Wolfenstein 3D

this game is super cool but the controls are a bit hard but everyone will master it one day

I found the old uniform my grand pa used to wear in this game . Strange ....

I can't get out of the first room? Looked for a key, looked for a secret room. don't know what to do.

I LOVE IT! especially the retro sounds but i'm not sure if it is 100% faithful to the one i played on a friends computer way back in the day, i may be wrong but still a lot of of fun to play again like this!

Great port, works great on modern hardware!

Just beware episode 4 level 5.

hi hitler

Remember playing this as a kid and it is still as much fun as back then. Of course now I use a map as the no mapping situation was terrible, but beyond that a lot of fun to play.

Classic banger

I have always loved this game. It's really fun.

Good Game but is best played through ECWOLF

i get to kill nazis 10/10

Ah yes, the grandaddy of the FPS/Boomer Shooters genre (my childhood genre). Play this game in mod form (Brutal Wolfenstein 3D FTW) And you have the best WWII shooter experience in full glory and catharsis. Also play the modded version of the base game as well for the smoother experience as well. Get Psyched!

It's the grand daddy of all first person shooters. It's absolutely worth playing just for the history of it all.

I only recommend this game if you're a big fan of Doom and want to experience what the predecessor was like. Otherwise, it's quite outdated. It's fun and interesting at first, but 60 levels is way too much (that's one more than Doom and Doom 2 combined!), there is just not enough variation to keep you interested for that long. I personally got exhausted around halfway through, but I pushed through it. At least the final episode has a treat in the form of an ultra-difficult secret level. I recommend using the ECWolf source port for its improved quality-of-life, it automatically detects your Wolfenstein 3D installation on steam.

Simple fun. This was one of the first games my family had on our family PC when I was a kid. My mom was super anti-violence (no Mortal Kombat for us), so I think my dad got this on floppy disc from someone at work or maybe my older brother got it from a friend because my mom definitely wouldn't have let us play it if she knew lol.

The first three episodes are classics and are definitely worth playing to experience the humble beginnings of id Software and see what is essentially the prototype for Doom. Plus it never gets old to shoot Nazis and take down Hitler. The next three episodes are kind of a mixed bag. They aren't much more challenging (I would say the lack of mutants makes then easier than the original trilogy of episodes), but they get kind of tedious by making you run around the map and collect keys, sometimes from hidden passages. Episode 6 kind of does away with that and is mostly straightforward, just with tighter corridors. None of the additional boss fights do anything special compared to the fight against Hitler, but there was only so much they could do back then (and I'm not sure John Romero and John Carmack even worked on the expansion episodes).

Definitely recommend playing through ECWolf, which is super simple to set up, and gives you more modern FPS controls (in the original you had to hold ALT to strafe, which feels strange now IMO) along with automap to make finding your way through some of the labyrinthine levels less of a pain. I never played Spear of Destiny as a kid, nor the challenge mission packs, so I'll probably try those next, but I originally got those seperately before Bethesda bundled them with Wolfenstein 3D, so I'll review those missions on the old Spear of Destiny Steam page later on.

If you like classic FPS games, recommended to experience the granddaddy of them all.

A piece of gaming history, I can see how people found this impressive when it came out but in today's times this game just sucks. The controls are clunky and confusing, the graphics are god awful and the game is just generally incredibly boring.
While this is a mediocre game, you have to appreciate the importance of this game and what it did for the entire industry.

Pretty decent, considering how old this game is. It was basically the first good 3D game on the market.
There's only one huge problem, though; the controls are absolute horrendous!

Let me explain:
You can use WASD and mouse, but the A and D keys doesn't work as strafe but rather turns you left/right.
To strafe you must hold down ALT or right mouse-button while pressing A/D. When you do that, you can no longer look around with the mouse since it is also locked to strafe. Mouse movements actually does the exact same thing as the WASD keys. If you f.ex. move the mouse forward, you will walk forward.

I've really tried getting used to it, but I just couldn't. Modern FPS controls have become pure muscle memory.
Playing with only keyboard didn't feel quite as weird as kb/mouse combo but the turning speed is so incredibly slow.

