Hell Let Loose

Hell Let Loose
Developer(s)	Expression Games Cover 6 Studios[1] Black Matter (former)[2]
Publisher(s)	Team17[2]
Engine	Unreal Engine 4[3]
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X/S
Release	Windows July 27, 2021 PS5, Xbox Series X/S October 5, 2021
Genre(s)	Tactical shooter, first-person shooter
Mode(s)	Multiplayer

Hell Let Loose is a 2021 multiplayer tactical first-person shooter^[4] developed by Expression Games^[5] and Cover 6 Studios,^[6] and published by Team17.^[7] Players fight in iconic battles of the Western, North African and Eastern Fronts of World War II at the platoon level.^[8]

The game was created and developed by Australian studio Black Matter led by Maximilian Rea,^[9] who first announced it via a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2017 that raised a total of US$220,000.^[2][3] It was initially released for Microsoft Windows as an early access title on 6 June 2019,^[10] and fully released two years later in July 2021. It was later released for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on 5 October 2021.^[11] In January 2022, Black Matter sold the game to its publisher Team17 for £31 million with the potential addition of £15 million based on the game's performance.^[12] Development was handed to Team17 shortly after December 2022,^[13] who then founded Cover 6 Studios in the beginning months of 2023 to work on development and potentially on the next game in the series.^[6] In April 2023, Team17 contracted the UK studio Expression Games to also continue development of the game.^[14]

Matches are combined arms battles between two teams of either Germans, Americans,^[15] British,^[16] Soviets^[17] or the German Afrika Korps and British 8th Army subfactions.^[18] Each team consists of multiple smaller rifle squads of six soldiers, armoured squads of three tank crewmen, and recon squads of two soldiers.^[4] As of October 2024, three game modes exist in the game: Warfare, Offensive and Control Skirmish. In all three modes, the map is divided into sectors that each team seeks to capture and control. For the first two modes, matches are 50 vs. 50, and in the third, they're smaller 25 vs. 25 matches. In the Warfare mode, the game is won by either controlling all five sectors, or by controlling the majority of them when the timer runs out. In the Offensive mode, a defending team is in control of all sectors at the beginning of the match, and the objective for the opposing side is then to capture all of them within 30 minutes per objective.^[19] In the Control Skirmish mode, there is one centre objective that both teams seek to control before the timer runs out in a more condensed sized map.^[20]

Communication is intended as a central gameplay aspect by the developers.^[21] Each unit is led by a single officer, who can communicate with other officers and the commander through a 'leadership' voice channel. Similarly, there are unit-only, proximity and party voice channels which are available for everyone. As an alternative to voice communication, there is also access to team-wide and unit level text chat which is only featured on the PC version of the game. There is also a ping system featured in the game, allowing players to mark things such as attacking points, pieces of equipment, artillery bombardment locations and enemy positions.

Hell Let Loose also features an RTS-inspired resource-based strategic meta-game.^[8] Each of the two factions fighting will also be assigned a commander, and the commander is in charge of not only the team and squads, but vehicle deployments, air strikes, and supply drops just to name a few. These orders do however cost the team some resources. Resource nodes can be built using supplies by engineers to bolster resource production, which allows for the commander to deploy more tanks, air strikes and other orders to help the team fighting on the battlefield. These resource nodes can be removed if found and dismantled by the enemy team as well.

In addition, the game features 14 different playable classes. With nine classes in infantry, this includes officer, rifleman, automatic rifleman, assault, support, anti-tank, machine gunner, engineer, and medic. In armor units, there are two classes including both the tank commander and tank crewman. Much like armor units, recon squads also feature two classes with the spotter and the sniper. Alongside these classes, there is also the previously mentioned unique commander class in charge of each team.^[22]

Hell Let Loose is developed on Unreal Engine 4.^[3] After about two years of initial development and testing following the launch of its Kickstarter campaign,^[23] the game released on Steam as an early-access title on June 6, 2019 — the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings,^[10] which was then followed by a full release in July 2021. The game was also released for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on 5 October 2021. Throughout the numerous updates to the game, the developers have also been constantly working on bringing the console and PC version of the game up to parity.^[24]

External image
Map design
A developer example illustrating map design based on street level images of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, Manche. Source: Kickstarter campaign.[25]

The game currently features 17 unique maps, covering many battles and environments across different years, each being based on historical WWII battles.^[26] These are all designed by combining satellite imagery, archival aerial photography and street-level recreation,^[25][27] with the exception of one map. Additionally, there are also unique subfactions for specific maps. Currently, this only includes the German Afrika Korps and British 8th Army subfactions, which are present on the El Alamein map. These map specific subfactions include unique loadouts, uniforms and weapons.^[20]

Hell Let Loose received 'generally favorable' reviews for Microsoft Windows and Xbox Series X, and 'mixed or average' reviews for PlayStation 5, according to review aggregator Metacritic. On the Steam platform, the game holds a 'very positive' review score.

PCGamesN has praised the use of teamwork in the game, writing that "A well-led assault on an enemy strongpoint involves covering the approach with a smokescreen... taking part in such an assault is a uniquely exhilarating experience that’s like nothing else I’ve felt in a shooter."^[35] On the other hand, PC Gamer, while enjoying the changes that made Hell Let Loose more lethal, still felt that the sound wasn't up to par, saying "My main nitpick is with sound... when everything is tuned correctly, a gun should be so loud that I can't hear my teammate over the radio. This is where Hell Let Loose kinda falls flat. No matter how much I mess with audio sliders, the game never gets loud enough for my liking."^[36]

In July 2023, Team17 released a since-deleted trailer for the game's next update, 'Devotion to Duty'.^[37] Upon release of the trailer, it was met with poor reception in and out of the community, due to the trailer not showcasing actual gameplay like before, and the inclusion of multiple graphical and animation glitches.^[38] The game then became the subject of review bombing on Steam after this.^[39] As a result of the widespread criticism, both Cover 6 Studios and Team17 issued a joint apology,^[40] and announced plans to continue to improve the game on their Reddit page.^[41][42]

• Official website