Necromunda: Hired Gun Reviews

I am a massive fan of the 40k universe but not so big a fan that it would blind me from how god awful this game is. I started this game up a while back then stopped playing it, I was looking through my unfinished games and wondered why I dropped this one and quickly found out why. Normally I wait until I finish the game to write a review, especially a bad one, but I am close to shelving this game again, it'll take some willpower to push through it, but I'll try. The main issue I have with the game is what it focuses on which is the combat, it feels like they really wanted to make a Doom-like shooter but all it ended up with is a weak watered down version of Doom with lazy and/or unfinished aspects of the game and a 40k coat of paint. Also they turned the Doom gameplay into a cover shooter for some reason. But the most glaring issue I've seen is the laughable animations, the characters move like first generation console characters. On top of that, the story is uninspired and the soundtrack is lackluster. All in all there is really just no reason to play this game, no matter how much you like 40k, just save your time and money and stay away from this one. UPDATE: Just finished the game, and I can confirm, it only gets worse. I would say more but I don't want to waste any more time on this game than I already have.

There is a skeleton of a good game underneath all this. Get it on a discount. Necromunda excels in pure action, and shooting, sprinting, sliding, and blasting through spaceous levels feels fluid and exhilarating. Gunplay is a highlight, with each weapon packing a satisfying punch—powerful sound design makes every bullet feel impactful. If you’re here for fast-paced combat this is the place. However, narrative and design are not up to the combat standard. The story is barely present, and what little exists feels impenetrable to anyone unfamiliar with the deeper universe. Visually, levels and enemies often blur together, making it necessary to rely on object and enemy highlights—at which point you are shooting at glowing outlines. Some technical issues add to the frustration, with AI pathfinding behaving erratically and a persistent HUD glitch that only resolves after completing a level. If you can overlook the rough edges, there’s some fun to be had. I assume even more so if you are a hardcore fan of the setting.

6 hour game if you focus just on the campaign, each mission is ~15 minutes, doom and titanfall mix but in 40k, many dont like this game but for warhammer 40k where everything is turn based strategy, this is a rare gem thats at least good

Pros: Very gory, lots of blood and body parts flying everywhere Good atmosphere, really gives the feeling of being just another underhive merc Good world building, makes it clear you are a big fish in a small pond, but that pond is next to an ocean Fun gameplay, flying around using powers and mowing enemies down Good gun play, have to go in with specific weapons for specific enemies at specific distances so you can't just run n gun with whatever. Weapons are a simple design, do you want to max out damage or optimal usage? Cool skins which transfer over so you don't have to break the bank re-buying them Good charms/mods, simple numbers game with perks so you know what you're adding on and whats better Good design, the world is claustrophobic and gritty but very well made Good exploration, encourages you to think about where the treasure is and is hidden in places you wouldn't think to look if you didn't know Got to kill Tyranids and Genestealer cultists Good side characters Cool character design Varied enemies with different ways to take them down Good character upgrade system Cool perks Weapons felt cool to use Cons: Felt a lot like playing The Ascent but first person. The story is paper thing and not that deep or interesting really Campaign is short, the ending isn't predictable but not a surprise either After the campaign its an endless grind for better weaponry which is fine for me since the grind itself isn't hard or that bad Can only carry 3 medkits and 3 revives which is annoying cause you burn through medkits easily Bugs present, enemies would sometimes glitch in place (especially The Shadow a couple times) Didn't use some of the things like wallrunning cause it wasn't needed for most of it and I just plain forgot how to Some perks didn't last long enough like auto-aim, others didn't seem very effective like the shield disruptor or offensive ones like Smash Enemy grunts were repetitive Got annoying having to do take-downs just to replenish a little bit of health, only to take damage as soon as the animation would end. Enemies would stand there waiting for you to finish brutally murdering their comrades nicely. Camera also moved too quickly sometimes to savor the kill Weapons sometimes didn't seem very effective and enemies would be bullet sponges, this goes away in later levels but only somewhat Can't customize the character, mine looked cool until it glitched and their gas mask suddenly had a gaping hole in the front which made no sense. Shields broke too easily Missed opportunity to kill Chaos cultists even though you can take contracts from them Overal 6/10, good mindless violence game, some missed opportunities but still fun.

Campaign is all over the place. Game crashes when viewing skills for the next upgrade. When using the grappling hook, you have a chance to hook OUTSIDE of the map, which is common, that causes you to revert to a last save since you'll fall through the map. ENDING is really lame. I love the LORE but I cannot recommend this game to 40k fans. New players being introduced to the franchise, sure, great start for an important Hive World.

This one wasn't so bad. A lot better than the other Necromunda game. It is a fun, fast paced, aggressive shooter. I wouldn't pay a lot for it, but if you get it on sale it can be worth it. Good for a weekend. My only complaint is the surprise enemy on one of the later levels. Those things give me the heebie jeebies! Otherwise it was a rather enjoyable dive into one of the more interesting aspects of Warhammer 40,000.