Conclusion: Decent game, bad controls! I only recommend buying it if you're willing to take the time and risk with a third party mod/fix.

Wolfenstein 3D is a milestone in video game history, being the first FPS. It deserves respect for that kind of innovation but unlike Doom, this game is just not that fun to play nowadays. Since this is an emulated version of the original game, it’s damn near unplayable with it’s clunky controls. Alt-strafing is always done at sprinting speeds, making it incredibly frustrating when trying to peek around corners, there is no map and levels are sprawling mazes that have very few distinct features, so navigating is tedious, and movement in general feels very coarse. If you wanna play the full game, I recommend getting the ECWolf mod. It modernizes the controls so it plays closer to the Doom ports, adds a map that is filled in as you explore, and the game runs a lot smoother. The map is a bit rudimentary, but it’s far better than having none at all.

Regardless of how you play it though, the level design is going to be ugly and the gameplay is going to get stale pretty quickly. The art direction looks like the Windows 95 maze screensaver with more swastikas. Everything’s flatly lit and plainly colored, there aren’t even ceiling or floor textures, and the sound design is aggravating. Guns sound alright and the enemy voices are kinda fun in a corny way, but everything else is just highly compressed bleeps and bloops that literally hurt to hear in the original game, but are thankfully softened in the ECWolf mod. Enemy designs are mostly standard with the exception of bosses like mecha-Hitler and dancing zombies. It’s a fun blend of sci-fi and magic, but it’s much better executed in future games in the series.

There are only 3 guns, one pistol, a machine gun that shoots slowly, and a machine gun that shoots quickly, and they all share an ammo pool so there’s really no reason not to use the best weapon you have at all times. Just about every enemy in the game is a hitscan enemy so the pace of the game is slow, at least compared to Doom a year later. And collision boxes are much larger than the sprite art, which is a big contributor to the game feeling clunky as hell. Thankfully, levels are pretty short so it doesn’t take too long to beat.

If you are interested in experiencing some video game history, it’s hard to say no to a $5 price tag and a free evening or two. If you’re just looking for a fun old-school shooter, I’d look elsewhere. If you're even on this page, I assume you are the former though.

fun

I really liked the part where you have to navigate the maze and shoot nazis. One of the rarest yet best moments in the game.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)

Everyone and their mother wrote:

``The granddaddy of first-person shooters!''

Plot

Gameplay

Things I Liked

• Classic, No-Nonsense Action: Wolfenstein 3D delivers pure, unfiltered action without lengthy tutorials or complex storylines—just straightforward shooting.
  
• Challenging And (Mostly) Fair: Despite its simplicity, the game offers a fair challenge and rewards careful play.
  
• Atmospheric Sound And Graphics: Although basic, the sound effects and visuals create an immersive experience. Enemies shouting in German, unique gunfire sounds, and the background music add to the intensity. The only track I didn’t enjoy as much was the boss theme, "The March to War," which has some crackling issues.
  

Things That Could Be Better

• Repetitive Level Design: The limited wall textures mean many levels feel and look similar, making long play sessions monotonous. Playing in short bursts helps.
  
• Gets Unfair In Nocturnal Missions and Spear of Destiny: I feel that the devs had spend all their creative juices at this point. These levels can feel overly challenging, with enemies placed in tight spaces and minimal room to maneuver. This may be frustrating if you’re unprepared for the higher difficulty.
  
• Don't Forget To Save!: Without mid-level checkpoints, a single mistake can set you back significantly. It’s easy to forget during gameplay, but I recommend to safe regularly.
  

Things I Noticed

• Enemies Can Shoot Through Each Other: Unlike you, enemy soldiers can shoot through their allies without harming them, which makes crowded encounters trickier.
  
• Enemies Can Sometimes Shoot Through Doors: When doors are transitioning between open and closed states, enemies are still able to shoot through. Fortunately, this also works in your favor!
  
[*]Collision Boxes On Enemies Appear Larger Than Their Sprites: Enemies can block you even if they appear slightly out of reach, so doorways can be challenging to navigate when enemies are nearby.

