Hell Let Loose: Vietnam Review Roundup: What Critics Said, and What’s Changed Two Months On

The Hell Let Loose: Vietnam review scores put Expression Games' 50v50 shooter firmly in "good, but not for everyone" territory. It has a 71 Metascore on PC from 21 reviews and 72 on PS5, while Steam players rate it Mixed. Two months after launch, the developer has added the Huey helicopter, new weapons and an audio overhaul, and Update 2.0 arrives in November with a new map and ANZAC forces.

This is a roundup of what critics and players say, not our own review.

Hell Let Loose: Vietnam review roundup at a glance

What is Hell Let Loose: Vietnam?

It's the Vietnam War follow-up to Hell Let Loose, the hardcore World War II shooter. Battles are 50 versus 50, built around teamwork, squads, commanders and a resource-driven front line. New for Vietnam are helicopters for the US forces, tunnels for the North Vietnamese Army, new roles across six unit types and a weight-based loadout system.

What did critics like?

• DualShockers (80) called it "the best Vietnam War shooter I've played since the glory days of Vietcong in 2003".
• IGN Benelux (85, the highest score) called it "an excellent portrayal of the chaos of war" and "an unforgettable experience" when your team works together.
• GamesRadar+ (80) found its battles "deeply involving", with each death and kill carrying more weight than in arcade shooters.
• PCGamesN (80) praised a "beautifully brutal game with a sky-high skill ceiling", and Dexerto (80) called it "an utter blast when played as a team".
• CGMagazine (80) summed it up as "an okay Hell Let Loose game, but a superb Vietnam FPS".

What didn't critics like?

• Performance and bugs came up in almost every review, including IGN Benelux, KeenGamer and Softpedia.
• It's hard to spot enemies in the dense jungle (KeenGamer, SECTOR.sk).
• It's very similar to the original: Game8 (62) called it "more of the same as in 2021, but with a different setting".
• Too much waiting: Edge (50, the lowest score) felt the exciting moments were outweighed by time spent waiting for something to happen, and Eurogamer (60) said its many variables don't always come together.
• It depends on your team: several reviewers, including The Games Machine, noted that the learning curve and reliance on teamwork limit how much fun you'll have with random players.

What players are saying

Steam reviews are Mixed (62% positive of more than 12,900), and they split along the same lines as the critics:

• Ruzaer, a fan of the original, called it an "unplayable unoptimized mess" with crashes and FPS drops, and refunded it.
• 1lb D (110 hours) wanted to like it but complained about armored helicopter windshields and large hitboxes.
• Fly (91 hours) admitted it has bugs but said it "still has the fun of the original", with lobby quality the bigger issue.
• sl0th said it has "the familiarity of the Hell Let Loose experience" but is "definitely its own thing".
• mythicblue joked that crossing a rice paddy took 12 minutes, before a headshot from an unseen rifleman: "10/10, best cardio simulator on Steam".

These are players' opinions, not confirmed facts.

What has changed since launch?

Expression Games has patched the game steadily since August, according to its Steam posts:

• Update 1.5 (September 16): the officially licensed Bell UH-1 Iroquois "Huey", the M14 and the Type 56 SKS, the first major content drop.
• Hotfixes 1.5.1 and 1.5.2: smoother aiming-down-sights transitions, controller and UI fixes, and AMD FSR 4.1 support with stability and memory improvements.
• Patch 1.6 (October 7): a major audio overhaul, unit composition changes and reworked Engineer buildables.
• Patch 1.7 (October 21): the M1A1 Thompson joins the US arsenal, the M16A1 gets an optional 30-round magazine, plus tank shell unloading, boat improvements, more barbed wire for Engineers, visual and performance upgrades and a shorter AFK timer on official servers.

What's in Hell Let Loose: Vietnam Update 2.0?

Update 2.0 is due in November 2026. Expression Games says it brings the game's first new battlefield, Khe Sanh, expands the US and Allied forces with ANZAC forces, and adds new weapons. An exact date hasn't been announced yet.

Watch the Hell Let Loose: Vietnam launch trailer

Is Hell Let Loose: Vietnam worth it?

If you loved Hell Let Loose and want its slow, team-driven warfare in a new setting, critics broadly agree this delivers, and steady patches are fixing many launch problems. If you want fast action or play mostly solo with random squads, the critics who found it frustrating may well be describing your experience. Update 2.0's new map in November is a natural point to jump in or give it another try.

More Hell Let Loose on iGame Magazine

• Hell Let Loose Update 21 – the latest for the original game
• Hell Let Loose: Vietnam release – launch day coverage
• Hell Let Loose: Vietnam release date – how we got here
• Gallipoli – another big-team historical shooter

Hell Let Loose: Vietnam review FAQ