Warhammer 40000: Gladius – Relics of War

Great and fun game, each faction has its own units and playstyle. Dev support is still going strong. It’s a must if you enjoy combat focused strategy games. Highly recommended.

How would a Civilization game look like if it would be set in Warhammer 40K universe? The answer lies in Warhammer 40000: Gladius - Relics of War. You build cities, gather resources, and develop technologies, however, you should forget about diplomacy, since everything alive on the map is your enemy. So don’t expect peace treaties or alliances unless you’ve enabled team mode at the start of the game. And what would a world of eternal war be without eternal war? Nur totaler und endloser Krieg!

It is like Civilization and Age of Wonders had a baby. And that baby ended up spending every day in its parents' basement playing Warhammer 40k.

I think I got my money's worth.

Okay if you can get it cheap.
Its HEAVILY based on Civilization 6, but don't expect that level of depth with the strategy elements. It's Civ with a greater focus on combat, as such I do enjoy the combat more than Civ 6 (Not exactly a high bar however.)
So if you want a faster paced, more combat oriented game of civ without diplomacy or culture or any of the other gubbins, its fun for a game or two here or there.
My biggest complaint is how few factions are in the base game. 4 is dreadfully few, especially in a game that goes up to 16 players. I know they all play distinctly different and every unit is unique to them so it takes longer to make a new faction for this than it does for games like Civ where most factions are just different flavors of the core game with one or two unique units, but chaos space marines and tyranids at launch would have made the game a lot more fleshed out, a bit more varied and more worth the original asking price.

I was never a fan of any kind of turn-based strategy game before playing Gladius. That said, this is hands down one of the most fun, addicting and satisfying games to play on the market. Sure, it's old, it's spaghetti code. But it's modable, its versatile, and in its own right its simple.
It also receives updates regularly, still. It's genuinely fun and has definitely got me deeper into the hole that is Warhammer 40K.

A soft thumbs-up. It's fundamentally a hex-era Civilization game set in the grim darkness of the far future where there is no diplomacy, and for some, that might be enough. Not so keen on how many of the factions were carved off as DLC (particularly for the prices they're asking), even if my favourite faction is in the base game.

Warhammer 40K: Gladius - Relics of War is a fun little game. It’s like Sid Meier's Civilization V with a Warhammer skin, but with fewer gameplay options. The graphics are decent, and with the right factions, it can be enjoyable. However, it's not that deep of a strategy game overall.

One downside is that nearly all the factions require paid DLC, which often isn’t worth it, as the game doesn’t have great longevity. Still, if you’re looking for a Civilization-style game with a Warhammer twist, this could be for you. I’d rate it a 6,/10.