Final Thoughts

Great remake of the original Castle Wolfenstein Apple II game from 1981. The addition of a third dimension truly brought to life the struggles of POW allied soldiers that where subjected to the horrors of the macabre Castle Wolfenstein during the second of the Great Wars of the 20th century.

Thankfully during his escape B.J. Blazkowicz puts an end to the plans to flood the human race with mutants hellbent on the destruction of all democracy and most likely... all unmutated life itself.

Remember, those who forget history are doomed to get mutated... by bomb or/and mad scientists, the outcome is dire.

Didn't age very well. Controls make it almost impossible to play.

Bethesda needs to Remaster this game. If Doom and Quake got a big update. Then let have the classic as well!

A mega classic cultural game where we have to kill the Nazis and also the boss Hitler?!
WONDERFUL AND SATISFYING!

4/10 it's playable and sharp

the granddad of all FPS games.

While I have massive respect for this game and understand it's importance in gaming history as the first fps I simply cannot recommend any1 buy it cause of it's clunky and frustrating controls that don't make sense (like controlling and aiming both with the mouse??) and the maze like level with each room looking exactly the same as the last, which makes trying to get through the levels a chore. Imo if you wanna experience this era of games play the original doom, it looks and plays a shit ton better and is actually fun to play as apposed to this mess.

ha ha prrr

I Love this game, such a classic. if you haven't played the Wolfenstein series, but you like classic arcade style games, this is definitely the game to play.

It's the 1990's again! After the original Escape from Castle Wolfenstein (released on the Commodore 64 - remember that platform??), Wolfeinstein 3D was one of the (if not the first) first person shooter games. It spawned many other games, including DOOM, but W3D was always my favorite. Great to see it on Steam!

I have big respect for Wolfenstein. It shaped the genre. Unfortunately, it did not age well.

Usually I don't mind old games at all but there's some that just don't stand the test of time.

Honestly, the music's alright. I was even fine with the original controls for a while before installing ECWolf. The main problem was the maze-like floors. And I only beat the first 6ish floors of chapter 1 and was already getting a headache from trying to orient myself. Wouldn't be TOO much of a problem if getting to the end of a floor didn't require finding a key. Even with ECWolf's automap, it was a hassle finding what tiny room you missed on the (surprisingly big) maps.

Steam reviews are for whether you recommend the game to others, and I can't. It's worth a try if you're curious about it but if you were looking for a fun game, this hasn't been it since DOOM came out.

please would id software go back and add the the spear of destiny mission packs return to danger and the ultimate challenge

Yeah it's still pretty fun.

To play, you're gonna want to download ECWolf for greater screen resolution and more options, then turn up mouse sensitivity and "disable y-axis" on your mouse. Basically, in vanilla Wolf3D, moving the mouse backwards and forwards moves your character backwards and forwards. There's a reason this movement scheme was abandoned in the '90s. Disabling the y-axis gives you a rough equivalent to a modern WASD + Mouselook control scheme, and you're good to go.

You'll also probably want to download ECWolf RMST, which updates textures, sprites, and sound effects in a way that is faithful to the 1992 artstyle. In particular, the weapon sounds are MUCH better, the vanilla sound effects are very much a product of 1992. However, this is a matter of taste and players who want the retro experience may not like it. (ECWolf RMST can be downloaded from the "Addons" section of ModDB, and is NOT in the "Mods" section).

Gameplay is straightforward--crawl through levels, kill natsies, collect treasure, find secrets. A few tips: All damage is dealt via hitscans. This means for every shot that is fired by you or the enemy, a dice is rolled to determine if you hit, and then a second dice is rolled to determine damage. Being closer increases the chance of hitting and also increases damage--for both you and your enemy. Looking at an enemy when they're firing at you and sprinting also both decrease your odds of being hit, but in practice this isn't very useful in-game. Victory will largely be determined by your reflexes and how many enemies have you in their line of sight at any given moment.

There are four difficulty levels, and their primary effect is determining number of enemy spawns. Higher difficulty, more enemies. A few enemies also can get a little bonus health, and "Can I Play Daddy" difficulty reduces the damage taken by the player significantly, but by far the most noticeable difference will be the number of enemies. Secrets are not mandatory to find (with a few prominently marked exceptions), which is good, because they are also tedious to find (spamming spacebar while looking at walls is the only guaranteed technique).