I played this on Steam Deck and I was honestly surprised, mainly by how well the game ran in MANY levels (Though a couple did have serious slow down), but all in all it was not a bad game like many reviews say it was... the campaign lasts about 8 hours or so from what I read but you will have to grind a bit on previous levels or side missions to be able to buy upgrades for you and your Mastiff (The pet dog you can summon for a time in a mission multiple times)... the cost adds up BIG time but worth it since some upgrades like the time slowdown upgrade saved my ass more times then I can count, the perfect aim mode making aiming a non-issue in some places (Again the slow down parts of the game) though before I get to the pros and cons, I have ONE issue here... there is either a bug or some kind of glitch making the hud show keyboard and this doesn't impact gameplay but could be an issue for those wondering on a fix... you don't have to worry about it... enough said this only happens in Martyr's rest or end or whatever the Hub area is called and during missions you won't be focused on the issue... Now onto the pros and cons. Pro 1: the game runs WELL on Steam Deck besides a couple moments in levels... the major ones is when you guard someone in chapter... 6 I think?... and when you work with some goons to keep enemies at bay, sooner or later a MASSIVE well... pillar... torch?... thats when the FPS tanks a bit because of how bright the lightshow is... after that, smooth sailing till the final chapter where you fight a few bosses in a row... one area before the semi-final boss is when the FPS tanks but if you can use the slow down power up, perfect aim power up, and the Blast skill properly with your dog helping you, you will survive... after that... good luck not dying... this was all on normal by the way. Con 1: You have NO real way to restore shields besides collecting power ups enemies drop... at first that will be an issue but this con is countered by pro two... Pro 2: YOU GET HEALTH REGEN by being aggressive... don't hunker down... don't shy from fights!... the only issues are armored enemies and you have a power up that can get by their shields... the more damage you do, the faster you heal!... stimms and Medkits help in the long run but this helps the game go from slow and borning to DOOM Eternal levels of fun... mainly just fight for the Emperor like you should as a good bounty hunter and the credits will come in!... Con 2: The Story can be a bit... weak... at first its OK... in the Middle is alright but the end has its issues... its not the worst game with a story but it has a story at least... enjoy it but if you expect a proper end... well... just know that you get seriously trolled by Kal Jerico at the end BIG time... and the game ends there as far as I know. Pro 3: The Gameplay is FAST!... much faster then some levels... more so if you invest in leg upgrades for faster movement and jumping... upgrade your legs and the upgrades that give you more health regen in battle and you will do WELL. Con 3: Don't expect this game to stick around on your deck or PC long... once you beat the game, unless I'm missing something, the only thing you can do is replay the main story again and again, but can't select a new character unless its a new game entirely... to be fair I think the story maybe the same no matter what but enough said I'll give my final thoughts below on this game... Final Thoughts: I would suggest getting this on a BIG sale... enough said while its an OK shooter... NOT a Good warhammer game... not many references to other games besides certain characters and the Underhive being a central place to fight in... you can pet the Dog and turn your Mastiff into a deadly beast of destruction and he saves your life once in the game... 8 out of 10 for the Doggo alone... he is your best friend here in this game and you will learn to love your dog... pet the dog... give him treats... Doggo is love!... Doggo is life!... Cyber Doggo is eternal!... anyway this game is not bad, but I would suggest getting your FPS fix elsewhere for Steam Deck FPS goodness.

Abandoned by the developer. Not even listed on their website. They should have stuck with this since it really has the fundamentals for a good gaym, but needed some patching and FLC content. Sadness..

Compentent and athmospheric shooter in the Warhammer 40k setting. It's not winning prices for being most innovative, but if you're looking for a shooter that lets you delve deeper into the 40k universe you should not be disappointed. Edit: quick addition: the game can be a bit difficult in the beginning, especially when you try the secondary missions first. It's getting easier once you upgrade your implants.

This game is very badly balanced, designed and buggy to boot. I gave it time to see if updates fixed it but nope still a mess like on release. giant laundry list of issues: 1) Weapon balance makes 0 sense. but that doesn't mater because.. 2) Weapons are useless. All you need is a high damage weapon then the time slowdown and autoaim powers can play the game for you. manually shooting at stuff is a mess when you die in a second if you stop moving like a monkey because most enemies are hitscan and you die the millisecond you stop jumping / dashing. 3) Have to execute enemies in melee nonstop to heal while waiting your broken powers to recharge. The animations glitch out more often than they work properly and half of them are over 3 seconds long. 4) Calling the story garbage is like pretending it has one. the story you get to play feels like an over-extended prologue for a real game story. 5) The graphics glitch out especially in the last few missions. 6) Everywhere looks the same. You'll spend the entire time in ugly tunnels, sometimes the game baits you with what looks like a giant city then nope back to the tunnels for you. 7) There is like 5 enemy types and outside the rocket mechs non of them qualify for more than fodders in other games. 8) Your dog is a timed summon that gives you wallhacks; it can jump around why does it need to constantly disappear? 9) The loot barely makes a difference and you will probably benefit more just selling it all to get upgraded biotechs anyway. aside from archeotech (damage boost per bullet) if you want to break the dps limits with a minigun. 10) The gundealer is completely useless, wasn't useful a single time in the entire campaign. 11) The bounties are just dumb random missions in areas you've already played, like running around to kill 10 witches in a 20 meter room while enemies indefinitely spawn. 12) Music bugs out all the time. Get this on sale only.