Hired Guns

Hired Guns (1993) is a cyberpunk first-person action game for MS-DOS published by Psygnosis and developed by DMA Design. Set in a dark, dystopian future ruled by megacorporations, the game places the player in the role of a freelance mercenary tasked with infiltrating heavily guarded complexes. Blending fast-paced shooting with dungeon-crawling mechanics, it delivers a gritty atmosphere reinforced by industrial visuals and a tense soundtrack.

A defining feature of Hired Guns is its squad-based design. Up to four mercenaries can be deployed simultaneously, each with distinct stats and equipment, and missions can be tackled solo with AI-controlled teammates or cooperatively with multiple players. Gameplay emphasizes tactical positioning, resource management, and exploration, with large, non-linear levels filled with security systems, hostile enemies, and environmental hazards.

Notable for its technical ambition at the time, Hired Guns offered split-screen multiplayer, customizable controls, and a high degree of freedom in how objectives are approached. Its mix of cooperative play, cyberpunk aesthetics, and uncompromising difficulty has earned it a cult following, securing its place as one of Psygnosis’ most distinctive MS-DOS releases of the early 1990s.