Warhammer 40000: Gladius – Relics of War

I first tried playing this many aeons ago.... before Horus was a mere twinkle in the Emperor's eye (more or less) and the game didn't click.

However, and this is a big caveat - after obtaining ALL the DLC via the Adeptus Mechanicus's help - the Omnissiah be praised - I returned to the field of battle and the game opened up.

It takes several battles to get used to the mechanics of even one faction (the tutorial is several codex's behind) - but once you gain an understanding through trial by fire then the game had me thinking what I could have done better next time - better handling of resources, build order and units, etc. Also a pox on the Tau and their tech (I digress).

I have yet to rise to the standard of Gulliman but by the Emperor my duty will not end. You most likely have the base game in your library - give it another chance and slowly pick up the DLC when it is on sale because the pricing is of Drukhari design.

"Walk softly, and carry a big gun..."

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don’t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS
---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't
---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma
---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☑ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer
---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☐ Workable
☑ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1 TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls
---{ Grind }---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding
---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☑ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life
---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☐ Long
☑ To infinity and beyond
---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☐ Worth the price
☑ If it's on sale
☑ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money
---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs
---{ Replayability }---
☐ One and done
☐ Maybe after a year
☑ Worth a second run
☐ Played it 20 times and still not bored
---{ Microtransactions }---
☐ None
☐ Only cosmetics
☑ Slightly pay-to-progress
☐ Pay-to-win
☐ More shops than gameplay
☐ Casino Simulator
---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☑ 7
☐ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

This game is basically a turn-based version of a traditional RTS. There is no diplomatic, trade, technology or other alternatives in gameplay; just straight up combat. Build a city or cities, capture resource points, build an army and kill the enemy. Basic gameplay but its WH40k and turn-based, if you like both of those things then you may want to snag it when its on a big sale, otherwise I'd pass.

The 4X genre has been languishing in mediocrity of late...pushing out unrefined titles with a mess of unconnected ideas piled on top of each other, incompetent AI, and unreadable presentations (looking at you Civ VII).
Galdius is none of the above. It is a stripped down 4X that is laser focused on War and Combat. Where some 4X weirdos may criticize the lack of 4X staples/conventions I think Gladius' focused and Spartan approach allows it to excel. The AI is leagues ahead of most of its peers. Combat is high stakes, brutal, and deadly...fortunes of a battle may reverse in 1 to 2 turns as my initial advantage dissolves into a panicked retreat. There is something special here.
The graphical presentation is modest, but that works in my favor as I find everything quite readable at a simple glance. The super detailed and complex models/textures of more recent strategy games have become a confusing mess of unreadability as pretty as they may be. I have found the Civilization V, Age of Wonders 3, and Gladius era to exist in that Goldilocks sweet spot balancing detail with visual legibility.
If more recent 4X titles are not landing for you give Gladius a try and bask in the superiority of a design with pinpoint focus and designers that have taken a scalpel to the burdensome conventions of 4X.

It isn't a bad strategy game, but it isn't excellent. It has a foundation, the core mechanics of the game are fun but a lot of the factions are locked behind 16 euros paywalls each.
The normal factions are fun, the Space Marines and the necrons are very powerful with the necrons being able to build other cities while the SMa can't. The played content isn't that fantastic , the Chaos SMs have a MISERABLE early game.
I got this when it was free so I don't have to think about the 40 euros that is spend on a digital game that I can't thouch and therefore I am at the mercy of Gabe .
If you really want this game I think that you should by it and test it for 2 hours.

After 700 hours with it yeah, I'd say I recommend it.
Find it on sale if you can unless you are a die hard Warhammer fan or something.
You don't need the dlcs neccesarily but they add a lot.
But if you play multiplayer and someone else owns the extra units dlcs then you can use them too.
Not the faction ones though. If you want a specific faction you got to own it on your account.

If you do decide to get on it, be patient, take some time to learn the game and its mechanics.
Multiplayer community can be hit or miss after so many years but you can find decent people to play with. Stay away from the toxic ones.

Cheers.

Amazing 4x game. I wasn't into Warhammer 40k before playing this game, enjoyed it so much I started playing other Warhammer games and now I'm painting a Kill Team! The game is Mod friendly, and DLC friendly. Whoever sets up the multiplayer game, every player can use their DLCs. All friendly players take turns at the same time, which makes it great to play with my wife, and my friends of all skill levels. If you like 4x games, definitely buy this game!