That’s a very unusual game to ask about so I have no idea. Way newer games have been cracked with way worse DRM (Denuvo).
As for playing online I think it depends on the game. Some I believe you can play but only with other pirates. I wouldn’t rely on it.
I don’t get why you would need nurves for it. If you stick to something like FitGirls official website it’s not too risky.
That being said if it’s better for multiplayer games to take advantage of steam sales. For an old game like Hawk2 it probably is only a few quid/dollars to buy.
You don’t pay for launchers. They are free. You also don’t pay for multiplayer. If you don’t want launchers look at DRM free sites like Good Old Games or pirate them.
You can play Steam games without an internet connection. This is just like how consoles are packed with DRM but you can still play them offline. Why would you even think PCs are any different? Like consoles have always had worse DRM.
Piracy on PC is very much alive and well outside of multiplayer games.
Have you thought about Windows 10 LTSC? I think that is your best option.
Also we are on Windows 11 now, not 10 as the latest version. Keep up.