Castle Wolfenstein is a 1981 action-adventure game developed by Silas Warner for the Apple II and published by Muse Software. It is widely recognized as one of the earliest video games to incorporate stealth-based gameplay mechanics.
Overview
The game is set during World War II, where the player takes the role of an Allied prisoner of war held captive in the fictional Castle Wolfenstein. After escaping from a cell, the player's objective is to find the Nazis' secret war plans and escape from the castle. Nazi soldiers can be dealt with via impersonation, sneaking, or killing.
Gameplay
Castle Wolfenstein is a two-dimensional action-adventure game played from a top-down perspective. The game takes place in a procedurally generated castle of approximately 60 rooms that house standard Nazi guards and SS Stormtroopers. The player begins with a pistol and three grenades. Standard guards can be eliminated with a pistol and have a chance to surrender if the player points a pistol at them. Enemies can be looted for ammunition, grenades, and keys. Uniforms allow the player to pass guards unnoticed but are ineffective against SS Stormtroopers. There are eight difficulty levels determined by the player's rank.
Development
The game was developed by Silas Warner at Muse Software. Warner was inspired by the 1961 film The Guns of Navarone and the 1980 arcade video game Berzerk. He implemented procedural level generation, which took 35 to 60 seconds to complete before gameplay began. Warner recorded his own voice for the German guards, using eight German phrases such as "Achtung," "Schweinhund," and "Halt."
Release
Castle Wolfenstein was released in September 1981 for the Apple II. Ports followed for the Atari 8-bit family (1982), Commodore 64 (1983), and MS-DOS (1984).
Reception
The game was positively received by critics and became one of the best-selling games of the early 1980s, selling approximately 50,000 copies by 1983. It was praised for its graphics and gameplay but criticized for long loading times when opening chests. In 1996, Computer Gaming World listed Castle Wolfenstein as the 116th best game of all time.
Legacy
A sequel, Beyond Castle Wolfenstein, was released in 1984. The game directly influenced the 1992 first-person shooter Wolfenstein 3D developed by id Software, which purchased the rights to the Wolfenstein name from Silas Warner. Castle Wolfenstein is considered significant in shaping the stealth game genre, with multiple media outlets describing it as a "proto-stealth game" that laid foundations later built upon by titles such as the Metal Gear series. Castle Smurfenstein, a modified version replacing assets with references to The Smurfs, is considered one of the first video game mods.
