Vietnam War might be the weirdest sandbox of the year - you can even come back to the US and job hunt like a regular vet

Peak gaming is here. There's a new release on Steam (in Early Access, of course – like everything these days), but calling it a war game doesn’t even begin to cover it. It’s an open-world FPS with low-poly Mdickie vibes and survival mechanics that somehow morphs into a life sim by the end. In Vietnam War (gotta love how blunt that title is), you pick a side, get thrown into the chaos of the battlefield, blow your cash on beers after a long day fighting enemies, spiders and monkeys, and then when it’s all over you head home and live out your days as a war vet.

From war to retirement (and maybe some crime)

Vietnam War launched a little over a week ago, and while the player count isn’t exactly booming, the Steam reviews came in fast. Most agree that the game’s a buggy mess, more like a pre-alpha than proper Early Access. But weirdly enough, that’s part of the charm. It’s rough, but also a ton of wild fun and definitely worth the $15 just to support the dev and hope that this level of brokenness wasn’t intentional.

But let’s focus more on the actual content. If you thought that Schedule I, R.E.P.O., or Yasuke Simulator were the pinnacle of absurdity, you haven’t seen anything yet. In Vietnam War, you can play as a U.S. soldier calling in B-52 airstrikes, a Viet Cong tunnel digger carving out underground networks, or even a CIA pilot flying covert missions. You’ll need to eat, drink, and manage your gear – all while taking on missions like hassling local farmers (you can absolutely go wild with napalm), extracting endangered animals, patrolling the Mekong, and scouring the jungle for whatever madness comes next. It’s best to check out Bekay posts on X or read some of the reviews:

It’d be perfect as a multiplayer game, as even the achievements are pure gold. You’ve got one called “Full Deck” that unlocks when you slap 52 playing cards onto dead enemies, and another that’s just straight-up called “Feed the Tiger.” Unfortunately, it’s single player only.

Source: Vietnam War; Developer: Thorium Game Lab

And when it comes to that buggy mess, it’s a lot to take in for some. Apparently, the game weighs in at 18 GB – likely because of its massive map, which covers North and South Vietnam, parts of Laos and Cambodia, and even the U.S. – and it tries to run all of it at once. So, it could be a serious issue for lower-end PCs.

Related:How to complete King of the Crossroads in Gray Zone Warfare

But underneath all the jank, Vietnam War is a surprisingly solid sandbox with way more depth than you’d expect and loads of potential. Plus, it’s the work of a solo dev, so even with all the bugs and performance issues, it’s still pretty impressive.

• sandbox
• FPP shooters (FPS)
• life simulators
• PC