Developer Gameparic has announced Project Wunderwaffe, a WWII-era strategy game in which you must help the Germans (i.e. the Nazis) turn the tide of battle by building a superweapon. It's the fourth game the dev has announced in a 3-month span.
What is Project Wunderwaffe?
Per the game's Steam page, Project Wunderwaffe casts you as a flagging Nazi force encroached on by the Allies and the Soviets. The only chance you have to "reverse the fate of the war in favor of the Germans" is a secret base devoted to building the titular superweapon. Project Wunderwaffe avoids making direct mention of the Nazis, but playing as the Germans during World War II means you're effectively helping to create an alternate history in which the Nazis won. Developer Gameparic hasn't announced any other playable factions. You can check out the trailer for Project Wunderwaffe here:
What will Project Wunderwaffe's gameplay be like?
Gameplay-wise, Project Wunderwaffe has you managing a WWII base. You can build facilities, ensure access to resources, and defend your base from Allied and Soviet threats (again, playing as the Nazis). The titular Project Wunderwaffe weapon could take lots of different forms. Gameparic says it could be an orbital space laser, an invisible vehicle, or an armor-piercing projectile.
The developer goes on to say that the invention of the nuclear bomb - about which Oppenheimer famously said he had "become Death, destroyer of worlds" - will "be just a small percentage of what you can do". You'll also be ensuring that "German propaganda works at its best", spreading fear about your superweapon. Whether or not Gameparic intends to have you take part in building other aspects of Nazi propaganda, like systemic racism and eugenics, isn't clear.
It's worth noting here that the presence of Nazis in video games is nothing new. They've been perennial enemies in games stretching back to the early 80s; franchises like Wolfenstein and games like The Saboteur, BloodRayne, and Velvet Assassin predominantly feature Nazis as enemies. However, this could well be the first game that exclusively casts you as the Nazis and doesn't give you the option to play as another faction.
If you'd like to play Project Wunderwaffe and assist the genocidal Nazis in winning World War II, you can wishlist the game on Steam right now. It's developed by Gameparic, a member of the PlayWay group. Gameparic's other titles include the recently-announced city builders NecroCity and El Dorado: The Golden City Builder, as well as Bartender Simulator. We don't have a release date for Project Wunderwaffe yet.
Quick Take
Frankly, a game like this existing is absolutely astounding. During a time that can best be described as "politically volatile", creating a game in which you are flat-out asked to help the Nazis "turn the tide of the war" is nothing short of disgusting. There are plenty of games that allow you to play an alternate-history WWII, and many that let you play as the Germans. However, none of them - to the best of my knowledge - explicitly and exclusively cast you as only the Nazi force. Let's not forget the Nazis murdered close to 17 million non-combatants World War II, so helping them to achieve anything else feels ghoulishly misjudged at best and sickeningly offensive at worst. Let's hope Gameparic has an alternative agenda here.
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