I first fell in love with tactical shooter gameplay playing Post Scriptum. It wasn’t love at first sight, I had to ease my way into it, but eventually I was sold. Fast forward to today with Hell Let Loose, and it took no time at all to warm up to a new kind of battlefield. Coordinating suppressing fire, calling targets for air support, and directing the squad forward are just a few of my favorite things. I got a lot of questions during my first stream from people popping in and asking: Which is better, Hell Let Loose or Post Scriptum? It’s a really hard question, because the games are incredibly similar. I’ve done some thinking though, and pulled out some of the bigger differences and highlighted them below to help decide whether Post Scriptum or Hell Let Loose is best for you.
Hell Let Loose has the numbers. Post Scriptum is 40 versus 40 players, meanwhile Hell Let Loose is 50 versus 50 players. I’ve always been a fan of more players, but honestly I can’t say I could really tell a difference. Post Scriptum does have the goal of hitting 50 vs 50 eventually though, if that matters to you.
Post Scriptum has loadout editing. This is actually a pretty big deal. In Hell Let Loose when I played as squad leader, I was only able to use an SMG. Several battlefields have quite some distance on them, making SMGs considerably less than ideal. In Post Scriptum you have a couple of weapons to choose from for every class, squad leader included. You could respawn with a new gun when pushing across hedgerows, and respawn with an SMG when the fighting flowed into a town. Hefty points for Post Scriptum in this column.
Hell Let Loose has a better spawn system. I abhorred the spawning in Post Scriptum and even Squad when I first experienced them on a free weekend. Running to the battle lines took more time than it did to get into position and die. It was a very punishing experience that almost turned me off completely. My biggest complaint is the need to consistently refresh the squad spawn point. In Hell Let Loose, it’s set it and forget it. There’s even garrison spawns that everyone can use. It definitely won me over instantly. More focus on the fight, and not the clock.
Post Scriptum is more polished. It has more vehicle types available, more maps, and overall more options. It’s more feature complete than Hell Let Loose. It’s to be expected since Post Scriptum is almost a year ahead in development time. That’s a massive lead considering Hell Let Loose hasn’t even been out for a month. Still being in Early Access of course means a lot of planned core features for Hell Let Loose are coming soon(tm).
Hell Let Loose has better graphics. The difference is pretty clear. Hell Let Loose has more colorful, detailed, and just overall better looking environments. Post Scriptum is more of what you’d expect from a larger scale multiplayer game. Not terrible, but more adequate than impressive. Hell Let Loose definitely scores high marks for visuals, especially its gritty looking mud.
Playerbase is a big factor when deciding between the two games, but figuring it out isn’t very easy. Steam charts puts Hell Let Loose in the lead by hundreds more, but Hell Let Loose is the new shiny. Meanwhile on Twitch, Post Scriptum has more followers, but less active viewers. The games have the exact same price too, so neither has an advantage in gaining players that way. You’re kind of on your own in this regard, I don’t have any help to offer here other than to point it out as something to watch as time goes on.
These were the big highlights for me when I decided which was better, Hell Let Loose or Post Scriptum. Personally, I like Hell Let Loose just a little more. It feels just a tad more casual than Post Scriptum. The spawning mechanics were the main selling point for me, though the inability to swap weapons had the most negative impact on my gameplay. I hope you’ve gotten plenty to think about here. Your first battle will take place at the Steam Store pages. Good luck, and keep your head down soldier!
If you decide on Hell Let Loose, you can check out my new player guide!
Thanks for this! Just what I was looking for.
Now that you’ve had a couple more months at the front, any change in opinion when it comes to these two games?
I was with Post Scriptum a while before I go too busy, so I have not seen the American additions.
I related to what you said about the spawning and the ratio of time spent getting anywhere to time spent doing anything was a real drag. But I also liked the weapons load out.
I may try Hell Let Loose. But I only have room on my PC for one game at a time. So I am updating Post Scriptum as I write this to give it another go.
I SO wish these games had some small “firefight” maps for those of us who do not always have two hours or crawling through weeds.
I’m still having a ton of fun, cruising past 150 hours in. The next update will bring two more maps, which I think is really the only thing it “needs” at the moment. I’m not bored yet, but I’m certainly ready for more!
Maps could take as long as 1.5 hours though FYI.