Playing Hell Let Loose: Buying the Game and the Practice Range
I bought Hell Let Loose last night. A decision I suspect that I shall regret. Despite the fact that I know that the YouTube videos of this game are carefully curated and therefore not truly representative of the reality of its gameplay, I felt compelled to try this World War II multiplayer tactical first-person shooter. From time to time I find a game that really appeals to me as a concept and I want to play it. However, more often than not these are online multiplayer games and as such the human element is distinctly “variable”. Hence the idealised gameplay that I imagine is a far cry from what playing the game is really like. I’m sure I am not alone in this mindset. Sometimes I have to just “get it out of my system” and the only real way to do that is buy the game in question, be disappointed and then move on.
I bought Hell Let Loose last night. A decision I suspect that I shall regret. Despite the fact that I know that the YouTube videos of this game are carefully curated and therefore not truly representative of the reality of its gameplay, I felt compelled to try this World War II multiplayer tactical first-person shooter. From time to time I find a game that really appeals to me as a concept and I want to play it. However, more often than not these are online multiplayer games and as such the human element is distinctly “variable”. Hence the idealised gameplay that I imagine is a far cry from what playing the game is really like. I’m sure I am not alone in this mindset. Sometimes I have to just “get it out of my system” and the only real way to do that is buy the game in question, be disappointed and then move on.
I wrote a post a while back where I speculated that Hell Let Loose is one of those games that it’s best to watch, rather than play and I now get to prove or disprove that theory. At least such an experiment is good for a few blog posts. The first step was naturally to buy a copy of the game and so I looked at several price comparison websites yesterday to see whether this was going to be a costly endeavour. I noticed there were about 3 permutations of Hell Let Loose (Standard, Deluxe and Ultimate) and a lot of DLC. I quickly discovered that the DLC is mainly cosmetic outfits and weapon skins. Not game maps. So I bought the cheapest version I could from a reputable vendor, spending £16 from Fanatical. There was a sale on at the time and I had just 10 minutes to spare before the discount expired and the price returned to £42 which is not such a bargain.
The game is approximately a 54GB install. Not that’s a problem as I have a 4 Terabyte NVMe M.2 SSD. One of my better purchases. On launching Hell Let Loose for the first time I didn’t encounter any issues of note, apart from my usual problem of trying to get the game to display on my second monitor. I could drag a windowed version over to my screen of choice and it stayed there once I did so. However, when I quit and relaunched Hell Let Loose, it defaulted back to the primary display. So I used MultiMonitorTool and the problem was resolved. The graphic settings were turned up to Epic by default and as my graphics card didn’t object I left them as such. Hell Let Loose is a handsome looking game that uses Unreal Engine 4. After looking at the graphic settings I spent some time pursuing the keybindings, of which there are many.
Next, I started looking through the various classes and factions in the Barracks. It was then that I noticed that all were unlocked and that I had downloaded and installed the game client for the test server. A mistake but a useful one, as it allowed me to see a much wider variety of builds other than the base ones. I then moved on to the Practice Range and experimented with various weapons. I found the bolt action rifles to be very accurate and was also surprised by the low recoil on the fully automatic weapons such as SMGs and LMGs. Grenades can be thrown over arm or under arm but there is no visual assist to help you gauge the distance. You effectively have to learn manually and assess the distance by how high you raise your arm. I also tried driving a few vehicles which are quite complex, as there are manual gears to master.
What I didn’t do after all this was to jump headlong into a live game. I have decided that due to the complexity of Hell Let Loose, which is a much different beast to Warzone or even Battlefield, I shall watch a few YouTube videos and try and orient myself first. Having a keymap on my other monitor may be useful and learning some basic tips may well improve my first gameplay experience. I also have to set up my headset as communication with other players is key in this game. This is likely to be the one aspect of the game that I’ll like least, as open microphones do seem to be a magnet for the worst sorts of gamers. I did however, install the live game client and delete the test server version. All I have to do now is find an evening when I have a few hours spare and then log into a live game and see how it goes. I’ll share my thoughts in the next post.
Some Video Games Are Better Watched Than Played
I have written about “games we cannot play” several times over the years. By this I mean video games that we lack the skill, coordination and patience to master. For example, I often struggle with video games that are primarily designed for consoles and are therefore intended to be played via a game controller. I also don’t want to have to spend an excess of time (a very subjective thing) to learn how to play a video game. Hence there are games that I am interested in but have accepted that I will never play because I cannot or will not do what is required to play them effectively. However, in this post I want to discuss a tangential point. Games which have the potential to be exceptionally entertaining but that entertainment depends on a lot of factors that exist outside of the game itself. Hence you may never get the experience you desire which is often the one that was marketed.
I have written about “games we cannot play” several times over the years. By this I mean video games that we lack the skill, coordination and patience to master. For example, I often struggle with video games that are primarily designed for consoles and are therefore intended to be played via a game controller. I also don’t want to have to spend an excess of time (a very subjective thing) to learn how to play a video game. Hence there are games that I am interested in but have accepted that I will never play because I cannot or will not do what is required to play them effectively. However, in this post I want to discuss a tangential point. Games which have the potential to be exceptionally entertaining but that entertainment depends on a lot of factors that exist outside of the game itself. Hence you may never get the experience you desire which is often the one that was marketed.
For me, the most recent example of this phenomena came about from watching a YouTube channel that collates “humourous” video game clips. A lot of these came from Hell Let Loose, a 2021 multiplayer tactical first-person shooter developed by Expression Games and Cover 6 Studios and published by Team17. Players fight in iconic battles of the Western, North African and Eastern Fronts of World War II at the platoon level. Voice chat is key to game play and the emphasis is upon realism and system complexity. It is quite different to Battlefield and comparable franchises. The various clips that I watched suggested a game featuring tactical gun battles. Players defending building or flanking defences and overwhelming the enemy. There were great plays featuring tanks, flamethrowers and creeping artillery barrages. People seemed to be having a lot of fun and judging by the voice chat, the community is mature, civil and friendly.
