Hell Let Loose

Last updated

Hell Let Loose
Hell Let Loose cover art.jpg
Developer(s) Expression Games
Cover 6 Studios [1]
Black Matter (former) [2]
Publisher(s) Team17 [2]
Engine Unreal Engine 4 [3]
Platform(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]

Contents

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]

Gameplay

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. These different methods of communication allow for the effective relaying of information.

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]

Development

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]

Map design

External image
Map design
Searchtool.svg 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]

Reception

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]

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References

  1. ↑ "Team17 opens Cover 6 Studios to co-develop Hell Let Loose". gamesindustry.biz. 12 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Tarason, Dominic (28 November 2018). "Team 17 to publish 50 vs 50 WW2 shooter, Hell Let Loose". Rock Paper Shotgun . Archived from the original on 29 October 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Phillips, Tom (28 November 2018). "There's another WW2 shooter in development". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on 29 October 2019.
  4. 1 2 Hossam, Mostafa (11 June 2019). "Hell Let Loose Preview (Early Access)". The Indie Game Website. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019.
  5. ↑ Newman, Lucy (12 April 2023). "Team17 Partners with Expression Games for Hell Let Loose Co-Development". Team17 Digital LTD – The Spirit Of Independent Games. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Team17 Launches Cover 6 Studios to Co-Develop Hell Let Loose". 80.lv. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  7. ↑ "Hell Let Loose | World War 2 Video Game | Team17". Team17 Digital LTD - The Spirit Of Independent Games. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Press Kit". hell-let-loose. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  9. ↑ "Black Matter". LinkedIn . Retrieved 2 November 2019.[ permanent dead link ]
  10. 1 2 Tarason, Dominic (7 June 2019). "Hell Let Loose dives into the hundred-player trenches of early access". Rock Paper Shotgun . Archived from the original on 29 October 2019.
  11. ↑ "Hardcore WW2 shooter Hell Let Loose hits PS5 and Xbox Series X and S in October". Eurogamer. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  12. ↑ Grimshaw, Jack (7 January 2022). "Team17 acquires 'Hell Let Loose' IP for £46 million". NME. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  13. ↑ "Hell Let Loose dev leaves WW2 game for "next project", but don't panic". PCGamesN. 24 February 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  14. ↑ Newman, Lucy (12 April 2023). "Team17 Partners with Expression Games for Hell Let Loose Co-Development". Team17 Digital LTD - The Spirit Of Independent Games. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  15. ↑ Black Matter (28 November 2018). "This is Hell Let Loose!". Steam Community . Archived from the original on 31 October 2019.
  16. ↑ Lyons, Ben (26 May 2023). "The British Forces have debuted in Hell Let Loose". Gamereactor UK. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  17. ↑ "Hell Let Loose - Developer Briefing #138 - Update 10, The Eastern Front is LIVE! - Steam News". store.steampowered.com. 27 July 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  18. ↑ Comments, Gavin Sheehan | (23 November 2023). "Hell Let Loose Adds Two New Forces In Latest Update". bleedingcool.com. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  19. ↑ Black Matter (4 October 2019). "Developer Briefing #43 - Introducing the Offensive Gamemode!". Steam Community . Archived from the original on 31 October 2019.
  20. 1 2 "Hell Let Loose Patch 14.8: new game mode Control Skirmish, El Alamein refresh, new weapons and armour, and more!". SiegeGG. 30 June 2024. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  21. ↑ "Hell Let Loose". Team17 . Archived from the original on 3 November 2019.
  22. ↑ Rahaman, Reyadh (15 October 2021). "Hell Let Loose: Every Role In The Game". Game Rant. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  23. ↑ Smith, Chris (28 May 2019). "Driving a tank in 'Hell Let Loose' is the most fun I've ever had playing a first-person shooter". Boy Genius Report (BGR). Archived from the original on 3 November 2019.
  24. ↑ "Hell Let Loose - Developer Briefing #173 - Update 13, Console Parity, Commonwealth Timeline - Steam News". store.steampowered.com. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  25. 1 2 "Hell Let Loose". Kickstarter . Archived from the original on 30 October 2019.
  26. ↑ "Hell Let Loose: A tour of all iconic maps". YouTube . 21 July 2020.
  27. ↑ "Hell Let Loose Maps Are To-Scale With Real Locations". ScreenRant. 18 October 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  28. ↑ "Hell Let Loose for PC Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  29. ↑ "Hell Let Loose for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  30. ↑ "Hell Let Loose for Xbox Series X Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  31. ↑ "Hell Let Loose". OpenCritic . 6 June 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  32. ↑ Goroff, Michael (5 October 2021). "Hell Let Loose (console version) review". Electronic Gaming Monthly . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  33. ↑ Park, Morgan (9 September 2021). "Hell Let Loose review". PC Gamer . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  34. ↑ Ian, Boudreau (18 October 2021). "Hell Let Loose review – battle hardened". PCGamesN . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  35. ↑ Boudreau, Ian (27 July 2021). "Hell Let Loose review – battle hardened". PCGamesN. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  36. ↑ Park, Morgan (9 September 2021). "Hell Let Loose review". pcgamer. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  37. ↑ Hell Let Loose - Devotion to Duty Update Announcement | PC Gaming Show 2023, 11 June 2023, retrieved 31 July 2023
  38. ↑ ""Embarrassing" Hell Let Loose trailer has floating arms and A-posing". PCGamesN. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  39. ↑ "Hell Let Loose is being review bombed on Steam after glitchy trailer". PCGamesN. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  40. ↑ "Hell Let Loose devs "deeply apologize" after glitch-filled trailer". PCGamesN. 14 June 2023.
  41. ↑ "Hell Let Loose - A Message to The Community - Steam News". store.steampowered.com. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  42. ↑ Wombat_Medic (27 July 2023). "Developer Briefing #192 - Answering Your Questions!". r/HellLetLoose. Retrieved 31 July 2023.

"all hell breaks loose." Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved December 11, 2024, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/all-hell-breaks-loose.

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