Warhammer 40000: Gladius – Relics of War

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.

A great game, wished the DLCs was part of the game already which equals more fun for anyone who wants to start their journey into the Warhammer Universe and also likes long, drawn out, and difficult battles which will lead to great wars on an massive scale.

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.

Has slowly improved over time. Good not great.
DLC reminds me of Paradox games. Too many, w/ too little content in each, for too high of a price, but you probably won't enjoy the game w/o most of them.
Would have initially given a thumbs down, but has earned a thumbs up.

Many reviewers have Warhammer 40K and/or Civilization series games experience. Closest thing that I ever played is GalCiv4. Wasn't thrilled about a 4x game that is missing the diplomacy element, but this game works. Objective is destroy the building in the startup hex, in all cities, for all opponents.
Game includes 4 factions; 3 of which can build multiple cities. Plus, there are additional factions available as DLCs. (Bought 2 of these, the same weekend, that I bought the base game.) Despite the same game-winning objective, all of the factions play differently. One is great with long-range weapons. Another can only build a single city. And other is very good at melee attacks, and is great comic relief. (You MUST get the Too Many Voices mod. If nothing else, to listen to the Orks' comments.) The base game & DLCs go sale from time-to-time, so stay alert.
Research tree: 10 tiers max. You progress to the next tier by researching 2 or more items in the current tier. Some research items provide new units, unit buffs, or city buildings and/or buffs. In 6 games, easily reached tier 10, in 4 games; one game, I barely reached tier 8. Compared to games like Distant Worlds 2 & Galactic Civilizations IV, this part of the game is very understated, and could use meatier descriptions to understand what researching an item provides.
Game play:
Start off on a map, with tiny bit of exposed.
Unless you are in an area with very poor resources for your faction, build a city with your engineering unit, ASAP. (The engineering unit is called by different names for different factions. Example: For Necrons, it's the Canoptek Spyder.) You need to get your economy moving, and start researching items.
Cautiously explore the map, to find additional city locations (unless you are the Space Marines) & find your opponent's cities.
Be mindful of wildlife. Taking on things such Enslavers or giant scorpions before your infantry has leveled up, or you have more powerful units, is wasteful.
Kill the key building in each of your opponents' cities. If you don't recognize these visually, they will be the ones attacking you.
On a medium map, playing against 2 opponents, typically won in 6 to 10 hours, but I play slow.
If none of the above has convinced you to buy this game, consider that there is an abundance of videos, and the play community on the forum is one of the most helpful on Steam. Game also includes PDF manual & a tutorial; later is one of the game's greatest weaknesses. Having watched numerous YT videos, had a descent feel for the game play; player community filled in the gaps.
Never even considered any kind of 'Warhammer' game prior to August 2024; computer or tabletop. Party Elite's video about the Necrons (one of the factions in the game), sold me.

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.

I love me some 4X games, mostly Stellaris, and as much as I love the depth, complexity, and variety that game offers, Gladius is refreshingly simple in it's execution. Just kill the other guys, no diplomacy, no galactic community, no traditions or focus trees. That's it. Sure, you've got special abilities depending on the various factions (each of which plays completely differently, even down to their economy, which is fantastic), and the weapon profiles are very complex if you're the kind of person who likes to math everything out, but ultimately you just need to know what roles your units perform (meat-shield, anti-infantry, anti-armor, etc.) and keep your economy balanced.
Also that Forests and Imperial Ruins hide units unless your directly adjacent to them. And provide infantry cover.
In the Grim Darkness of the far future, there is only war. And y'know, sometimes that's okay.