Enthused by what I had seen, I looked around online for a deal and found that I could purchase Hell Let Loose and the majority of its DLC for about £30 or so. However, something told me to wait and do a little more research. After all, this was clearly a game with a lot of systems and therefore it obviously had a steep learning curve. So I started being a lot more selective in my YouTube searches as well as digging around in various subreddits. The extra research was well worth it. In a nutshell, all the things I had seen in video highlights were exactly that. For many new players Hell Let Loose is essentially spawning into a squad, not knowing what class to select or how to play and being ignored by veteran players or simply being on a server devoid of them. The most common experience appears to be trying to get to where you think the action is and getting shot out of nowhere as you run there.
Essentially to get the most out of the game you need to have friends that already play it, are well versed in its systems and who are based on a server that has regular events and is well moderated. It requires a substantial investment of time, just the same as raiding in an MMORPG, or “getting gud” in a battle royale FPS game. You can potentially play for months and never experience the sort of gameplay you’ll see on YouTube. The game offers entertaining possibilities but it does not guarantee them. It is exactly the same with other titles such as For Honor, Chivalry II and Heroes & Generals. In fact this genre usually has a disclaimer along the lines of “game experience may change during online play”. As a result, I’ve learned that some video games are better watched than played. Hell Let Loose is one of these.
More Games We Cannot Play
Nearly six years ago, I wrote a post about games that I wanted to play but couldn’t due to my inherent lack of skill and coordination. Since then I have also written about several games that I would like to enjoy but can’t, because they’re multiplayer and I do not know anyone else that plays them. I have also pointed out in subsequent posts that my personal experience of some games is nothing like that shown in the promotional videos. This is often due to the two aforementioned reasons. C’est la vie. Such is the nature of video games. Some you can play, others you can’t. Fortunately the latter doesn’t happen that often and by and large, I get by just fine. However, recently the phenomenon of “games we cannot play” has raised its ugly head once again. So I thought I’d share my latest thoughts on the matter.
Nearly six years ago, I wrote a post about games that I wanted to play but couldn’t due to my inherent lack of skill and coordination. Since then I have also written about several games that I would like to enjoy but can’t, because they’re multiplayer and I do not know anyone else that plays them. I have also pointed out in subsequent posts that my personal experience of some games is nothing like that shown in the promotional videos. This is often due to the two aforementioned reasons. C’est la vie. Such is the nature of video games. Some you can play, others you can’t. Fortunately the latter doesn’t happen that often and by and large, I get by just fine. However, recently the phenomenon of “games we cannot play” has raised its ugly head once again. So I thought I’d share my latest thoughts on the matter.
The First Person Shooter genre is no easy ride. The most popular titles are the embodiment of twitch gaming, where the nimble fingered and quick witted rule and those adjusting their Pince-nez and squinting at their monitors are destroyed. But they can be very entertaining and often the developers will build mitigations into the various game systems to help those on a “death streak”. Also if you can’t out gun other players you can sometimes out think them, so even the slower gamer can still enjoy such franchises as Call of Duty, Battlefield and Fortnite. However, if you want a really hardcore FPS which focuses on realism and with minimal perks, then there is Hell Let Loose. This World War II themed game features 50 vs. 50 battles between two teams of either Germans, Americans and Soviets forces.
The Tactical Brit plays Hell Let Loose
Hell Let Loose is a tough FPS with no regenerating health, weapons with iron sights and squad based dynamics. It requires coordination, situational awareness and skill. The maps feel authentic and combat is compelling and intense. No matter how good a player you are, you will die. Frequently. Sadly, I find the game so punishing as a whole, I cannot enjoy it personally. If you wish to succeed in Hell Let Loose, then you have to commit to the game and dedicate yourself to learning the maps, honing your skills and cultivating a group of like minded friends. For me that is too steep a learning curve and I don’t think the “journey” would be fun. So for the present I have relegated Hell Let Loose from a game I play to a game I watch other play on Twitch or YouTube.
Another title that I recently tried is Dark and Darker. If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you took an extraction shooter such as Escape From Tarkov and crossed it with Morrowind, then you end up with Dark and Darker. You create your character from a selection of classic fantasy classes, then form a group either with friends or “random players” and then enter the dungeon. You undertake missions, cross swords with other players and then you exit. This is another game where the reality of playing is different from what you think it may be. The first person perspective is difficult when it comes to swordplay and using a bow. The maps are hard to learn and at present in the game’s development (early access), the segregation of new and seasoned players is not always effective. This can lead to unbalanced encounters with other players. Dark and Darker is also a game where if you play with a group of friends you will enjoy a far superior experience to simply playing solo or with random players.
Character creation in Dark and Darker
Finally, I wish to return to the matter of my Nintendo Switch. There are a wealth of good games available for this handheld device but I have now concluded after two years that buying this was a mistake. It’s not just a question of not enjoying games via a handheld device, I think it is entirely down to being institutionalised by my existing gaming habits. I equate gaming with playing via my PC. I also spend a great deal of my time sitting at my desk reading, writing and perusing the internet. The PC is the hub of these activities. I even connected my Nintendo Switch to one of my monitors so I could play while at my desk but to no avail. It remains this adjunct to my existing status quo and despite trying, I can’t change my perspective. But ultimately, that’s okay. You can’t accommodate and embrace everything, be it in gaming or in real life. There are games we cannot play and indeed consoles we can’t either.