History VideoGame / Wolfenstein

* AlternateContinuity: Possibly ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'' in comparison to latter games. ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein|2009}}'' (2009) and therefore ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' were confirmed to be set in the same continuity as ''The New Order'' and beyond by [[https://i.imgur.com/UF5gxtp.png the]] [[https://i.imgur.com/jVqlSwY.png developers,]] and there's direct references to events that happen in them. Wolfenstein 3D's events are never directly mentioned other than intentionally vague notes in following games. See BroadStrokes below.

** The events of ''Videogame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'', ''Videogame/Wolfenstein2009'' and Machine Games installments only roughly line up, with multiple discontinuities between them. ''The Old Blood'' is itself sort of a broad-strokes retelling of the first chapter of ''Return to Castle Wolfenstein'' - it has the same basic plot of B.J. and an Agent One being captured in the eponymous castle, B.J. escaping into the nearby town of Wulfburg via cable car after Agent One's demise to meet a local Kreisau Circle resistance member named Kessler, then taking out a supernatural threat (which is preceded by a random ZombieApocalypse) brought back by the SS Paranormal Division, whose activities in the area are headed by a woman named Helga. The aforementioned supernatural threat even ends up being a creation of Otto I, the son of the warlord the Nazis were spending the entirety of ''Return'' trying to resurrect. Additionally, an early journal objective description in The Old Blood notes that nobody has ever escaped the prisons, let alone Castle Wolfenstein itself, which implies that at least the first part of Return happened differently (as well as the entirety of the original games).
* CanonWelding

* AnAesop: The [=MachineGames=] series spells out in big bold red letters that fascism and ''especially'' Nazism isn't just bad because it is totalitarian, but because it is a barbaric, destructive and deeply immoral ideology that inevitably delivers power into the hands of [[AxCrazy maniacs]] and [[CompleteMonster beasts]], and is seemingly specially designed to enable and promote the [[HumansAreBastards absolute worst aspects of the human species]]. Therefore, it must never be allowed to flourish.

* MascotRPG: ''Wolfenstein RPG' is one of the more oddball examples of a RPG spin-off, which it seems to know given its more light-hearted approach to the series.

''Wolfenstein'' is a [[LongRunner long-running]] series of video games created first by Muse Software, then followed by Creator/IdSoftware, Gray Matter Interactive, Raven Software, and Creator/MachineGames. This series is often regarded as the [[GenreLaunch launch]] of the FirstPersonShooter genre with ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'', alongside the later ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'', also by id. So far, the games in the series are the following:

* AnAesop: The [=MachineGames=] series spells out in big bold red letters that fascism and ''especially'' Nazism isn't just bad because it is totalitarian; Nazism is bad because it is a deeply barbaric and immoral ideology that does nothing but puts power into the hands of [[AxCrazy maniacs]] and [[CompleteMonster beasts]], and is seemingly specifically designed to enable and promote the [[HumansAreBastards absolute worst aspects of the human species]]. Therefore, it must never be allowed to flourish.

* SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness: The series has been all over the place tonally. The original ''Castle Wolfenstein'' and its sequel were fairly straight-laced and serious in tone. ''Wolfenstein 3D'' went far over to the silly side with StupidJetpackHitler and {{Ghostapo}} elements right out of cheesy pulp comics. Then the series got somewhat more serious with ''Return to Castle Wolfenstein'' and ''Wolfenstein 2009'', though the pulp elements are very much still present. And with ''The New Order'' and ''The Old Blood'', the series got significantly more serious and [[DarkerAndEdgier darker]], with the pulp elements being scaled down and treated more realistically. ''Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus'' retains a lot of this darker and more realistic tone, but also contains a great deal of humor.

* SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness: The series has been all over the place tonally. The original ''Castle Wolfenstein'' and its sequel were fairly straight-laced and serious in tone. ''Wolfenstein 3D'' went far over to the silly side with StupidJetpackHitler and {{Ghostapo}} elements right out of cheesy pulp comics. Then the series got somewhat more serious with ''Return to Castle Wolfenstein'' and ''Wolfenstein 2009'', though the pulp elements are very much still present. And with ''The New Order'' and ''The Old Blood'', the series got significantly more serious and [[DarkerAndEdgier darker]], with the pulp elements being scaled down and treated more realistically.

