More traditional pros/cons at the bottom. Remember this game is an indie game made by I think just one dude. ~~~~~ What I thought I was getting was a goofy cartoonish Vietnam War game to mess around in for a bit. What I didn't realize I was actually getting, but what I got was one of the most in-depth, realistic, depressing, and dare I say moving depictions of war in any video game. You might think I am on drugs, but I am not. This game may not look like it on the surface, due to the graphics and relatively simple animations, but don't let that deceive you. This is a game that prioritizes gameplay and depth over graphics, which is something that is sorely lacking in my opinion in the modern gaming industry. On the US side, you will see all the horrors of war. You will see your fellow soldiers burnt to death as a result of Vietcong (VC) molotov attack, rogue napalm, or fuel storage explosion. You will be pinned down by a VC MG nest, and call in for Huey gunship support, only for it to get taken out by a SAM on the other side of the hill you had no idea about. You will grow paranoid of the creatures of the jungle, who may be harmless but may at any moment turn aggressive on you. Despite this, you will gain the loyalty of a dog, and do your best to protect him, but it will disappear on a random mission. You will get saved by a friendly medic, who moments later is taken out by an enemy sniper. You will be ambushed by disguised VC soldiers hiding in villages, and amidst the screaming and chaotic firefight that follows several innocent villagers will be killed. You and your squad will be victims of friendly fire incidents, probably many times. Of course, you will also wield the full arsenal of the US military, from battleship barrages to B-52 carpet bombs to attack helicopters to flamethrowers, to kill as many "bastard atheist Commies" as possible - in the name of their freedom and liberation. But underneath all the horror of the war lies an unmistakable sense of brotherhood, purpose, and in a sense, freedom. The constant radio chatter, the patriotic music broadcast everywhere, that medic running to you when you get wounded, the random rifleman in your squad that constantly complains about being tired, or the radioman swearing he totally isn't drunk. You feel like part of something big, and even though you barely know the faceless people fighting alongside you, you share a common struggle, a common fear, and a common goal. The 60 Victory Points (the real objective of the game - to capture them all), they send you on what feels like an epic and dangerous mission across the entire map, even into Laos and Cambodia. Some are much harder than others to get to, but this just makes finally getting to them more satisfying. Then, after your quest for all VPs is complete, you are able to return home (all VPs took me about 40 in-game hours/5 in-game years with mostly default settings, but after your first year of service you can return to the states). But after killing thousands of VC soldiers, liberating even more innocent villagers, traversing the entire region multiple times over, the grand hero's welcome home - it's never there. Instead, you are welcomed home with the deafening silence of a busy airport terminal full of nameless faceless strangers who don't know you, don't care about you, don't acknowledge you, and don't know what you've been through or seen. You can take the bus downtown, where the constant radio chatter and/or patriotic music is replaced by the distant noise of a protest against the war you just returned from. Maybe that protest even turns violent, and a protestor is killed. Your grand goal of liberating Vietnam is replaced by a forking road with many options, but ultimately they all revolve around the basic need to make money. You can stay with the feds, and work for the FBI, including putting your skills to the test spying in Siberia. You can keep it more simple, and work for local law enforcement, start a farm, or purchase a business. You can also fall into a life of crime, and spend your days hiding from the government like you used to hide from the VC. Or, in this game the War is neverending, and if the jungles of Vietnam ever call your name, you can travel back to Saigon and re-enlist. ~~~~~ Pros/cons Pros: * Absolutely massive map of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, with hundreds of handmade cities, villages, enemy bases, other POIs * Massive map of a, shall we say alternate US, consisting of Hawaii, New Texico, W. Ashington, Coloradaho, Wyomingtana, and Kansota, and part of Ohiowa, with a bit of Canada and Mexico near the borders * Siberia map related to certain post-war careers * Tons of weapons with unique behaviors, characteristics, animations, etc...there are a lot that are not available at simple armories and you will find them scattered around the map, hidden in random crates, etc. * Tons of vehicles of all shapes and sizes - civilian vehicles, military jeeps, tanks, AA trucks, scout helicopters, attack helicopters, transport helicopters, small planes, attack planes, jet fighters, boats, etc. * Helicopter flight models feel shockingly good * Cockpits and interiors of vehicles, they are basic but functional * Base building available basically anywhere outside of pre-existing bases, decent number of options for buildable structures currently * Just tons of random small features that make the game feel so immersive despite the visuals - interacting with villagers and buying from them, finding and befriending stray dogs, random jungle creatures some of which are hostile, getting makeshift modifications applied to your equipment, VC propaganda directed at US soldiers, the need to clean your guns often, the random dialogue from your character and other characters, both in-person and on the radio, and a lot more * About 10 different career options on the US side (different branches of military, affects starting location and random mission types, among other things) * Option to play as Vietcong which has different gameplay from the US in many aspects, but obviously no "post-war" gameplay like the US does, at least currently * Probably the most important thing, this game is being worked on actively and the dev has a discord where you can discuss the game and suggest additions and report bugs Cons: * Allied AI is pretty moronic but, this review was drafted 21 August 2026 and just today (22 August) the dev released an update that addresses this issue somewhat * Optimization could be a bit better, particularly with smoke/fire effects - when an area gets carpet bombed or napalmed my performance seriously tanks, and my computer is pretty good too I think * Some hitboxes are kinda buggy, I believe this was also somewhat addressed with today's update but I have not tested * Just general jankiness, which is frustrating at times, but not a dealbreaker to me and like I said this game is very much WIP - just go read the update history and see for yourself * The player's character climbs stairs/ladders so damn slowly lol, considering how fast and long he is able to run it makes no sense * I wish there were more radio dialogues, or squadmate dialogues, just more dialogue lines in general. Some more variety would make it feel more alive but I love the dialogue that is in the game currently * Day/night cycle, glad it is in the game at all, but it is largely just day/night right now, there is not really a smooth transition between the two with a dawn and dusk it is more just day one moment and then night the next * Options for the Vietcong post-war, in a then-unified Vietnam with no foreign military presence, dealing with the fallout of the war...if it's already a thing I missed it but if not that would make the VC option more alluring, currently the US side has more content because of the stateside/post-war thing Edit 2 Sep 2026: One minor grammar fix