Hell Let Loose: Vietnam

For all of the things Battlefield, Call of Duty, Enlisted, even BlackMill's World War I series do well, none are particularly good representations of the true nature of war. These titles are designed to be fast-paced, thrilling, fluid, and to effectively be a more arcade-style of shooter where serious simulation is side-lined in favour of getting the player back into the action as quickly as possible. The Hell Let Loose series is not that at all.

Hell Let Loose is designed to be a more simulated warfare experience, and this means large battlefields, devastating weaponry and vehicles, tough terrain to overcome, and punishing conflicts when you find yourself face-to-face with an opponent. While you may be defeated in Battlefield 6 after a gunfight, where you and an enemy pepper each other with bullets, and able to re-join the action after a 10-second redeployment phase, in Hell Let Loose, you may be waiting upwards of a minute all after being headshot by an assault rifle user lying in the undergrowth, seeing your life fade away in a heartbeat. The point is, this is a game for warfare enthusiasts, designed to be played by such individuals who long for team-wide communication, strategic knowhow, and less of an emphasis on an individual's gunplay and skillset.

I feel it's worth making that point evidently clear from the outset because Hell Let Loose: Vietnam - a dedicated sequel trading the World War II theatre of war for the Vietnam War - can be quite a challenging game to understand and play. It's meant to feel authentic, and that means using guns without any handy and fancy attachments, needing to work as a full team to create a supply and deployment network, having dedicated pilots and supply truck drivers who ferry resources to the frontlines, and all while fighting over key objectives on a map so broad in nature crossing its diameter on foot could take tens and tens of minutes.

This Expression Games-developed sequel is a project that scales back complexity in areas modern shooters have perhaps become a tad overbearing, all while introducing complexity in many other places. It's more akin to BlackMill's titles, in that players will need to manually construct garrisons and supply points as they push the frontline forward in a bid to claim crucial territory, but anyone who has played the original Hell Let Loose will be more than familiar with this design. Where Hell Let Loose: Vietnam changes the dynamic is in the form of its asymmetrical warfare. What I mean is the two rival factions aren't similarly equipped as they were before. The United States Army has expensive armour and firearms, with broad access to helicopters and advanced aerial craft that would otherwise dominate a field of battle. However, the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) is clever and determined, using its guerrilla tactics to its advantage, meaning this faction can tap into tunnel systems to quickly get around the battlefield. It's a design where one faction feels like a bulldozer steadily ploughing its way through the jungle, whereas the other adapts to the surroundings and makes it their own, leading to a more agile and less rigid style of play.

It's an effective balance at work, because the NVA are hard to pin down and can be a nuisance to spot in the undergrowth with their better camouflaged appearances, all while the US forces are enhanced by earth-shaking tanks and deadly helicopters able to reign fire from above and drop troops deep into enemy territory without needing a player to cross the dangerous contested land on foot. But even though this design is present, it doesn't change the fact we're still talking about the Vietnam War here, meaning unlike modern conflicts in the Middle East where western soldiers are equipped with the latest technology and tools compared to the basic and dated assault rifles of the native forces, in Hell Let Loose: Vietnam, even the US Army have to fight tooth and nail when conflicts break out. When bullets start flying, much of the advantages of each faction is eliminated, and we find ourselves in more traditional shooter gameplay.

It's from this point where you will figure out if Hell Let Loose: Vietnam is in fact a game for you. Regardless of the teamplay, the communication systems spanning squad and proximity vocals, the strategy going into attacking or defending an objective, when bullets fly you'll figure out whether or not this game resonates with you. Due to the authenticity of the action, you won't be engaging in lengthy gunfights. There's very little meaningful back and forth, as you spend a lot of resources pumping bullets into foliage to suppress enemies or target a shadow that could be an enemy. The enemy will do all of this back to you and if you get hit in the process, you'll be killed almost instantaneously with a somewhat anonymous black background appearing letting you know you've been killed with little feedback as to how. Hell Let Loose: Vietnam is an unapologetically authentic shooter at times, and the truth of the matter is you have to want this style of video game else it will not be your cup of tea. There's no quick to the point action and there's no casual nature to this shooter. This game serves up long and sprawling matches that can last 90 minutes, where you will spend tens and tens of minutes in redeployment screens after being killed by a stray bullet where there's almost no feedback, visually or audibly, as to what happened.

I'm not saying it's a fundamentally incorrect design choice to lean into this style of gameplay, as there will be many out there who enjoy this and long for this kind of shooter. But at the same time, this is not a game for everyone. You have to be focussed all the time, you have to be present and available and willing to communicate with allies. You have to expect to spend a lot of time either dead, redeploying, or walking back up to the battlefield. And you have to do all of this while being aware the Vietnam theatre of war is a much denser and camouflaged setting compared to most of the World War II locations, meaning you and enemies will spend a large portion of time lying in bushes and foliage, waiting for someone to pop their head up or sneak by so you can strike at them like a Venus fly trap.

Simply put, Hell Let Loose: Vietnam is a complicated and rather hardcore shooter experience. This will either be the perfect shooter for you or it'll be your worst nightmare - there really isn't a middle-ground for this game. Regardless, love it or hate it, Expression has created a title with punchy and pleasing gunplay, detailed and vibrant graphics, and a multitude of gameplay options tied to the different modes and classes. The only question is whether you'll have the commitment and patience to learn the intricacies of the game before searching for something less demanding.