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Necromunda: Hired Gun
In the grim dark world of the 41st millennium, grim machinations and dark schemes are afoot. In a city of industrialised warfare, things are pretty grim....and dark.
You might be wondering why I only know 2 adjectives. You might be wondering what is wrong with me. You might be wondering what the 41st millennium is all about. Or you might be wondering, more likely, what this "Necromunda: Hired Gun" thing is all about. For all these answers and more, read on dear reader.
Necromunda is set in the universe of Warhammer 40,000, and based more specifically off the strategy game spin off; Necromunda. Essentially, the game is set in one of many gritty, planet spanning factories known as a forge world – its only purpose to churn out vast quantities of weapons, soldiers and machinery irrespective of human cost, quality of life - for the glory of the Imperium of Man. Suffice to say conditions on these planets would have most HR departments screaming like Banshees – and its pretty grim. And dark. Did I mention that before?
Setting: (8/10)
You might be wondering why I'm referencing the "grim dark" part so much. Well, for one it's the tagline of Warhammer 40,000 – but it's also because of the game's atmosphere. Its Hyper gritty – lots of dark environments, ranging from layers upon layers of metal shipment containers, a "mad max" style train complete with flaming grates, poorly lit foundries illuminated only by the glow of forges, gorey sync kills, heavy metal music in combat and a cyberpunk ambience.
Cards on the table: I'm a fan. I like Warhammer 40,000, I like heavy metal, and I like shooting stuff in games. So I'm familiar with the source material and can say this game is very authentic to it, even making references to obscure gang in-fighting and things like genestealer cults....(who for some weird reason can hire you to make bounties??????). However, its definitely worth mentioning that this isn't for everyone. Whilst I was thoroughly enjoying myself carving through esher gangs, my girlfriend who was watching the whole thing (the one who is always right, ESPECIALLY when she's wrong, not that this has ever occurred) pointed out in her words – and with no word of a lie or humorous intent – "this game is very grim. Its very much a boys game." And on further examination this is completely true, this game is not for everyone. To me, it resonates on the right notes because of my fandom of the post-apocalypse sci-fi genre, my love of the music and the fast-paced shooting. Its also noticeable at times that the music variety is limited to only a few tracks.
They definitely know Warhammer. The setting, music, and overall "feel" of the game is as grimy, gritty and cyberpunk as you could expect and want.
In essence, this is Doom (the game) meets Warhammer. The tone of the game is very one note, right down the gravelly voice of the protagonist. It's a very good note, and it's hard to fault the game for this as that's the nature of the source material – But it's something that does need to be mentioned, and sometimes even as a fan it can feel distinctly drawn out as a result with an overload of "samey" content and zones. There are two notable exceptions to this feeling, those being mission 3 and mission 7.
