Hell Let Loose: Vietnam Review

It’s very tough out there for first-person shooters to break into the catalogue and be successful. In a world where Call of Duty still dominates sales and Battlefield 6 has had a semi-decent launch, it’s hard to stand out from the crowd. Hell Let Loose: Vietnam is finally out in the wild, and I couldn’t be more excited to not only dive into a new shooter, but one that takes the battle to Vietnam. I’ve had some great memories with titles like Battlefield Vietnam and also Vietnam additions in Battlefield Bad Company 2. I covered the first Hell Let Loose when it launched on Xbox, and I was critical of its learning curve.

For those who don’t know about the Hell Let Loose games, this isn’t your typical run-and-gun affair. It’s a realistic hardcore shooter that isn’t about your kill/death count; it’s about working with your squad and strategising your advance on the field of battle. Playing with friends is highly recommended; if not, get that headset on and be prepared to talk. The question is, how does it stack up against the previous instalment?

Take Your Time & Play The Tutorials

If you’re new to the game completely or it’s been a while since you touched Hell Let Loose, then my advice is to play the tutorials. Going in blind without the guidance these teach you will be the biggest mistake you make. They will teach you everything from basic infantry training to how all the roles within the game work. You’ll also be introduced to how to drop supplies, construct garrisons, outposts and tunnel networks. It’s important to learn how the commander and squad leaders work to gain an advantage. Knowing how to use the different communication channels, markers and pings is also a must.

Warfare and Offensive Reimagined Through Dense Foliage and Brutal Ambushes

Popular game modes return in Hell Let Loose: Vietnam, but there are new ones as well; I’ll explain them below.

Warfare – Both teams commence with half of the map each and fight it out in a classic tug-of-war affair. Your team must capture sectors to push the enemy back. Matches here can go on for an hour and a half, and the winner is the team who capture the enemy headquarters or the team who control most sectors when the time expires. The intensity in these games is immense when everyone is working together, and the war can flip sides very quickly.

Offensive – During this mode, it’s pretty simple: one team attacks whilst the other defends. Attackers must capture sectors in order, then finally the enemy HQ in order to win.  Defenders must work to prevent this, and they cannot recapture lost sectors. A defender victory amounts to running the timer down on a sector.

Conquest – Similar to warfare but with multiple objectives in place at the same time. Sectors can be captured by either team at any time, and the overall goal is to control the majority of them before the timer expires.

Domination –  Domination has three capture points, and teams fight to control all three simultaneously. Victory is handed to the side that holds the majority for the longest duration.

Gameplay – Where Every Step Through the Jungle Could Be Your Last

Hell Let Loose: Vietnam retains that hardcore team-driven gameplay loop with long and drawn-out battles. Fans of games such as Call of Duty and even Battlefield may be instantly turned off by this one if you go in blind. This isn’t a game where you can just run and gun. The reliance on working together is ultimately what gives you a chance of victory. Whilst the gameplay is nearly identical to the original Hell Let Loose, how it plays is a little different.

The jungle setting alters how players advance and fight, using foliage and the forest to their advantage. Visibility is a lot lower than what you will have experienced in the previous game. Infantry needs to work alongside the squad leader and commander, whereas a medic is always handy to keep close by. The key is to strategise, whether that’s attacking head-on, flanking and taking the enemy by surprise or building tunnel networks as the NVA. Whilst the NVA does have the advantage of tunnels, the US has helicopter and tank support instead. Let me tell you that it is super important to go into this game knowing what you are doing. Gunplay is satisfying, especially when you hammer enemies in the head, but be prepared to put the hours in to unlock further equipment such as grenades, ammo boxes and more.

Visuals & Audio

Admittedly, when I played the Beta build a few weeks before launch, I was very worried. I mentioned to my friends that I don’t think this game is anywhere near ready for release. When it comes to environment design, they have nailed it. As you’d imagine, maps have dense vegetation, wooden huts, bunkers made of sandbags and more. There is plenty of natural cover across all of the maps to get good vantage points. Seeing enemies in the treeline and actually picking them off is super satisfying.

There are some issues with performance, though, at least on Xbox Series X. I’ve seen bugs with players swimming or floating across the screen, but they have seemingly fixed the sandbags appearing in the sky from the Beta build. In most matches, I tend to see a shimmer/flashing effect when running towards or through vegetation and trees. This makes it extremely difficult to spot enemies when it is hard to see them anyway. I’m not sure wether its a framerate problem, or it’s just the optimisation of the game; either way, it turns me off playing when it happens.

Final Thoughts

Hell Let Loose: Vietnam has the foundations and formula of everything that the Hell Let Loose experience strives to be. Sadly, during my twenty or so hours with the game so far, I’ve had more frustration than fun. Now, I do not doubt that over the course of a few weeks those issues will be ironed out, but at the time of writing, it plays like an early-access title. In my opinion, the game needed more time in the oven, so to speak, and despite extensive Alpha and Beta testing, there are still many issues. I do understand, though, that this year’s gaming calendar is heavily congested with big-hitting releases. This means that picking a window of opportunity without competition was paramount for Expression Games and Team 17.

Despite my personal bugbears with the current state of the game, it is playable at least, and when everything works as it should, there are phenomenal moments. Once the performance and atmosphere are at the level that the original Hell Let Loose achieved, then it will be an absolute joy to play. If you’re willing to be patient and work through some potential annoyances, then there is still a cracking time to be had here. It’s fair to say, though, that the developers are working hard to fix the problems; a hotfix went live after a few days, and a patch is in the works to address over 500 bug fixes and more. If you fancy picking up a copy for Xbox Series X/S, you can grab one HERE. The game also features Xbox Play Anywhere functionality if you plan to play it on PC as well as Console.