Return to Castle Wolfenstein
"Return to Castle Wolfenstein" received favorable reviews from critics. At Metacritic, it scores 88/100 (based on 32 reviews), and on GameRankings it scores 86.75% (based on 50 reviews). "Eurogamer"'s Tom Bramwell called "Return to Castle Wolfenstein" "a worthy addition to the stable of id Software affiliated shoot 'em ups. The single player game is average to good and takes quite a while to finish, but the game really earns its salt by shipping with a first class multiplayer element."
Wolfenstein 3D
"Wolfenstein 3D" was well received by reviewers upon its release. Chris Lombardi of "Computer Gaming World" praised the "sparse [but] gorgeous", "frighteningly realistic", and "extremely violent" graphics, as well as the immersive sound and music. Noting the violence, he warned "those sensitive to such things to stay home". Lombardi concluded that "Wolfenstein 3D", alongside "Ultima Underworld" released two months prior, was "the first game technologically capable of creating a sufficient element of disbelief–suspension to emotionally immerse the player in a threatening environment", stating that they knew of no other game that could "evoke such intense psychological responses from its players". "Wolfenstein" twice received 5 out of 5 stars in "Dragon" in 1993; Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser termed it "definitely one of the best arcade games ever created for PC", highly praised the graphics and sound, and said that the "fast-paced action" could keep players enthralled for weeks if they were not concerned about the violence. Sandy Petersen, in the first "Eye of the Monitor" column, claimed that "there is nothing else quite like "Wolfenstein"" and that it had "evolved almost beyond recognition" from the original 1981 game. He enthusiastically praised the speed and gameplay, calling it "a fun game with lots of action" and "a fun, fairly mindless romp", though he did note that at higher difficulty settings or later levels it became extremely hard. The "Spear of Destiny" retail episode was also rated highly by "Computer Gaming World"s Bryan A. Walker, who praised the added enemy types, though he noted that it was essentially the same game as the shareware episodes. Formgen's "Spear of Destiny" mission packs "Return to Danger" and "Ultimate Challenge" were reviewed by Paul Hyman of "Computer Gaming World", who praised the updated graphical details and sound, as well as the smooth gameplay, but noted its overall dated graphics and lack of gameplay changes from the original game.