‘Hell Let Loose: Vietnam’ Launches After Delay, Draws Praise For Brutal Combat

Hell Let Loose: Vietnam, developer Expression Games‘ follow-up to its acclaimed World War II shooter, has launched for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, publisher Team17 confirmed. The title moves the franchise’s signature 50-versus-50 combined-arms combat from 1940s Europe to the jungles of 1960s Vietnam, pitting U.S. forces against the North Vietnamese Army across six launch maps: Thanh Hóa Bridge, Huế Outskirts, Vạn Tường, Quảng Ngãi, Đắk Tô Airfield and Cam Ranh Port.

The launch caps a rocky road to release. The game was originally slated to debut June 18 but was pushed back nearly two months after an open beta surfaced significant technical issues that developers said needed more time to address.

Critics Praise the Chaos, Flag Rough Edges

Early reviews have been largely positive. CGMagazine awarded the game an 8 out of 10, with critic Erik McDowell calling it “an okay Hell Let Loose game, but a superb Vietnam FPS” and praising the unpredictable, close-quarters chaos created by dense jungle combat. GamesRadar similarly described the game as “often frustrating but always involving,” while PCGamesN called it “a rewarding, brutal challenge.”

Multiple outlets noted the game retains the series’ emphasis on communication and teamwork, with voice coordination described as close to mandatory for effective play. The Vietnam setting introduces new asymmetry between factions: American forces can call in napalm strikes and helicopter resupply, while the NVA can build tunnel networks that allow fast travel behind enemy lines.

Reviewers also flagged shared technical concerns, including aggressive texture and shadow pop-in in the dense jungle environments, an oversaturated color grade that can hurt visibility, and unconventional helicopter flight controls. Despite those issues, outlets reported stable servers and reliable hit detection at launch, with developers said to be responsive to community feedback during the delayed rollout.

A Crowded Field of Vietnam War Shooters

Hell Let Loose: Vietnam joins a small lineage of games attempting to translate the Vietnam War into a tactical shooter format, following titles like Battlefield: Vietnam and Rising Storm 2: Vietnam. Reviewers noted that while the game may not be a clear improvement over its WWII predecessor for longtime series fans, it stands out as one of the more complete entries in that specific subgenre.