Wolfpack

Wolfpack is a submarine simulator from the early 1990s that puts the player in command of a German U-boat operating in wolfpacks against Allied convoys in the Atlantic during World War II. Unlike simulators focused on a single submarine, Wolfpack at least partially highlights the tactics of group attacks typical of real German wolfpack operations the game is named after, so the player also has to think about coordinating with other submarines instead of hunting a lone vessel by themselves, as older simulators focused on just one submarine offered, regardless of the rest of the pack operating in the same area.

The gameplay combines positioning relative to the convoy, tracking patrol vessels, and the classic calculation of torpedo attack parameters with reacting to countermeasures, when the submarine has to dive after an attack and evade depth charges. The graphics are appropriate for their time — a simple but functional display of the deck, periscope, and overview map gives the player enough information for sound tactical decisions without burdening them with excess detail. Sonar and explosion sounds add to the atmosphere, even if technically it's not the most ambitious presentation in the genre compared to flagship titles from major publishers who could afford more elaborate graphics and sound.

Wolfpack wasn't as widely discussed at release as the genre's flagship titles, but thanks to its focus on convoy-attack tactics from the German side, it found its place among fans of DOS submarine simulators. Today it's interesting mainly as an alternative perspective on the same theme of undersea warfare that competing games often approached from the Allied side, and as a reminder of the diversity the genre offered back then, one that didn't settle for a single point of view on the Battle of the Atlantic and offered various ways to experience the same historical subject.

Why play it: For players who want to experience the Battle of the Atlantic from the German side — an alternative perspective on convoy-attack tactics of undersea warfare that competing titles approached from the Allied side.