DelugeFPS

The people saying this game is dead are lying to you just as flagrantly as the people claiming the game runs horribly (I never drop below my FPS cap on max settings, must just be me right? Totally buy that one guys.) for everyone who plays it. This game is wonderful, it's one of the few games of its kind (tactical FPS / light infantry MILSIM sort of deal, squad based) that has AAA level visuals and stunning graphics. Yes, this game certainly has more of an arcade influence than a game like Squad.. but if you want Squad but WW2 go play the game literally made in the same engine / framework called Post Scriptum which is also great. HLL manages to have just enough arcade elements to make the game easier to pick up without going overboard and becoming too friendly like a game such as Enlisted. It strikes a wonderful balance and I applaud it for that, I have other games for mainlining tactical realism and nothing else. That being said, the game is still very immersive and pretty realistic. Gunplay is quite solid and on the skill based side. Properly utilizing your class / role is everything and charging into the battle like it's Battlefield will just get you killed and hurt your team. Running proper logistics and placing garrisons in the right place can literally decide games. Support and Engineer are unsung heroes. This game has all of that going and more as it's still getting content, so you have nothing to really scoff at here. If you want hardcore, intense WW2 infantry combat with light to moderate inclusion of armor and vehicles over large maps containing 50 vs. 50 medium scale battles that place a high focus on squad level operations and people playing their role and communicating.. but with a fair but not intrusive or overwhelming arcade influence to make it all a bit more digestible.. then HLL is the game for you and more. There's thousands playing at any given time and the game is growing, so please do come join us on the battlefields of the past and enlist now.

Let me start by saying that Squad is a trie masterpiece **** that perfectly captures the feeling it's going for and nails the gameplay as hard on the head as it can. Said gameplay being a blend of tactical first person shooter gameplay on top of light-to-moderate MILSIM gameplay, specifically ground infantry MILSIM and not much else. The weapons all sound and feel much like they do in the real world. If you pick up the H&K G3 chambered in 7.62mm NATO (.308) it drops bodies fast and kicks like a mule to a point of making it useless in full auto. Anyone who has ever fired a G3 or FAL in real life knows this is spot on. The sounds, the recoil, the rate of fire, the ballistics and penetration, the attachments, the handling.. it's all there and the gunplay is superbly accurately and sufficiently weighty. Likewise, movement as a foot soldier feels appropriate, you have stamina that drains and replenishes as you exhaust yourself / rest and even at peak speeds you move exactly like a soldier weighed down by 30-60lbs of gear would move. When you reload, it takes a realistic amount of time and if you want to save time you have to discard your old mag outright. Also, yes, there is an actual magazine system. Depending on your gun (LMG / GPMG kits typically only have access to 3 belt boxes while other infantry classes typically have I believe 7 magazines in rotation) you'll have a different number of magazines that show how drained they are by changing colors. If you reload a half empty mag, that half empty mag goes back into your rotation and eventually will get used again.. still half empty. There is no arcade shooter 'ammo pool' system to where every lightning quick competition shooter level reload dumps the remaining rounds in your magazine back into the pool before replenishing. Also from time to time you'll find yourself having to replenish your supplies at designated locations within FOB's or your main base, if supplies permit. The vehicles in this game are exactly where I feel they need to be. You have everything from tanks to APC's to logistics trucks to artillery trucks to helicopters and some more. You don't have gunships, jets or anything like that. I feel for the 50 vs. 50 medium sized battles Squad focuses on those would only serve to break the meta, so the role vehicles fill I feel is quite good right now. Having armor support when taking a point in Invasion can turn the tides, but likewise if you're in a tank don't feel too invincible because a few well placed rockets can end your day. Get used to making use of carriers to get to the frontlines from main base when people on your team inevitably fail to properly spread out and build FOB's as well. I'll state the obvious, this game is based on Project Reality which was a mod for BF2 that had a laughably high amount of development hours put into it over the years. Thus, Squad does not measure up in terms of sheer scale or content, because of course it doesn't. The game has been in early access with a small team behind it for only a few years and based on that I'd say with how many different factions, weapons, maps and vehicles are currently in the game it's in a great place. The gunplay, moment to moment gameplay and visuals are all vastly superior to what you'll find in PR. The graphics may be lacking by some standards, but I quite like them and find the realistic aesthetic they portray works well. Communication is a BIG part of this game, so if you don't have a mic or don't like using one in online games you'd be best off avoiding this game. Not only will you bring down your team and squad, but you'll be quite hindered yourself in multiple different ways. Also if you don't like high downtime between extreme moments of tension, much like in real combat, I'd also advise giving this game a pass. When I said this game accomplishes everything it sets out to do, I MEANT it, and it does so in such an uncompromising way that it'll shrug off people trying to play it like it's CoD or BF so hard that they feel scorned or like they played a bad game. So it's best you avoid Squad and games like it if that describes you. There's so much more I could say about Squad. It certainly isn't a perfect game, but no masterpiece ever really was. The people expecting it to be 100% on par with PR content and scale wise are as naive and foolish as the people expecting this game to play just like BF.. and this also includes the people who expect AAA visuals and next gen graphics from a team this small. The framework / engine of this game has even been used to make other games like the WW1 Beyond the Wire and WW2 Post Scriptum games which I also think very highly of. If you want light MILSIM / tactical FPS gameplay with very low TTK all coming together with limited vehicular assault combined arms over fairly large maps containing medium scale battles encompassing lots of squad on squad engagements where playing your role and communicating win battles, Squad is it.