Hell Let Loose was free on the Epic Games Store between January 2 and 9, roughly coinciding with a new DLC and a big update in November. The competitive WWII shooter and its massive 50 vs. 50 battles is flying high, so there's never been a better time to jump in—but if you think you know what to expect, you’re probably mistaken.

You’ve likely played a half-dozen multiplayer WWII shooters by now. It’s been well-trod territory for video games for over 20 years, with at least one major release set in every significant combat theater. You can fight the war from almost any perspective, and from Wolfenstein’s pulp science fiction to the relative realism of the Sniper Elite series.

Even in this crowded territory, Hell Let Loose stands out. It isn’t simply a question of realism, but cooperation, resource management, and careful tactics across huge levels.

As mentioned, Hell Let Loose is a PvP shooter that features enormous 50-on-50 battles, with historically accurate battlefields and period technology. You can choose from 14 classes (though the game recommends you start as a simple Rifleman) and fight with guns, bombs, and vehicles.

You’ll be able to tell right away who’s new to Hell Let Loose as they’re likely dead. Hell Let Loose reinforces team play and tactical engagement at every turn. That’s nothing new for online shooters—especially ones that feature big multiplayer maps and matches, like Battlefield or Delta Force.

In Hell Let Loose, however, you’re nearly useless solo. No amount of twitch reflexes or experience will keep you alive if you try to go it alone. Individual players drop after taking as little as a single bullet. If you run off on your own, regardless of what class you play, you’ll spend most of your time either flat on your back or waiting to deploy.

The word “hardcore” appears in Hell Let Loose’s description for a reason. Hell Let Loose isn’t meant for casual drop-in/drop-out play—it’s for people who enjoy an immersive and punishing tactical experience. Coordination is the difference between actually getting to do something and being a corpse.

You need to adopt battlefield tactics to stay alive, an experience that borrows heavily from the real-time strategy genre. Your goal in each round is to take and hold territory via capture points, but you need to work closely with your unit and commander in order to do so. Voice chat is an absolute necessity. If you’re planning to go all in on Hell Let Loose, you’ll first want to join a clan as fast as you can, many of which maintain their own Discord servers.

After you enter a Hell Let Loose match, you join one of several active units. Each unit is meant to function as a discrete force in its own right. In a truly perfect world, you’d coordinate your class composition with your unit for maximum effectiveness. The ideal unit includes an Officer (who leads your unit and communicates directly with other unit’s leaders), a Support (who drops supply packages for other players to use), a Medic (who replenishes soldiers’ supply of Bandages, heals teammates, and brings downed players back to their feet), or an Engineer (who brings explosives to the party, repairs vehicles, and builds structures and fortifications).

For offense, Riflemen are a deliberately entry-level option with no particular specialization. You can also pick Assault for close-quarters firepower, an Automatic Rifleman to spray down areas with machine gun fire, or work in a team as a Spotter and Sniper to knock down targets at long range. Most players will recommend though that you stick with the Rifleman until you’ve got some experience, as other classes have fairly high skill and/or knowledge ceilings.

One player per faction gets to take the role of Commander, and that player is effectively playing a different game from everyone else. As Commander, your job is to coordinate your faction’s offensive by giving direct orders to your teams.

More importantly, Commanders can spend various resources to deploy special abilities from the tactical map. These resources—Manpower, Munitions, and Fuel—are generated by Nodes built by Engineers, although Manpower diminishes automatically every time someone in your faction dies. A good Commander can shift the tide of a fight with a few well-placed vehicle drops or temporary spawn points, but a bad choice can disrupt your team's entire strategy.

If you’re inclined to play more of a support role, you can meaningfully empower your Commander and contribute to your team by picking an Engineer and quietly building as many Nodes as you can. Nodes must be placed at least 50 meters apart and can be destroyed by enemies, so it’s also useful to place defenses around them like anti-tank mines.

Regardless, classes in Hell Let Loose are designed to function as force multipliers for one another. In many other shooters, coordination and teamwork are nice to have. In Hell Let Loose, they’re absolutely essential. It’s a game that doesn’t just reward but demands to be played with cooperative people. Lone wolves need not apply.

Hell Let Loose is now available on the Epic Games Store, and picking up the Deluxe or Ultimate Editions will net you several of the game’s DLC packs as well.