“Good morning Vietnam”
For the first time in 7 years, Hell Let Loose is leaving the Beaches of Normandy and WW2 behind and headed toward the far less covered historic setting of the Vietnam War. Published by Team 17, which have been behind many successful games including the Overcooked and Blasphemous series. Hell Let Loose: Vietnam, underwent a pretty buggy open beta that included numerous server issues, performance drops, and poor optimization. A delayed launch of two months then gave the team an opportunity to correct and address many of those issues. So, how does this game stand now in its fully launched state? Let’s dive into the humid jungles of Vietnam and find out.
Hell Let Loose:Vietnam is a hardcore 50v50 shooter that I would personally describe as something between an arcade shooter and military sim. This combination bridges the gap between the fast paced action of arcade shooters and the slow realistic scenarios of military simulations. You play one of either sides of the war which include the United States military and the Northern Vietnamese army.
On launch, the game includes 6 unique battlefields created and inspired by the real world locations and history from the war. There are four distinct game modes available at launch for the big 50v50 player count. These are warfare, offensive, conquest, and domination. The main and focused game mode is warfare, which is widely considered the “Hell Let Loose experience” because it forces a chaotic and strategic balance of defense and attack. The frontline will constantly shift back and forth, thus changing the chokepoint and battlezones, constantly making it exciting and fresh.
Offensive, domination, and conquest, are the other modes included in Hell Let Loose: Vietnam. Domination features three central objectives up for grabs simultaneously, which can be captured in any order at any point. Once a single team controls all three objectives, the enemy's main HQ becomes vulnerable to an assault. If the 90-minute time limit runs out before an HQ capture, the team holding the most objectives is Victorious. The conquest game mode victory is determined entirely by depleting the enemy's morale meter by completing dynamic actions and managing battlefield losses. And lastly, offensive splits the lobby strictly into an attacking team and a defending team. The defenders begin in complete possession of all map sectors. The attackers must fight against a strict countdown to break through and capture designated sectors one by one to extend their time and advance across the map.
A wide variety of roles and gameplay plans are crucial to swaying the battlefield and claiming victory for your side. Proximity chat in Hell Let Loose allows squads and teams to coordinate attacks and strategies to win games. A team with more voice chat will likely always do better than one without because of the teamwork this game is built upon.
The menus are easily navigable for new and returning players featuring a barrack for your troop equips and customization, server lists, and tutorial options for new players to learn everything they need to know. Server lists for games like these are definitely a must, allowing you to find what map, mode, and the most important, the best connection to the server.
Hell Let Loose: Vietnam features 17 playable roles across six categories, Command, Infantry, Recon, Armour, Mortar Squad and Helicopter Unit. The commander being the most important and key role to the whole team, operates from the tactical map. The commander is able to manage and coordinate resources, direct smaller units and deploy the faction specific map abilities.
Squad leaders are vital, being able to bring their troops into battle with the outpost which is a spawn point for his squad and bringing them back into the fight quicker. If you're part of the NVA (Northern Vietnamese Army), you can also place tunnels down to be connected to garrisons which is a huge advantage over the US military. Garrisons cost resources and can be built to spawn-in your whole team, which is incredibly important to turning the game in your favour.
Other roles in the infantry category include the medic, who can revive downed players, the rifleman for ammo supplies, the specialist for providing supplies, the machine gunner for suppressive fire and the grenadier role, which is pretty self explanatory. Recon is extremely important with limited positions which include the sniper for taking enemy units out long range. The spotter is the leader in the recon unit being the eyes and ears for the sniper, pinging targets and sneaking into enemy lines to dismantle and disrupt them.
The Mortar team can shell enemy lines with its crew providing the team with weakened areas to attack. Tank crews are significantly important with the size and devastation they can cause to the enemy with a coordinated driver and his crew. And, If you're a part of the US Military, the helicopter pilot and crew will be available and give the ability to transport troops to the enemy line and provide suppressive fire from above. I had an opportunity to try the vast majority of these roles and can conclude they all have their significant importance and can be game changers for your team, should you have a team that works together. You are only as good as your weakest link.
In Hell Let Loose: Vietnam, the weapons are split distinctively across the two factions and represent both sides. The gunplay feels smooth and polished with some recoil but nothing too ridiculous. Taking shots and obtaining kills is especially satisfying once you get the hang of it. Aiming down sights can be frustrating at times with obscured views especially with certain guns, but this makes it feel a bit more hardcore realistic and less like a run and gun Call of Duty game.