** The events of ''Videogame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'', ''Videogame/Wolfenstein2009'' and Machine Games installments only roughly line up, with multiple discontinuities between them. ''The Old Blood'' is itself sort of a broad-strokes retelling of the first chapter of ''Return to Castle Wolfenstein'' - it has the same basic plot of B.J. and an Agent One being captured in the eponymous castle, B.J. escaping into the nearby town of Wulfburg via cable car after Agent One's demise to meet a local Kreisau Circle resistance member named Kessler, then taking out a supernatural threat (which is preceded by a random ZombieApocalypse) brought back by the SS Paranormal Division, whose activities in the area are headed by a woman named Helga. The aforementioned supernatural threat even ends up being a creation of Otto I, the son of the warlord the Nazis were spending the entirety of ''Return'' trying to resurrect. Additionally early journal objective description in The Old Blood notes that nobody has ever escaped the prisons, let alone Castle Wolfenstein itself, which implies that at least the first part of Return happened differently (as well as the entirety of the original games).

** The events of ''Videogame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'', ''Videogame/Wolfenstein2009'' and Machine Games installments only roughly line up, with multiple discontinuities between them. ''The Old Blood'' is itself sort of a broad-strokes retelling of the first chapter of ''Return to Castle Wolfenstein'' - it has the same basic plot of B.J. and an Agent One being captured in the eponymous castle, B.J. escaping into the nearby town of Wulfburg via cable car after Agent One's demise to meet a local Kreisau Circle resistance member named Kessler, then taking out a supernatural threat (which is preceded by a random ZombieApocalypse) brought back by the SS Paranormal Division, whose activities in the area are headed by a woman named Helga. The aforementioned supernatural threat even ends up being a creation of Otto I, the son of the warlord the Nazis were spending the entirety of ''Return'' trying to resurrect.

''Wolfenstein'' is a [[LongRunner long-running]] series of video games created first by Muse Software, then followed by Creator/IdSoftware, Gray Matter Interactive, Raven Software, and Creator/MachineGames. This series is often regarded as the series which [[GenreLaunch launched]] the FirstPersonShooter genre with ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'', alongside the later ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'', also by id. So far, the games in the series are the following:

* BroadStrokes:

** ''The Old Blood'' is itself sort of a broad-strokes retelling of the first chapter of ''Return to Castle Wolfenstein'' - it has the same basic plot of B.J. and an Agent One being captured in the eponymous castle, B.J. escaping into the nearby town of Wulfburg via cable car after Agent One's demise to meet a local Kreisau Circle resistance member named Kessler, then taking out a supernatural threat (which is preceded by a random ZombieApocalypse) brought back by the SS Paranormal Division, whose activities in the area are headed by a woman named Helga. The aforementioned supernatural threat even ends up being a creation of Otto I, the son of the warlord the Nazis were spending the entirety of ''Return'' trying to resurrect.

Most of the series follows the adventures of the soldier William "B.J." Blazkowicz in his war against ThoseWackyNazis. Although ''3D'' had a comical side in some aspects, what with a SecretLevel featuring the VideoGame/PacMan ghosts, later entries [[DarkerAndEdgier have a more "serious" thematic]], with heavy emphasis on [[{{Ghostapo}} the supernatural and occult]] and [[StupidJetpackHitler experimental weapons development projects]], and [[AlternateHistoryNaziVictory victorious Nazis]] AlternateHistory.

''Wolfenstein'' is a [[LongRunner long-running]] series of video games created first by Muse Software, then followed by Creator/IdSoftware, Gray Matter Interactive, Raven Software, and most recently by Creator/MachineGames. This series is often regarded as the series which [[GenreLaunch launched]] the FirstPersonShooter genre with ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'', alongside the later ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'', also by id. So far, the games in the series are the following:

Most of the series follows the adventures of the soldier William "B.J." Blazkowicz in his war against ThoseWackyNazis. Although ''3D'' had a comical side in some aspects, what with a SecretLevel featuring the VideoGame/PacMan ghosts, later entries [[DarkerAndEdgier have a more "serious" thematic]], with heavy emphasis on [[{{Ghostapo}} the supernatural and occult]] and [[StupidJetpackHitler experimental weapons development projects]], and more recently, [[AlternateHistoryNaziVictory victorious Nazis]] AlternateHistory.

* AlternateContinuity: Possibly ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'' in comparison to latter games. ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein|2009}}'' (2009) and therefore ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' were confirmed to be set in the same continuity as ''The New Order'' and beyond by the developers [[https://i.imgur.com/UF5gxtp.png]] [[https://i.imgur.com/jVqlSwY.png]], and there's direct references to events that happen in them. Wolfenstein 3D's events are never directly mentioned other than intentionally vague notes in following games. See BroadStrokes below.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wolfenstein.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Pumping ThoseWackyNazis full of lead since 1981.]]

