The Dark Army: Uprising Remastered has FINALLY been released! news

Debriefing

7 years ago today, on July 1st, 2013, I started the development of what used to be a small single-player map-pack for Return To Castle Wolfenstein - it was called The Dark Army. Over time, the project became more ambitious - the add-on became a mod, and that's why I decided, in 2014, to split it into two parts: the first being called The Dark Army: Uprising, and the second called The Dark Army: Downfall. In 2015, The Dark Army: Uprising was released, but since it was met with mixed to negative reviews, I decided to remove it from download sites, only to re-release it in 2016 in a better and more cohesive shape. It was way more positively met, as it made it to the Top 100 of the 2016 Mod of the Year Awards - becoming the first Return To Castle Wolfenstein mod to ever achieve such a feat. But that also made me realize that so many, better mods, would have deserved such praise instead.

That's why, instead of fully continuing the development of the sequel, I decided, in 2017, to start the development of a new, enhanced version of The Dark Army: Uprising, one that would make the mod truly worth of such praise: The Dark Army: Uprising Version 2.0. "Halfway between remaster and remake" - as were my words back then - a demo of this new version was released the same year, and it was welcomed very positively. In 2018, The Dark Army: Uprising Version 2.0 was supposed to be released, but the project grew into a bigger one, a true re-imagination. Thus, it was re-branded The Dark Army: Uprising Remastered, and presented during the Return to Castle Wolfenstein 17th Anniversary Event. In 2019, work on the project continued for a release the same year, but due to unexpected opportunities - like the beginning of the development of Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory Single-Player - it ultimately did not make it to its initially planned December 2019 release window.

Now, we're in 2020 - and FINALLY, after 3 years of development, the overhaul of The Dark Army: Uprising is complete. And after 7 years, the mod is finally what it was always supposed to be. I hope you'll like it. Please enjoy!

What's new?

Here's a non exhaustive list of new features:

• New playable levels
• Re-imagined story
• Deeper storytelling (new cutscenes, new dialogues...)
• Revamped, improved and expanded maps
• Coherent and realistic level design
• Reworked Day & Night campaign features
• Brand new dynamic user-interface
• Movie-like camera angles during cutscenes
• New "Realism" difficulty (RealRTCW 3.0)
• New weapons & items (RealRTCW 3.0)
• New secret areas & treasures
• New Easter-eggs & secrets
• New Game+ mode (coming soon)
• Dark Campaign (coming July 8)
• Dark Realm (coming soon)

Gameplay details - campaigns

There are three campaigns in The Dark Army: Uprising Remastered. Elements like the weather, the lighting, the sound ambience, the enemies, their weapons, the items scattered around the maps, B.J.'s outfit... differ from one campaign to another. The most striking difference probably lies within what kind of weaponry you'll find. There are weapons you'll only find during the Day campaign, and some others in the Night campaign only. Below is a list of said exclusives.

As for the Dark Campaign (which is coming July 8), it's a radically different experience. This campaign is literally filled with undead enemies, while the environment is engulfed in a bloody red fog, which grows thicker and thicker as the player progresses through the game. There's also an emphasis on survival in this campaign, as you can't scavenge weapons nor ammo from your enemies, since they don't use firearms. Thus, finding what's already in the area is essential. In this hardcore campaign, fleeing and hiding are keys.