There are many games based on Warhammer 40000 and each one of them presents the franchise in its own way, Necromunda: Hired Gun is no different, it makes you wonder Is Necromunda: Hired Gun worth It?. Necromunda: Hired Gun is certainly presenting it uniquely since it is combat driven game. It is a fast game that shares a lot of similarities with the Doom and Wolfenstein series. You might even mistake it for these games at a glance. The world of Warhammer is prevalent in the game and it is even taking it to the next level. Necromunda: Hired Gun’s plot is just there to justify its existence.
The quality of the game is not that good so don’t expect a triple-A experience. The quality of dialogues and gameplay is also not that good as well but it is good enough for such a price point. Necromunda: Hired Gun is not a triple-A game so don’t expect too much from it. It is a $40 game that wants to feel like a triple-A game and to an extent, it succeeds in doing so. If you ignore some of its bad aspects then it’s a fun game. It has amazing combat that capitalizes on music to make it more interesting. Combat is its main focus and it does not even shy away from showing it. All this makes you wonder, Is Necromunda: Hired Gun worth It?, Let’s find out.
Premise
The plot of that game does not hold much significance. It is a generic plot that follows your life as a Mercenary. The plot is just there to justify the existence of the game because there is nothing special to it. You are a bounty hunter that is hired to take down the opponents of different crime lords. Along the way, you will find those who wronged you and some revelations would be made. It’s not like the game has a story-driven narrative so don’t expect too much from its story. Necromunda: Hired Gun has a generic story with revelation and betrayals so it does not offers something special in the story.
Setting
Necromunda: Hired Gun takes place in the Warhammer universe on the Mechanized planet called Necromunda. Humanity has extended its reach beyond the solar system and Necromunda of these out space colonies. It is a weird-looking planet that supports the weird nature of the game. Everything in the game looks unusual from guns to enemies to your surroundings. You can see the mechanization of the planet through the piles of metal around you. There will be liquid metal and pieces of metal all around you.
The game is not a visual spectacle so don’t expect good sites when playing it. Even graphics are mediocre at best. It’s not a triple-A title so this much is to be expected from it. You can see copy-paste assets all around you. Most of the levels even look the same with little differences. Missions are also pretty much the same, they are linear and goes in one direction. All you have to do is keep on moving the target until you take down the target. There is a great amount of repeatability but it is digestible given the price of the game. Is Necromunda: Hired Gun worth it to you for its bizarre-looking world? Well, there is more.
Main Missions and Contracts
There are two types of quests in the game, one type of quests are the main quests and the others are contracts. Main missions are part of the story and you have to complete them to progress. Contracts are side-quests that can help you earn more money so that you can use it in the game. They will grant you the trust points of factions as well. Trust points do not help that much other than unlocking some stuff. You can completely ignore contracts and just complete main missions. The problem with contracts is that they are highly repeatable and can dishearten you from even playing the main missions. However, if you want to earn extra currency then contracts are the way to go.
Combat
Combat is the focus of the game and the moment you get into action you know that the combat is great. It has fast pace combat that lets you ravage through enemies. You can shoot while jumping high in the sky, running, sliding, or even during wall running. Whatever the situation is, you can change it as per your will. The fact that you can shoot regardless of your position makes the combat all the more fun. The first game that comes to mind during combat is Doom Eternal. It shares a lot of similarities with the series and takes lots of concepts from Doom Eternal. The fast-paced combat, the carnage of taking down multiple enemies at the same time, and the ability to make the combat as intense as possible. Is Necromunda: Hired Gun worth It for you for its combat? Let’s discuss some more.
Doom Eternal has a combat-driven native that is supported by intense music, Necromunda: Hired Gun is no different. The moment music kicks in you feel the rush of combat. Music will encourage you to become as aggressive as possible because it makes you feel invincible even when you know that you are going to die. The game will reward you for playing aggressively but won’t penalize you for taking damage. You gain more health and damage the more you kill enemies. So if you want to gain health when you are low on health then killing enemies can give you all of your health back. The combat of the game support aggressiveness which makes aggressive gameplay more fun.
The Brutal Combat
There is no denying that the game has brutal combat. When you shot enemies part of their body can explode depending on the weapon you are using. Shooting the heads, legs, and arms of enemies can separate these parts from the body. It’s like the game is visually showing you the aggression like some other games with brutal combat. You can also see that it also takes inspiration from the Wolfenstein series. The aggressive, brutal, and weird nature of the game shares a lot with Wolfenstein. The fast-paced combat and aggressive nature of the game make it a treat for people who are driven into combat-driven games.
You can unlock different abilities but unlocking abilities cost money, not skill points, unlike other game. So if you want to unlock all of the abilities then you would need to do a lot of contracts. Since the game is full of repeatability, you will get bored before you even get through a couple of them.