Most of the series follows the adventures of the soldier William "B.J." Blazkowicz in his war against ThoseWackyNazis. Although ''3D'' had a comical side in some aspects, what with a SecretLevel featuring the VideoGame/PacMan ghosts, later entries [[DarkerAndEdgier have a more "serious" thematic]], with heavy emphasis on [[{{Ghostapo}} the supernatural and occult]] and [[StupidJetpackHitler experimental weapons development projects]], and more recently, [[AlternateHistoryNaziVictory victorious Nazis]] AlternateHistory. '‘ Wolfenstein RPG'' instead harkens back to the sillier elements of ''3D'', if not even sillier.

*** ''Mission 3: Ultimate Challenge'' (1994, [=FormGen=]

*** ''Mission 2: Return to Danger'' (1994, FormGen)
*** ''Mission 3: Ultimate Challenge'' (1994, FormGen)

Most of the series follows the adventures of the soldier William "B.J." Blazkowicz in his war against ThoseWackyNazis. Although ''3D'' had a comical side in some aspects, what with a SecretLevel featuring the VideoGame/PacMan ghosts, later entries [[DarkerAndEdgier have a more "serious" thematic]], with heavy emphasis on [[{{Ghostapo}} the supernatural and occult]] and [[StupidJetpackHitler experimental weapons development projects]], and more recently, [[AlternateHistoryNaziVictory victorious Nazis]] AlternateHistory.

* ''Wolfenstein RPG'' (2009, Fountainhead Entertainment)
*
''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder'' (2014, [=MachineGames=])

* ''VideoGame/WolfensteinCyberpilot'' (2019)

* ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein|2009}}'' (2009, Raven Software)

''Wolfenstein RPG'' (2009, Fountainhead Entertainment)
*

* ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder'' (2014, [=MachineGames=])

* AlternateContinuity: Possibly ''Wolfenstein 3D'' in comparison to latter games. ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein|2009}}'' (2009) and therefore ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' were confirmed to be set in the same continuity as ''The New Order'' and beyond by the developers [[https://i.imgur.com/UF5gxtp.png]] [[https://i.imgur.com/jVqlSwY.png]], and there's direct references to events that happen in them. Wolfenstein 3D's events are never directly mentioned other than intentionally vague notes in following games. See BroadStrokes below.

* AlternateContinuity: Possibly ''Wolfenstein 3D'' in comparison to latter games. ''Wolfenstein 2009'' and therefore ''Return to Castle Wolfenstein'' were confirmed to be set in the same continuity as ''The New Order'' and beyond by the developers [[https://i.imgur.com/UF5gxtp.png]] [[https://i.imgur.com/jVqlSwY.png]], and there's direct references to events that happen in them. Wolfenstein 3D's events are never directly mentioned other than intentionally vague notes in following games. See BroadStrokes below.

* ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheOldBlood'' (2015, [=MachineGames=])

* AlternateContinuity: The easiest way to understand the use of BroadStrokes in later games is to figure certain games are basically off in their own continuity -- most prominently, ''Wolfenstein 2009'' seems to be set in a completely different reality to that of the subsequent ''The New Order''. As ''Wolfenstein 2009'' establishes the existence of alternate dimensions and ''Spear of Destiny'''s mission pack ''The Ultimate Challenge'' features time travel, this is an easy idea to swallow.

** This is how later games in the series seem to treat earlier installments, especially ''Wolfenstein 3D''. It's implied the events of ''[=Wolf3D=]'' sort of happened, but B.J. never killed Hitler (who still seems to be alive as of ''The New Order'' and does make an actual appearance in ''The New Colossus''; a note that can be found in ''The Old Blood'', however, suggests that BJ ''did'' kill Hitler, they simply [[ApocalypseHitler resurrected him afterwards]]).

** Applied particularly strongly between ''Wolfenstein 2009'' and ''The New Order'', where literally all of the magical elements from ''2009'' are nowhere to be seen and the super-science has likewise been retconned from Deathshead's own work into Deathshead reverse-engineering ancient Jewish super-tech. Most damningly, the concept of a parallel reality called "The Veil" is completely unacknowledged in ''The New Order'' and its sequels, despite being the centerpiece of ''2009''.