Vietcong (2003) is scary and frustrating, but special.

There is no way to hide in the jungle. Traps are everywhere, so I deactivated them. After that, bullets came from nowhere. 'Mission failed.' It sounds frustrating, but its gameplay just works.

In this game, you play as SFC (Sergeant First Class) Steve R. Hawkins, a US Army Special Forces (Green Beret) member in the Vietnam War. The year is 1967, and South Vietnam is in chaos. You have to lead a Special Forces team organized with a Pointman, Medic, Machine Gunner, Radioman, and Engineer. The gameplay has two parts: searching through the jungle, finding the VC (Vietcong), and eliminating them, or swiping their narrow tunnel base.

In the jungle, you'll soon realize that sudden movements like running make the game harder. Unlike other FPS games, you'll WALK a lot. It means the overall gameplay pace is very, very slow. This game is all about patience, awareness, and keeping calm. Like a soulsborne game, every enemy and trap is fatal. I think this makes the game more immersive. After several combats, you'll shoot randomly into the bushes, which actual US soldiers in Vietnam did.

Your teammates are also very important. The Pointman can be the spearhead of your team, checking for traps in your path and detecting enemy ambushes well. The Medic offers medical aids that stop bleeding more efficiently than your personal bandage (yes, this game has a bleeding mechanism that drains your max HP). The Radioman can call in artillery support/airstrikes (essential for the story mode), pointing to the right grid on your map. The Engineer provides ammunition for your weapon, and the Machine Gunner can fire the machine gun :D

The game is very old, so it needs a user patch to fix widescreen issues and crashes on modern PCs. Unfortunately, it's not for sale on Steam. You'll have to search on Amazon or eBay to play it. But its experience is so unique; I recommend you play this game.