There are Six Episodes with 10 levels each (8 normal levels, a boss level, and a secret level), as well as a sequel "Spear of Destiny" which is 20 levels. The first three episodes are absolutely worth playing. Episode 2: Operation Eisenfaust is by far the most annoying because of the introduction of a brutally difficult enemy. You should feel no shame cranking the difficulty down for that one. Episodes 4-6 are also good, but a little more tedious and not nearly as necessary. The climax of episode 3 is a great way to end your game. Spear of Destiny is, in my opinion, not fun and not worth playing, but it has some unique features that fans might like to see and a climax that is unforgettable.

If you're only going to play one id software '90s shooter, just play Doom. Wolf3D, being the earlier attempt, has less to offer and shows its age more. But if you're really curious to see what it looked like, check it out.

Feels like home.
Shooting feels better that many games today.

Childhood classic, still playable. I wouldn't make myself play through to the end, but it's fun to explore as a piece of gaming history.

hi

Great childhood nostalgia. Gives me nausea from the movements but well worth it.

mein leben

perfect game to play while listening to the Dead Kennedys 1981 classic "Nazi Punks F#ck Off!" on repeat

j

To my surprise, pretty enjoyable. I just played the Easteregg levels in "The New Order" and always thought that they were pretty boring and bad... But no, the original is genuinely a fun game! Even after all this years! You just have to quit using the mouse and just use the keyboard for this game. It feels much better and you don't get sick after every turn. Thank me later.

(also, just decide for a wall and hug it the entire time, there is no way that you remember all the level layouts till the end)

This games RNG for damage taken, the fact that enemies can (and will) shoot you through each other, almost every enemy is hitscan, you take more damage if an enemy is behind you and the map designers knew that so they'd place nazi's on each side of a door to fuck with you. The horrible never ending maze-like level structure, this game is horrible but it scratches that little itch in my brain so I keep playing it

Unlike "Doom" and its sequel, which are still a blast to play, "Wolfenstein 3D" has not aged well at all.

It was one of the first real FPS games and it deserves all the credit it can get for that. I still play it occasionally just to remind myself how far video games have come, but that's it. The controls are stiff and the graphics strain my eyes. It's like when you try to focus on something, but it just keep being blurry. It gives me a headache. I usually don't have this problem, but in this case, I do.

As a historic artifact, "Wolfenstein 3D" is a mandatory experience. We owe a great deal to this game, perhaps even more than "Doom", but that's up for debate. After this, FPS games were never the same. I recommend that every gamer play this game at least once.

Other than that, I personally don't find much enjoyment in playing it. I respect "Wolfenstein 3D", but I just don't enjoy playing it.

The game that started a genre a true classic through and through would recommend to anyone a fan of the shooters.

Remaster Wolf3D Nightdive!!

Archaic and simplistic in design, but it's the simplicity that makes it so fun. Wolf 3D is FPS games distilled down to the absolute basics. As far as gameplay goes, you get to shoot nazis, shoot some more nazis, shoot zombie nazis, shoot nazi dogs and then shoot some more nazis. Occasionally you shoot Hitler (Mecha Nazi). Also find some keys, open some doors. You know, the basics.

Despite being essentially the first FPS, the shooting is incredibly satisfying, enemies blow up into piles of gore, the chaingun sounds chunky and deadly and clears rooms out like nothing. All good fun.

To get around the archaic nature of the game and bring it somewhat closer to this century, definitely download ECWolf. Having built in strafing is a godsend because this game is hard as shit. Automapping is also a godsend because some of the map designs are downright diabolical.

Completing the game on the hardest difficulties is probably up there in the top 5 most difficult but satisfying gaming accomplishments I have under my belt.

Fuck 6-7 and 6-8 man.

nostalgic, and running on modern machine, classic game

For anybody on here saying "its good but you cant walk left and right". You can strafe left and right by holding alt, and then using the buttons you use to look left and right to instead step in those directions.

Pls like this comment so more people see it and can enjoy the game. A lot of old FPS games used the alt to strafe style, including doom 93.