Hell Let Loose – Preview
War is hell; fighting in filthy trenches that are scattered around Europe while being unsure if you will ever see the next day. Recently, hardcore shooters have gained in popularity, yet it feels like some games still give us a large advantage on the battlefield. In Hell Let Loose you have deeply immersed in 1942 Europe while being limited on supplies and highly relying on your comrades. In this game you will sit in a front-row seat while fighting, having bullets fly around your head and tanks roaming the battlefield.
The game takes place during the European campaign of World War 2. You can either side with the Allies or the Axis federation and fight for victory. Because this game is an online-only shooter, there won’t be a real story or alternate ending to the Second World War. At the successful end of a mission, you will be awarded a victory song of your faction. That there is no real story isn’t a miss, since the game takes a long time to play, so you don’t want to waste it on cutscenes.
Because Hell Let Loose is still in Early Access, you will notice that to have it run smoothly you might have to either have a really strong system or slightly tweak the settings to give you a stable frame rate. The game looks pretty decent on the standard settings but there are some items popping in and out. Bullet tracers will fly over your head and explosions look nice and will leave traces on the battlefield. In its current state, it plays smoothly and stable without too many hiccups and we hope that the graphics will receive an update when the game comes out, to make this title look like a masterpiece.
If you are familiar with hardcore shooters, then you will know that sound-engineering is as important as the gameplay. Hearing where your enemy is located will give you an edge on the battlefield. This is important because one single bullet can mean the end of your career. When you jump into the game just getting used to the controls, you will be mowed down by enemies without grace. Soon you will discover that your ears are a better weapon than the rifle or pistol in your hands. One thing that might be a bit of an immersion-breaker is the full voice chat which allows you to communicate with your friends over the whole map, but this is really important as veterans will teach newbies the ropes and it is essential to give orders to ensure victory over the battle. The sound is magnificent and being right in the middle of a battle is truly immersive.
As you begin the game, you will get prompted to begin as a rifleman as all the other roles are greatly limited. As a normal infantryman, you will have a trusty bolt action rifle, which you can manually cycle if you wish to do so (it even feels like you shoot faster this way). A great way to balance the gameplay is by limiting the more powerful weapons and letting players specialize in the simpler guns. Just like in the more decent shooters, there are different roles suited for each occasion; such as engineers that can build objectives, a radioman who can call in strikes and the medic that will heal and revive fallen comrades.
Teamwork will make or break the game because you will be fighting in 50v50 setups on really large maps, so it does take a while before you get to the objective. Traversing the map by truck or tank can be quick but it will alert the enemies of your presence. Sometimes it is better and safer to move on foot, but be careful not to get shot down by a waiting enemy. In true war fashion, the gunplay is slow but it is effective. For example, grenades really take a while to use but can really deal some tremendous damage. Tanks are really slow but can be really deadly when in the right hands. Keeping your distance is something that we all live by in 2020, in Hell Let Loose you will want to keep your distance from the enemy as reloading takes a while and ammunition is limited.
If you are familiar with hardcore shooters, then you know that a match can take a long time. In Hell Let Loose it is no exception having a mission take over an hour unless you have some really strong players that swiftly take over objectives. When on the defending side, it can be a long battle, but as long as the enemy is pushing you will notice matches still ‘feel’ short and before you know it you are playing until the wee hours of the night.
Conclusion
Hell Let Loose is a great game if you love hardcore shooters and want to try them out in a World War 2 setting. Overall it is already nicely developed and the creators are working hard to listen to the community and fine-tune the game. The gameplay is intimidating but fun, once you get the hang of it. There isn’t an absurdly high difficulty curve but it can be really frustrating in the first few matches. You better pick an emptier server and steadily learn the game and if you are lucky then you have the lovely community holding your hand through the first raids of your life.
Hell Let Loose – Preview,
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[…] in January, we gained our first combat experience in the hardcore realistic shooter Hell Let Loose. With our boots firmly on the ground, we fought along the European countryside in the 1940s. Back […]