Despite sharing similarities with combat-driven games, Necromunda: Hired Gun’s controls are not that good. They feel unresponsive and clunky which can get in the way of combat. Even if you are doing great, the lack of smooth controls might get you into trouble. Don’t expect good controls like some of the famous FPS games. It’s not an AAA so controls are quite good for the type of game it is. Is Necromunda: Hired Gun worth It for the brutal combat? There is still more to it.
Inspirations
Necromunda: Hired Gun takes a lot of inspiration from different games. It also takes inspiration from Rage when it comes to world design. Doom, Wolfenstein, and Rage are three games that come to mind when playing the game. Gears of War also has an impact on how it plays. In a sense, it is taking inspiration from 4 Xbox games because Bethesda is now part of Xbox. Gear is the last game that would come to mind while inspiration from the other three is more evident. Is Necromunda: Hired Gun worth it to you because it takes a lot of inspiration from other combat-driven games?
Just like the combat and general setting of the game, Necromunda: Hired Gun takes inspiration from the aforementioned games even in exploration. It has rewarding exploration as it rewards you for looking around. Whenever you are in an area, the game will show you the number of loot chests in that area. Opening these loot chests will give you different consumables, currency, weapons, and gear pieces. You will know the exact number of the treasure in an area. It will also show you how many chests are open and close which makes exploration more convenient. Levels are pretty much straight forward so finding loot chests is not that hard to find.
General Gameplay
There are some RPG mechanics. Levels are somewhat open-ended which gives it a sandbox kind of feeling. Though it does not offers a complete sandbox experience like other games. There is a hub area where you can select different lead-outs, buy stuff and customize your weapon and gear. The hub area is a good addition to the game which makes it better. There is a skill tree and you purchase different upgrades to gain new abilities and buffs. Is Necromunda: Hired Gun worth it for its general combat? Let’s discuss.
You can buy different weapons, items, and gear mods from different vendors. You can also attach different attachments to your weapons which makes them more powerful. There are different types of weapon rarity. The rarer a weapon is, the better are its stats. You will constantly be throwing old weapons for new ones for higher stats. The game does not have an extensive build system but it’s enough to match build with your playstyle and abilities. There isn’t enough weapon verity, unlike other games. It’s not like that game has an extensive amount of customization options but it’s enough to make it interesting.
One of the major issues with the game is its UI. It is confusing and downright horrible. I had a hard time adjusting my sight to the user interface. It is hard to grasp at the beginning but even when you get used to it is still going to be a sore sight for the eyes. There is no proper color of UI and it has a messy layover. Kind of reminds me of the UI of Cyberpunk 2077 but this one is even worse. I don’t know if it’s intentional or just a misstep but it’s horrible.
Voice Acting and Character Design
There are a lot of cringy dialogues in the game. Some of them seem so stupid that it’s almost laughable. The voice acting of characters is not that great if not bad. The way they act does not even match with the situation on the screen. Characters will be in a panicking situation and they will sound as if they are on a picnic. It’s not like Necromunda: Hired Gun is a story-driven game with good dialogues but the least they could do is make it a little more believable.
The main issue is that the game tries to show good acting but fails. The facial features of the characters match up to the situation to some extent but the voice acting is just not keeping up with it making it even worse. You will have one or two choices when talking with NPCs but these choices are only outside combat. The dialogue choices won’t have any impact on the story or the outcome of an event. They are just there to make dialogues more diverse.
From the start, you will select one of the premade faces. There is no character creation, so you just have to play as one of the available faces. Each character design has a male and female version so at least there is a choice. Besides, it’s not like you will be seeing faces of characters since it’s a first-person game. You do have the choice of selecting different clothes that you would rarely see due to the FPS nature of the game. At least it’s better than the character creation of Anthem. All this makes you wonder Is Necromunda: Hired Gun worth It? Well, let’s find out in the verdict.
Verdict
Necromunda: Hired Gun is a game with combat driven narrative. It is not a great game from any angle but it is a good non AAA title. The moment you fire the gun, you get to know that the game is all about fast pace combat. It has aggressive combat that rewards you for aggression. Attacking enemies head-on does not mean death as the game encourages you to take risks. It shares similarities with some of the Bethesda games. Even the idea of the grappling hook is similar to Doom Eternal. It won’t be a memorable game but it is a good game for its price since it costs nearly half of a tiple-A game.
Now let’s answer the question “Is Necromunda: Hired Gun worth It?” if you are looking for a game with good combat then Hired Gun might be to your liking. It is certainly not a triple-A title game so don’t get your hopes up. However, it costs half the price of AAA title and has damn good combat. It could also be to your liking if you are a fan of Doom, Wolfenstein, Rage, or Gears because it shares a lot of similarities with these games. Necromunda: Hired Gun seems great if you are coming at it with a forgiving heart and are expecting a mediocre experience.
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