Return to Castle Wolfenstein Reviews

Been playing this game since the original purchase on release date in November, back in 2001. Still have the original disc, but didn't feel like actually loading up a CD, so I got it through steam. I still love this game. It's worth the money for "old school" PC gaming!

took a long time to track this one down from its original version back on CD when the game came out

I never played this until 2025, but it was a very fun game. It has the old school challenge with short time to kill on both sides. Each level has new weapons, enemy types, and varied environments. I can see why this game was always so highly rated for its time.

I recommend the game, but not this version. I would suggest playing this mod RealRTCW: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1379630/RealRTCW/ It's an overhaul to work better on modern hardware and some newer looking graphics. This version on steam is actually unplayable for me so didn't even have a choice. I changed one setting, it crashed and I tried so many things but cannot get the game to load at all. As for the actual game played through REALRTCW, I enjoyed it and would recommend.

This old game was playable only with RealRTCW mode from Steam. I believe the game should have this in the description. PS: The original version of the game won't even load.

I've only played the single player. It is brutal at points. I don't have time to get good. I'm just playing for fun. A lot of F5 quick savings so i probably won't replay it again. But it does have character and setting. I am playing because its fun to fight paranormal nazis. I didn't play it back in the day, but its neat to see what they could pull off almost 25 years ago.

has difficulty spikes and can crash on every load for a while. beware.

Good classic badass Nazi WWII shooter. You escape and return to castle wolfenstein hence the name. If you are having trouble running this on modern systems then get [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1379630/RealRTCW/]RealRTCW.[/url] Just wish the 2009 game was also here. ;(

After finally getting this 20+ year old game to run on modern hardware - which involved little more than simply NOT tinkering with the graphics settings and playing it at its native 640x480 resolution and in 4:3 - I was finally able to Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Odd, considering I spent most of my time away from the castle rather than in it. RtCW is certainly a product of its time, for better and for worse. You return to the well-worn, blood-soaked combat boots of B.J. Blazkowicz, the best Nazi killer this side of the Rhine, whose hatred of all things swastika is matched only by his mastery of all things shooty. Blazko spends the early portion of the game escaping from the eponymous castle and the rest of it fighting hordes of Nazi soldiers, super soldiers, and sexy soldiers – if you know, you know. This plays like a fairly basic shooter, as it was birthed in an era where the genre was finally starting to truly find its footing after emerging from the primordial ooze that was the burgeoning FPS genre circa the 90s. Doom, Quake, GoldenEye 64, and of course the original Wolfenstein 3D were already well-established and popular games within that space, but keep in mind this game released around the same time as Halo: CE, and would have had to fight quite the battle to stand out amongst what would become such a colossal contemporary and gaming/pop culture staple. However, there's plenty to enjoy in RtCW, starting with its arsenal of weapons and complementary shooting mechanics. The guns in this game feel great and sound even better. While you’ll obviously build your arsenal as you progress through the game’s seven missions, you’ll likely find yourself settling on at least one of the game’s few reliable “workhorse”-like weapons. I was particularly partial to the MP40, a staple of any FPS game set between that thing that happened between 1939 and 1945, as its quick rate of fire and punchy stopping power brought down anything within its sights. But about halfway through I shifted my allegiance to the FG42, its mid-range scope and steadier, semi-automatic rate of fire being too good to ignore if I wanted to up my Nazi-killing game. Other weapons I used more infrequently, like the Mauser rifle and Sten, although the Mauser was more useful for sniping and the Sten, while powerful, overheated like a toddler in a parka in Arizona in the summer. There are a couple of other, more special weapons that you acquire later in the game, but the ammo for these is sparse, forcing you to consider when and how you’ll use them. (Hint: if you’re at the final boss and you still haven’t used them, just go nuts tbh) The game also features a surprisingly forgiving and ultimately reliable accuracy system, where you don’t need pixel-perfect accuracy to take down your foes. I was amazed at how accurate some of the more “spread-friendly” weapons were, and this is a game that doesn’t even have a shotgun! For shame... The overall gameplay loop is basic, but the locales offer plenty of variety, as the action will take you from the beleaguered streets and alleyways of a village under siege to a covert submarine base hidden deep underground housing even darker secrets. The hordes of enemies you’ll fight throughout the game could certainly use some variety however, but then there are some enemy types that are just flat-out rage-inducing. Early in the game you’ll be forced to contend with acrobatic, leather-clad femme fatales, and while they may seem like something out of an Austin Powers flick, make no mistake – they will ruin you; their speed and agility matched only by their weapon of choice being something that can melt you in a few seconds. My one major annoyance about the combat is just how easily you can get stun-locked by enemy fire, and how utterly impossible it can be to even lad a single shot while this is happening – even if the enemy is right in front of you! There’s also another enemy type that’s introduced about halfway through, and let me just say you’ll be glad they only make sparse, “special” appearances after their initial introduction. But if you use the tools at your disposal, along with some clever and crafty exploits you’ll discover along the way, they shouldn’t be too much of a problem. The campaign is a short affair, depending on which difficulty you selected and how much of a completionist you are, but to that end there are plenty of secrets to be found throughout each level, hearkening back to the ones from the original Wolfenstein 3D. These secrets don’t do much to improve your overall arsenal, but they can often give you a much-needed boost of health, armor, ammo, or stamina. In terms of overall quality of life, I played on the second-easiest difficulty and STILL found myself save-scumming more than I even thought possible. It’s not that the game was unbalanced or unfair, but I just hated turning a corner or walking into an open field and getting shot by someone I barely had time to react to. Okay, maybe it is a little unbalanced and unfair. Maybe a little. Overall, Return to Castle Wolfenstein is a relic of a somewhat-bygone era. It’s a simple shooter that forces you to rely on your wits and skills while giving you all the tools necessary for your survival. It shows its age (especially on modern hardware) but personally I felt that it was part of the game’s charm. Having not changed a single graphic or video setting, instead playing it in its native resolution and aspect ratio, I suddenly felt transported back to the early aughts – a simpler time before the advent of regenerating health, loot boxes, DLC, and the scourge of unfinished games. They really don’t make them like they used to.

Don't let my hours fool you, I've played the game through with 'RealRTCW'. I didn't play this game when I was younger, I played with the multiplayer version, Enemy Territory instead, and got tied to it for many many years. Since I didn't play RTCW ever, for any consecutive hours I decided to give it a go this time. Since I was tinkering with the graphics not that long ago I left the game in ruins and verifying the game's integrity, and downloading fixes didn't work, so I had to give RealRTCW a go. I wanted to share it here also - this is a very nice game, despite its bugs on newer computers. The game's atmosphere and mixing the war with this mystical theme is very good, I liked RTCW more than Old Blood in this case, it was very well executed. Despite the graphics being obsolete, it still has a special place in my heart and I'm not disgusted from looking at it, I feel the complete opposite: happiness and nostalgia. I hope more and more young folk will stumble across this game and will decide to play it, looking at its overwhelmingly positive reviews, that I contributed to.