapter 6, the final chapter, featuring some of the most obnoxious levels.
I want to also say, I think it was a bad decision to have the last 3 missions being prequels. After I killed Hitler, it was hard for me to give a shit about the story anymore, and it just wasn't interesting. Why would you have the ultimate bad guy beaten halfway through your game? Why not save him for the end? (EDIT: I've been informed chapters 4-6 were actually expansion missions as well, my bad!)
Anyways, I'll try to wrap this up.
Wolfenstein 3D unfortunately feels very dated, where games like Doom and Quake feel timeless, but there is still a lot of fun and endless charm here. If you can suck it up and get through some of the quirks of this game, you'll be having a good time blasting Nazis. "The grandfather of the FPS genre" is worth checking out.
So I saw Warhammer 40k: Boltgun and thought "that looks like a lot of fun, but I still haven't played many of the FPS classics, so I'll do that first" So I'm about to play Shadow Warrior then I'm like "man I haven't even played Doom II yet, I should do that first" So I'm about to play Doom II then I'm like "y'know I haven't even played Wolfenstein 3D, let's just go back to the beginning" and alas here we are.
It's gonna be hard to say anything that hasn't been said about this game, so I'm just gonna give my own thoughts, which have probably already been thought by everyone else.
While Wolfenstein 3D technically isn't even CLOSE to being the first FPS game, in my heart it's the first FPS game, Maze War, tank sims, clunky RPGs, all came first, but this was the first game that truly felt like the FPS genre we know today.
It's hard to be critically fair to this game considering I've played through Doom like five times, and Doom does everything this game does 10x better, but I tried my best. Wolfenstein 3D still brings a good amount of fun and excitement today, something about these early shooters are just endlessly satisfying.
Levels are only hallways or slightly open rooms, but maps are MASSIVE sprawling labyrinths that are headache inducing. You WILL get lost, you WILL backtrack, and honestly it is not that fun! Level design is the biggest issue with this game, as it's more frustrating and confusing than it is engaging. Doom later remedied these level design woes so I guess ID learned from their mistakes.
Gun-play is tight enough, fast, and satisfying. It still holds up to this day, even though enemies can shoot you through doors and sometimes through walls, but you can get around it.
I'll briefly touch on the soundtrack, it's honestly pretty weak. There's a couple good songs, with the best being the main menu theme, but the music here just isn't noteworthy. I find myself listening to the Doom soundtrack from time to time, but I have no desire to listen to this one.
The game also suffers from tedium and repetitiveness. This game felt WAY longer than Doom, and I don't know if that's just because you get lost in levels so often or if there really is just that much more content. I personally would've preferred a little less, as you are basically walking down the same exact corridors shooting the same 3-5 enemy types with the same three weapons (only two are viable) and each boss fight is very simple. It gets kinda boring after so many hours, but it really isn't too bad, I just wished they'd switch things up with the level design to make it more interesting, but the level design arguably gets WORSE as the game progresses, with chapter 6, the final chapter, featuring some of the most obnoxious levels.
I want to also say, I think it was a bad decision to have the last 3 missions being prequels. After I killed Hitler, it was hard for me to give a shit about the story anymore, and it just wasn't interesting. Why would you have the ultimate bad guy beaten halfway through your game? Why not save him for the end? (EDIT: I've been informed chapters 4-6 were actually expansion missions as well, my bad!)
Anyways, I'll try to wrap this up.
Wolfenstein 3D unfortunately feels very dated, where games like Doom and Quake feel timeless, but there is still a lot of fun and endless charm here. If you can suck it up and get through some of the quirks of this game, you'll be having a good time blasting Nazis. "The grandfather of the FPS genre" is worth checking out.
Reviewed on May 25, 2023