Hell Let Loose: Vietnam
Review

After playing Hell Let Loose: Vietnam, the impression received is ambivalent. The base for an exceptional tactical shooter is definitely there, but at the moment of release, the game suffers from technical instability, lack of asymmetrical warfare, and an influx of people treating the game as an arcade shooter.

Gameplay & Faction Design: Where is the Asymmetry?

The gameplay loop of Hell Let Loose has remained the same as the previous version: two teams consisting of 50 players battle each other, build up garrisons and supply lines, and die from one unseen shot from the bushes. The speed is slightly increased due to helicopters and assault rifles, making the gameplay hectic.

However, the problem with Hell Let Loose: Vietnam lies in the way the factions were designed. Vietnam War is famous for its asymmetrical warfare, where one side (US) uses well-developed machinery, and the other (Viet Cong and NVA) employs guerrilla tactics. However, in the new game, the NVA and US factions look incredibly alike.

Both of them have the same number of tanks and air support. NVA does not possess any booby traps or guerrilla tactics except for tunnels, which serve as nothing more than fast-travel stations. Developers decided to create a game with the regular NVA army instead of the Viet Cong in order to fit into the 50v50 framework, but in so doing they lost many features which could make the game unique.

The selection of weapons also looks shallow at the moment of release. There are no famous guns such as M14, PPSh, or AK-patterns.

The Player Base and Game Modes

Part of the problem is also related to the people who started playing Hell Let Loose: Vietnam. Due to the large number of new players, many servers are currently flooded with people who treat the game as Team Deathmatch. There is also a complete lack of communication, squads unable to place the spawn points, and nobody willing to take the position of commander.

Moreover, new game modes seem unpolished. New "Conquest" mode, instead of being a grand 50v50 fight, splits up the team into 10-man skirmishes.

Technical Performance and Bugs

From the technical point of view, the game was launched in a state of being much closer to Early Access beta than to full release.

• AMD Instability: Players using AMD GPUs are facing severe instability problems, including constant hard crashes, flickering textures, and low framerates even after the initial hotfixes.
• VOIP Issues: Communication is one of the most important features of the game, but the in-game proximity and squad voice chat constantly breaks, becomes robotic, or simply fails.
• Server Connections: Joining a server with a friend group is currently an ordeal because of "Disconnected from Host" errors wiping out 30 minutes of match progress.

The Verdict

Hell Let Loose: Vietnam is a promising tactical shooter that was released too early. When you manage to find the squad with working microphones, a good commander, and stable server performance, the game provides the same heart-pounding, PTSD-inducing firefights as the original game.

However, right now you will have to go through technical bugs, AMD crashes, shallow weapon selection, and lack of asymmetrical warfare in order to find this fun. The history of the developer proves their ability to support their games for several years after release, but at the current price of $40, the game requires much more patience.