I look down at the small disc in my hand. Such a minuscule thing, I think, but its significance and import is matched only by the scope of its historical absence - long-forgotten, even in legend. But this artifact is real, its existence embodying the sophistication of a once-mighty people... as well as the means of their ultimate destruction. I refer, of course, to the copy of 2009's Wolfenstein that I acquired for the PS3, but the description applies, somewhat more accurately (if less poetically) to the Thule Medallion, the mystical artifact that sets this game apart from the rest of the series by giving long-running protagonist B.J. Blazkowicz a taste of the supernatural abilities usually afforded only to his adversaries.
First, a history lesson. Never Say Dice scholars may remember I covered the previous game, 2001's Return to Castle Wolfenstein in an earlier post. While I talked about the experience of visiting that title in the modern day, I didn't discuss why I had chosen that particular game from my gargantuan backlog. The reason stems from my brief exposure to 2014's Wolfenstein: The New Order, whose in media res opening (and subsequent research) revealed the game to be a continuation of the 2001 and 2009 titles, rather than the clean reboot I expected. I prefer to experience media in the order in which it came out, for most things, this is about trying to keep in mind the situation in which something was released, but when it comes to games, my motivation is also pragmatic: I don't want to give up on "quality of life" improvements that a series may add over time by going from a later installment to an earlier one. And so I shelved New Order, reckoning that if I skipped that copy of Return I had for PS2, I would never get around to it. Nonetheless, despite a few abortive attempts that never got past the introductory levels, it would be another couple years until circumstances lined up - specifically, the COVID-19 pandemic keeping us all indoors and my interest in retrogaming revitalized through the OSSC. And so, after a quick visit to the GTA universe with Andy, I returned to Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Even before I was done, I began my search for the game's elusive 2009 follow-up, simply (if confusingly) called Wolfenstein.
Despite reviews of the time decrying it as "more of the same," Wolfenstein (2009) is an odd game, both in the content itself and its place in both the franchise and gaming history itself. At this point, the game is known more for its unavailability than anything it actually contains: it was delisted from Steam and all other online storefronts in 2014 shortly before New Order was released. No reason has ever been specified, although it's speculated that this may been done to center "brand identity" around the newer game. I'm not sure I buy this as a motivation , though since the original Wolfenstein 3D (1992) and Return remained available throughout. I suspect the reason is more to do with the complexities of defining "ownership" within modern IP law - the 2009 game was developed by Raven Software (owned by Activision) and was the last game published by Id software, who had made their name with Wolfenstein 3D, before they were acquired by ZeniMax via Bethesda Softworks. Between mergers and outsourcing, disputes and delistings have happened from time to time, but the games usually return to the digital marketplace before too long. Aside from non-narrative online-centered games like Wolfenstein may be the highest-profile title to disappear completely, without any kind of remake (like Angry Birds) or re-tooled "sequel" (like Overwatch)... a profile that was only raised when New Order was a hit critically and commercially. Seems like, had brand identity been the reason the 2009 game was swept under the rug, that would have been the perfect time to re-release it: the momentum was there, and players would be eager to see what took place prior to New Order (which led me to a game that was almost two decades old, remember). Instead, the prequel role was filled by the expansion pack Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, itself largely patterned after Return, a game that had been available the entire time! Wolfenstein had been about as completely un-made as a modern game could be. And, in a way, that suits the game perfectly.
The Nazis of the Wolfenstein games are motivated by two obsessions of their real-world inspirations: technology and the occult, although the latter has largely been disproven, or,at least, overstated. The Indiana Jones movies, it seems, were not documentaries. While previous games ostensibly existed in our own world, and featured established holy relics (inspired, no doubt, but aforementioned film series), undead soldiers, and a historical monarch revived as a giant monster, the 2009 game's backstory built an entire world history of its own. Taking more than a few cues from the works of H.P. Lovecraft, the game presents a long-dead Thule society (a name, at least with some historical background) whose studies in the supernatural revealed the existence of a terrifying universe the Nazi archaeologists and paranormalists name the "Black Sun Dimension." This dimension, and the monsters that dwell within it, is separated from our own by a barrier called "the Veil." The Thule people were able to access the Veil and harness some of the properties of the Black Sun Dimension to some degree through the use of "medallions," small artifacts containing crystals that can only be found in what is now the city of Isenstadt, where the boundary between our reality and the Veil is particularly weak. Echoing Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, the Thule pushed too far into the Black Sun Dimension and were destroyed by the powers they unleashed. While fully aware of the fate of their predecessors, the Nazis have concluded "there's no way the unspeakable horrors from beyond reality will eat our faces," and have begun mining and even growing the crystals from Isenstadt to create weapons and even harness use supernatural powers. Before the game begins, B.J. acquires one of the medallions and will gain the use of these powers over the course of the story.
Powers or not, by this point, we've already deviated from known history. This is unavoidable with any historical fiction, of course, particularly those that incorporate figures of note - as much as I wanted to believe it as a kid, Benjamin Franklin was not friends with a mouse named Amos and pies were not actually the preferred weapon of Prohibition-era gangsters. The Wolfenstein games fit into the "secret history" format of historical, as well - the events and revelations are hidden and covered up, so the established history still matches with our own. Or, at least, with the established continuity of one Commander Keen, B.J.'s grandson and namesake. This put the Wolfenstein series, goofy as it is, adjacent to some well-respected literature, like that of Thomas Pynchon and Umberto Eco. Not to mention that B.J.'s missions (ostensibly) fall under "intelligence" (deeply ironic, given how gloriously stupid the franchise can be), which means that they're top secret even within the Wolfenstein universe. To borrow a line from my favorite movie, these adventures "do not exist, and never will exist." So it seems entirely appropriate that the one with the greatest secrets, the most hidden of horrible truths, is the game that functionally does not exist, and may never again exist... except, like the Thule society, through physical relics that must be sought out and utilized.
I'm not really concerned, though - Metal Gear, my favorite franchise, bounced from present(-ish) day to secret history to crazy sci-fi future and back again with each successive title. And that naive longing for the hidden chapter of a history book's not really lost, especially not for with my very own copy handy of the Wolfenstein game that was swallowed up by the whirlwind of time, priorities, and market forces ready to for when I want to pretend that history's bad guys had their own monsters and giant robots, and it still wasn't enough... the stories tucked away behind the actual events, just waiting for us to discover and experience.
- B
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