There are 22 weapons and launchers in total at launch for the game with 9 more intended to release. Bayonet attachments are included on several of these allowing for a quick melee if you gain the opportunity. The most widely used and relevant gun for the American military factions is of course the M16A1 assault rifle which is recognizable and accurate to history. On the North Vietnamese army side, the primary gun is the Type 56 which is a rugged Chinese manufactured version of the Ak-47. Both weapons seem fairly balanced and actually give a feel for the era and historic battle when wielding.
For tools and utilities, we have a total of 22, which is of course split across the different roles and units. Bandages are the main method of healing and given to all players by default. On the odd occasion you survive being shot at or take explosion damage without being downed, these restore your health in a timely manner. Then, there are Hammers and wrenches for assembling fortifications and resource nodes, demolition charges, satchels, and regular frag grenades can be equipped to your person and found in explosive supply boxes.
Field pads are important to squad leaders and commanders, allowing them to place down outposts and garrisons. Specialists carry supply boxes to feed those who need them, with a recharge included with many other tools. Blowtorches and repair kits are given to roles who need to restore damaged weapons and vehicles. The Recon and spotters roles are given binoculars to ping and spot targets to destroy.
When you think of a Vietnam War game in terms of setting, where does your mind go? Well if you thought Jungle, brush, and foliage, well you're more than right! Hell Let Loose: Vietnam heavily delivers in the setting and overall feel of the era and setting. Across the 6 diverse battlefields which are Thanh Hóa Bridge , Đắk Tô Airfield, Huế Outskirts, Quang Ngai, Cam Ranh Port, and Mekong Delta, they all have a unique look that accurately follows their real life location and combat zones. You will spend countless time running through the brush, crawling over dunes, and mantling and navigating the warehouses and docks. My personal favourite being Thanh Hóa Bridge which I believe perfectly captures the Vietnam feel with the big river and mountainside village combat in the jungle. The huge map layout gives a large-scale battle feel that is perfect for allowing many different points of attack and defense.
During my time with the game, I had a few issues, and also am aware of those many other users are experiencing. For reference, I play with aNVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 with 32 Gb Vengeance Corsair Ram with a 1440p 220hz monitor. The game definitely isn't the most optimized even after the delayed launch as I was getting around 40-60 frames with max settings with drops throughout certain areas. I tampered with my settings a bit and managed to get a consistent 80-90 frames with optimized graphics and DLSS.
My game crashed multiple times on launch across different days, which was a bit frustrating, which also has been happening with the consoles. Sound and audio has been known to bug out, especially the helicopters being extremely loud and cutting in and out. Inconsistent rendering of the foliage happens often which can definitely obscure the view and looks kinda ugly at the moment. Other than that, there are some more minor things for sure but I would say the one major thing to improve is 100% optimization. Right now, it is spotty at best.
Issues aside, Hell Let Loose: Vietnam is without a doubt an incredibly fun game for lovers of the original and the hardcore shooter genre. For new players, you're gonna struggle, die, and be frustrated, at least at first. But, as you get in there, work as a team, and learn the game, you’ll learn from your failure and become a teamplayer, aiding in victory.
Now, is it worth the price tag? In my opinion most definitely. Countless hours will go by and you will have different outcomes every game. And with the game receiving constant updates, like new helicopter models, maps, weapons and cosmetics, I can see players returning and joining. The bug fixes will also be a game changer as I believe thats the main weak points with the base launch along with it being poorly optimized.
Hell Let Loose: Vietnam takes the series' signature, high-stakes tactical gameplay and successfully translates it into the dense, chaotic jungles of Vietnam. Its optimization is a sore spot currently, but the changes the team has made from the beta to launch show that they are working on making this the best version of the game it can be.
Developer - Expression Games. Publisher - Team17. Released - August 13th, 2026. Available On - PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Rated - (M) Blood and Gore, Violence. Platform Reviewed - PC - Steam. Review Access - A review code for Hell Let Loose: Vietnam was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
I’m William! I am a multiplayer-focused gamer with a deep love for games like Star Wars Battlefront, and Battlefield 1. I also love asymmetrical horror games and playing games like Fortnite and Roblox.