Game review
Necromunda: Hired Gun
6 / 10
- Developer
- Streum On Studio
- Publisher
- Focus Entertainment
- Released
- 31 May 2021
- Platforms
- Windows
- Genre
- Action
- Monetisation
- One-time purchase; Hellhound Pack and Bounty Hunter Pack DLC sold separately
- Players
- Single-player only
The short version
Necromunda: Hired Gun is Streum On Studio's fast-paced FPS set in Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 underhive, published by Focus Entertainment. It sits at 65% positive ("Mixed") across 5,267 English-language Steam reviews. This review read the 100 most-helpful negative reviews alongside the 100 most recent English reviews.
Environment art and atmosphere draw consistent praise even from reviewers marking the game down — 16 of the 100 negative reviews read specifically credit the environment design, often calling it gorgeous or highly detailed before pivoting to their actual complaint. That complaint is most often the enemy AI, referenced in 64 of the 100 negative reviews read — the single highest frequency of any complaint this review has found in any game covered this session. "The enemies endlessly spawning behind you during missions to blast you in the back, preventing you from ever being able to explore, is one of the dumbest and most un-fun design decisions I have ever seen in a video game," reads one representative review. This review found the complaint's frequency essentially stable across every year sampled from 2021 through 2026, with no evidence in the sample that later patches meaningfully addressed it. Recent sentiment sits at 60% positive, close to the 65% lifetime figure, and this review found several recent reviewers specifically recommending the game to fans of the multiplayer-focused Warhammer 40,000: Darktide looking for a single-player equivalent in the same universe.
Biggest strengths
- Environment art and atmospheric underhive setting draw consistent, specific praise even from reviewers marking the game down for other reasons
- A distinctive, fast-paced movement system with wall-running and grappling that some reviewers single out as a genuine highlight once mastered
- Fills a specific niche for Warhammer 40,000 fans wanting single-player content, with several recent reviewers specifically recommending it to Darktide players
Biggest weaknesses
- Enemy AI is the single most frequently mentioned complaint this review has found in any game covered this session, appearing in 64 of the 100 negative reviews read, often described as unfair enemy spawning that interrupts exploration and pacing
- This review found the AI complaint's frequency essentially unchanged across every year sampled since 2021, with no evidence that later patches resolved the underlying issue
- Bugs and technical jank are a consistent secondary complaint, referenced in 34 of the 100 negative reviews read, including crashes and framerate problems
Who it's for: Warhammer 40,000 fans wanting a single-player shooter set in the underhive, willing to tolerate janky enemy AI for a genuinely well-realised, atmospheric setting.
Our recommendation: Worth trying for the atmosphere and setting if you're a 40k fan who can look past frustrating enemy encounter design — go in at a discount rather than full price given how consistently that specific complaint recurs across every year since launch.
6 / 10
Introduction
Necromunda: Hired Gun is Streum On Studio's fast-paced first-person shooter set in the sprawling underhive of Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 universe, published by Focus Entertainment and released on 31 May 2021 at NZ$69.99. Players take on a bounty hunter navigating the underhive's gang warfare with a customisable arsenal and a cybernetic dog companion. It sits at 65% positive ("Mixed") across 5,267 English-language Steam reviews. This review read the 100 most-helpful negative reviews of 1,850 total, plus a sample of the 100 most recent English reviews.
Atmosphere nobody disputes
Environment art and atmosphere draw consistent, specific praise across this review's sample, even from reviewers who ultimately can't recommend the game. "The environments are absolutely gorgeous. There is an insane amount of detail in the world," reads one review before detailing an unrelated list of complaints. This review found the pattern in 16 of the 100 negative reviews read — a consistency this review has found is common across critically-mixed games with a strong specific visual identity, and Necromunda: Hired Gun's grim, vertical underhive setting is no exception.
The most-complained-about AI this outlet has found
What holds the game back is more mechanical. Enemy AI is referenced in 64 of the 100 negative reviews read — the highest frequency this review has recorded for any single complaint in any game covered this session. "The enemies endlessly spawning behind you during missions to blast you in the back, preventing you from ever being able to explore, is one of the dumbest and most un-fun design decisions I have ever seen in a video game," reads one representative review. This review checked whether the complaint faded with patches and found its frequency essentially unchanged across every year sampled from 2021 through 2026 — a genuinely persistent, unresolved design issue rather than a launch-week problem later fixed. Some reviewers familiar with developer Streum On Studio's earlier cult FPS E.Y.E. Divine Cybermancy describe the pattern as familiar: "Streum On is amazing at set dressing, but absolutely terrible at making satisfying gameplay. They've proven this twice now."
A niche for Darktide fans wanting single-player
Recent sentiment (60% positive) sits close to the 65% lifetime figure, and this review found a specific, recurring framing among recent reviewers: recommending the game to fans of the multiplayer-focused Warhammer 40,000: Darktide looking for a single-player equivalent in the same universe. "Ah, welcome Darktide refugee. This is where the darktide single player campaign lived all along," reads one 2026 review, capturing a niche this game fills reasonably well despite its mechanical rough edges.
Verdict
Necromunda: Hired Gun remains a genuinely well-realised piece of Warhammer 40,000 world-building, with environment art and atmosphere reviewers on both sides of the score consistently credit. What holds it back is the most frequently repeated single complaint this review has found reviewing games this session: frustrating, unresolved enemy AI and spawn design that has shown no meaningful improvement across five years of patches. Worth trying for 40k fans wanting a single-player underhive shooter — just go in with tempered expectations for the actual moment-to-moment combat, and consider waiting for a discount given how consistently that complaint recurs.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Environment art and atmospheric underhive setting draw consistent, specific praise even from reviewers marking the game down for other reasons
- A distinctive, fast-paced movement system with wall-running and grappling that some reviewers single out as a genuine highlight once mastered
- Fills a specific niche for Warhammer 40,000 fans wanting single-player content, with several recent reviewers specifically recommending it to Darktide players
- Character customisation and a variety of weapon and cybernetic augment options that reviewers who enjoyed the game describe as satisfying to build around
Cons
- Enemy AI is the single most frequently mentioned complaint this review has found in any game covered this session, appearing in 64 of the 100 negative reviews read, often described as unfair enemy spawning that interrupts exploration and pacing
- This review found the AI complaint's frequency essentially unchanged across every year sampled since 2021, with no evidence that later patches resolved the underlying issue
- Bugs and technical jank are a consistent secondary complaint, referenced in 34 of the 100 negative reviews read, including crashes and framerate problems
- Some reviewers familiar with developer Streum On Studio's earlier cult title E.Y.E. Divine Cybermancy describe this game as carrying over the same rough mechanical edges with less interesting ideas underneath them
Screenshots
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Necromunda: Hired GunImage: Focus Entertainment via Steam -
Necromunda: Hired GunImage: Focus Entertainment via Steam -
Necromunda: Hired GunImage: Focus Entertainment via Steam -
How the review scores each part of the gameWanderer Editorial -
The essentials at a glanceWanderer Editorial -
The short versionWanderer Editorial