Hell Let Loose: Vietnam review – Brutal but rewarding FPS

From Vietcong to Men of Valor, the Vietnam War inspired a bunch of first-person shooters in the early noughties. We briefly returned to the jungle in some Black Ops missions and Battlefield DLC, but Rising Storm 2 has been the only prominent FPS to revisit the era in the last 20 years. Until now.

After Hell Let Loose took us to the more familiar setting of WWII, this sequel takes us to the jungles of Vietnam. As someone who poured dozens of hours into the original and loved Battlefield: Bad Company 2’s Vietnam DLC, Hell Let Loose: Vietnam has been one of my most anticipated games of 2026. 

It doesn’t disappoint. The tactical approach won’t be for everyone, but Hell Let Loose: Vietnam is a tough and extremely rewarding shooter.

Hell Let Loose: Vietnam screenshots

What is Hell Let Loose: Vietnam about? 

It may have a different setting, but Hell Let Loose: Vietnam is very similar to its tactical multiplayer predecessor, with a few key changes.

The dense Southeast Asian jungles offer opportunities for new features. You can swim, travel in helicopters and boats, and battle through tunnels.

Emulating real-world tactics, the US can use helicopters, patrol boats, and napalm to capture areas through brute force. The NVA can build tunnels, creating flanking routes that allow them to overwhelm objectives from all sides.

There are 19 roles to pick from, each with distinct abilities and equipment. You can be the commander leading the 50-man army, a regular rifleman, a medic, a sniper, or a helicopter pilot. Some have a steeper learning curve than others, but there are plenty of helpful tutorials to get you up to speed. 

The loadout system has also been expanded, allowing you to customize your role with different weapons and equipment or carry additional magazines. This is balanced by a weight system, so you’ll need to choose carefully what to take into battle.

Inspired by real locations, the six maps take you through thick jungles, winding rivers, rural villages, and military bases. They’re unmistakably Vietnam, although some environments feel a little too clean and untouched by war.

The map barely changes as the round progresses, with the level of destruction and atmosphere not living up to Bad Company 2’s Vietnam DLC. It shouldn’t have Battlefield-level destruction, but if the maps looked more damaged and war-torn, it would be far more immersive.

Dexerto / Team17

Right now, Hell Let Loose: Vietnam feels like a very good game that’s still in early access. It’s just a little bit underbaked – not enough to spoil it, but it doesn’t quite feel like it’s ready for a full launch.

It only costs $40, but when the maps seem a little unfinished, and it doesn’t have nearly as much content as the original (which now has 20 maps), you question how long it will hold a dedicated audience for.

Teamwork makes all the difference

And that audience is so important. Like its predecessor, your enjoyment of Hell Let Loose: Vietnam will likely depend largely on your team and how you play the game. 

If you’re part of an uncoordinated team that isn’t placing Garrisons and Outposts to spawn at, it feels like a running simulator. Without these, you’ll be spawning far away from the action, running hundreds of meters, then likely dying the second you arrive. To be frank, it’s boring. 

Similarly, if you avoid your team and try to go solo, you’ll most likely have a long run through the jungle and a short death. 

However, being part of an organized team that communicates well transforms the experience. Spawning close to the action, following a clear plan from your squad leader, calling out enemies, and making coordinated pushes is incredibly rewarding. When it all leads to victory, the feeling is so good that it’s easy to forget about the game’s shortcomings.

Team17

Combat is tough but rewarding

Combat is brutal. This isn’t your typical FPS where you need to shoot enemies several times to drop them; one well-placed headshot or a couple of body shots are enough to do the job. This makes every engagement incredibly tense, where you have to play smart and with your team to have a hope of surviving.

Hunkering down with bullets whizzing over your head, explosions booming nearby, and teammates dying around you gives each battle a sense of danger, and any kills you execute are extremely satisfying.  

Seeing the enemy drop or hearing the ping of a headshot never gets old, but being on the other side can be frustrating – especially when you don’t know where the bullets are coming from. 

However, working with your team so you can be revived and calling out enemy positions makes it much less of a problem. 

Dexerto / Team17

It can feel stiff, although that’s likely intentional. You’re not meant to be a supersoldier leaping over cover and sprinting towards the enemy while firing an M16 from the hip. It contributes to the game’s underbaked feel, but smoothing everything out too much risks robbing Hell Let Loose: Vietnam of its identity.

PC performance is smooth

Performance on PC has been good overall and represents a big improvement over the betas. My PC is slightly above the minimum requirements, and at 1440p with DLSS set to Quality and a mixture of medium and low graphics settings, it runs at around 90fps.

More importantly, I haven’t encountered any major stutters or noticeable frame drops, so as long as you meet the requirements, you shouldn’t have any issues. 

Verdict 

Hell Let Loose: Vietnam is a tough shooter where you get what you give. Treat it like Call of Duty or Battlefield, where you run at the enemy as a one-man army, and you’ll be miserable. 

However, give it time and embrace its tactical approach by communicating and working with your team, and it’s an utter blast.

It does feel a little bit unpolished, with the maps not quite offering the level of atmosphere and immersion I hoped for, but it’s a ton of fun with extremely rewarding gameplay.