I have spent copious amounts of hours traipsing through the jungles of virtual Vietnam over the years — from Shellshock Nam’ 67 to Rising Storm 2: Vietnam. Now, I’ve had an opportunity to trek into the brush once more, thanks to the team at Expression Games and Team 17. Hell Let Loose Vietnam shifts the series from World War 2 to, you guessed right, the Vietnam War. It’s gritty, gorgeous, and sometimes downright annoying. I can’t tell you how many times I saw the enemy that popped me. But hey, that’s part of the fun, right? Right? Anyway, here’s our official Hell Let Loose Vietnam review, in which we explored multiple maps, both factions, the vehicles, and the various infantry roles firsthand!
Editor’s Note: The Guide Hall received a review copy of the game from the developer/publisher/PR for this review. Their generosity does not impact our overall opinion or thoughts on the game!
When you first load into Hell Let Loose Vietnam, you’re thrust into training. I highly recommend that you take the time to learn the various controls, roles, and equipment you’ll interact with in-game. Because once you’re in a match, it’s chaos. You’ll quickly forget. But hey, you don’t have to listen to me. If you want, you can quit to the menu from the training grounds and jump into a round on one of the many, many community or official servers.
Diving into the game is certainly an experience, though. Admittedly, I was initially lost. Yes, I followed along with the tutorial, and I’ve played the previous Hell Let Loose and countless multiplayer first-person shooters over the years. But Hell Let Loose Vietnam tosses you into the bush and asks you to survive. It’s dark, dangerous, and an unemployed sniper is always watching you from afar.
Throwing myself into a round also brought about a memorable moment on the first night of play. I hooked up with two other random players, guys who sounded approximately my age. We formed an impromptu squad, barrelling through the underbrush in search of the enemy. Along the way, we popped down listening posts and built tunnels to help our team. Before long, we flanked the enemy village and came around from the rear. Sneaking inside, we took over a building to the rear of the objective, one of us in each window, and opened fire. It took a few minutes for the chaos to subside, for the enemy to realize we were in its midst. It wasn’t long before an all-out assault took our hovel from us, grenades and machine gun fire peppering the paper-thin walls.
At times, however, I felt useless. It’s tough to spot enemies with so much debris and flora covering every inch of the screen. On multiple occasions, I spotted teammates spraying and praying into the objective, hoping to land a kill. More often than not, they killed friendlies.
Hell Let Loose Vietnam falls into the old trope of “kills matter” above all else, leaving the objective untouched for far too long. Everyone wants a high K/D ratio; they don’t want to contribute to the overall team experience.
HLLV feels like an Early Access multiplayer shooter competing with its older brother, Hell Let Loose, which is bigger, stronger, and more popular. Last I looked, the original Hell Let Loose still has more players.
Now, that’s not necessarily an issue. Vietnam is certainly a more niche setting than World War 2.
Other issues bog down the experience in Hell Let Loose Vietnam, sadly. From cheaters in nearly every round to game-breaking bugs in which players cannot build tunnels — a key mechanic for the NVA. In one instance, I fell through a tunnel and ended up beneath the map.
All that said, Hell Let Loose Vietnam isn’t a bad experience. It’s a middling one. I would firmly place this in the 7/10 category — the type of multiplayer FPS you pop on for a weekend or two with your friends, then revisit every few months to see if it’s changed in any meaningful way.