Hell Let Loose

Matches are combined arms battles between two teams of either Germans, Americans, British, Soviets, and the Canadian Forces, or the German Afrika Korps and British 8th Army subfactions. Each team consists of multiple smaller rifle squads of six soldiers, armoured squads of three tank crewmen, recon squads of two soldiers, and artillery squads of three crewmen. 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.

The teams consist of 50 players each (so 100 players in total). 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. 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.

Hell Let Loose is developed on Unreal Engine 4. After about two years of initial development and testing following the launch of its Kickstarter campaign, the game released on Steam as an early-access title on June 6, 2019 — the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings, 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.

The game currently features 17 unique maps, covering many battles and environments across different years, each being based on historical WWII battles. These are all designed by combining satellite imagery, archival aerial photography and street-level recreation, with the exception of one map. Additionally, there are 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 and Tobruk maps. These map specific subfactions include unique loadouts, uniforms and weapons.

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." On the other hand, PC Gamer, while enjoying the changes that made Hell Let Loose more lethal, still felt that the sound was not 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.