Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War

 PC
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 51 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 51
  3. Negative: 8 out of 51

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  1. Mivo
    Sep 7, 2021
    10
    The game received numerous updates and patches over the past three years and turned into a real gem. The AI is above average and substantially better than in some of the popular 4X games. Runs really well with many performance-related customization options, stable, good mod support. It is a war game, so there is no diplomacy or an overwhelming amount of "fluff". You build cities,The game received numerous updates and patches over the past three years and turned into a real gem. The AI is above average and substantially better than in some of the popular 4X games. Runs really well with many performance-related customization options, stable, good mod support. It is a war game, so there is no diplomacy or an overwhelming amount of "fluff". You build cities, buildings, and pump out units. In a way, it feels like an RTS (Starcraft, AoE, etc), but it is turn-based. Games are long and deliberate - battles often turn into wars of attrition. The AI plays well and puts up a good fight. It has quickly become one of my favorite strategy games. Very addictive, and a lot of replay value in form of very differently playing factions with unique units.… Expand
  2. SarkTG
    Jul 17, 2018
    9
    What more did people want from this - Did you actually intend to negotiate with NECRONS? Fools!
  3. Yurro
    Mar 15, 2021
    5
    Good for novices in 4X turn-based strategy games and strong fans of Warhammer universe, with simplistic and mundane gameplay compared to other similar games.
  4. Lu__Ca
    Dec 14, 2018
    5
    The game is tedious, it should be speeded up x3. some enemies don't have a counter*, if they do it takes 5 turn to create it, 8 turn to arrive at destination.... ok the strategy but c'mon.
    Some technologies are so useless it makes obvious choiche, don't know why are even there.
    *in particular those enslavers early on, and that Huge m***ker that spawns every X turns and is unkillable,    The game is tedious, it should be speeded up x3. some enemies don't have a counter*, if they do it takes 5 turn to create it, 8 turn to arrive at destination.... ok the strategy but c'mon.
    Some technologies are so useless it makes obvious choiche, don't know why are even there.

    *in particular those enslavers early on, and that Huge m***ker that spawns every X turns and is unkillable, but stays only a limited number of turns    … Expand
  5. Vasot
    Aug 5, 2023
    8
    Pretty good game actually a great 4x strategy game without diplomacy and with all latest DLCs and patches this is very entertaining indeed only thing lacking are diplomacy options but in the Warhammer 40,000 Universe exists only war. It's understandable of why the Developers chose to stay true with the lore and not turn this into another Civilization type of game.
  6. Destrukt
    Jan 5, 2022
    3
    A cosmically overpriced 4X Panzer General and Rites of War inspired strategy.

    The game is playable. Maneuvering units on the battlefield and outwitting the opponents is satisfying, unlike so many other turn based strategy games. However there are many poorly working mechanics. Player receives quests during the game in the only available skirmish mode on randomly generated map. It is    A cosmically overpriced 4X Panzer General and Rites of War inspired strategy.

    The game is playable. Maneuvering units on the battlefield and outwitting the opponents is satisfying, unlike so many other turn based strategy games. However there are many poorly working mechanics. Player receives quests during the game in the only available skirmish mode on randomly generated map. It is almost always better to not advance these quests and not fulfill their objectives because they spawn large numbers of hostile independent units which do nothing but mess up with player's plans.

    In default setting random map generator spawns outrageous amounts of independent units. If players do not want to spend large portion of the game playing versus computer controlled fauna the setting needs to be changed but even at the lowest choice there is quite a lot of marauding cultists and animals.

    There is unit experience levels system. Each level up to 10 increase units attributes. There are heroes with Warcraft 3 inspired ability system. 4 Abilities, one ability upgrade point per level. Strong ability unlocked at level 6.

    Opponents' AI can somewhat play but it gets confused in late game. It may forget how to move units from its cities to frontline and it makes them seem to wander illogically. It does not know how and when to use unit and hero abilities. Will use abilities incorrectly, for example it may use an increase to dealt damage on an unarmed structure.

    There is no singleplayer mode other than skirmish, competitive multiplayer but versus artificial intelligence controlled opponents. There is no campaign nor scenarios.

    While the map looks quite good with trees moving with the wind and randomly generated decorations (I like it more than mobile-like graphics of Civilization VI). Units are plain and animations are ugly. Each player units are separated with one color. Warhammer 40,000 army color schemes are all made with at least two main colors. This makes units look dry. There is zero customization in the game. That is a big negative point because one of the main appeals of tabletop wargames is customization of the miniatures and coming up with custom paint schemes for armies. Some WH40k video games include customization, Dawn of War series and Space Marine.

    Audio is bad. Sound effects are simple and created in low quality. To make the game playable it is necessary to increase unit animation speed to maximum. However, the sound department does not make any compensation for hastened unit interactions and all weapon sounds at that speed sound like annoying buzz.
    Calling music that what comes from music channel in the game is an insult to any self respecting composer. It is so painful to ears one wonders why developers did not ship the game without music as that would not make the player associate the gameplay with such painful ear torture. Disabling music is necessary to enjoy the game.

    Finally, the reason for the review's title is that given that the game contains little content and definitely was not as expensive to make as complete Dawn of War 1 which includes 9 races with beautiful animations and splendid audio, the best voice acting in video games, amazing music composed by Jeremy Soule (The Elder Scrolls series, Guild Wars 1) and 4 campaigns. Yet the complete Gladius discounted on sale costs as much as new "AAA" title. Many races lack essential, iconic units which then are added in paid microexpansions (so called "DLC"), for example Imperial Guard / Astra Militarum Chimera... the basic armored personal transport.

    The game is absolutely not worth the price asked.    … Expand
  7. GenDrameron
    Jul 15, 2018
    8
    A Játék teljesen jó, a Multiplayer-ben kifejezetten tetszik, hogy az emberi játékosok egy időben real-Time mozoghatnak és cselekedhetnek,

    Negatívum.
    Nincs Voice Act ami minden 40K egy fontos alap köve.
    Nincs Replay mod.
    Nincs Ladder es ranked mod.
  8. denisc205
    Jun 28, 2022
    10
    Всё потому что это Warhammer Warhammer WarhammerДа здравствует Великий пират
  9. Nick7000
    Mar 7, 2023
    7
    Занимательная пошаговая стратегия, чем-то отдаленно напоминающая Цивилизацию. Определенно, несколько вечеров за ней скоротать можно, но не скажу что нахожусь под впечатлением от нее.
  10. Merure
    Nov 16, 2022
    6
    the game was mildly entertaining and I was playing it for about 10 hrs and would like to play more

Awards & Rankings

34
#34 Most Shared PC Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. Worth Playing
    Jan 2, 2019
    68
    Performance issues, counterintuitive visual design, and lackluster sound are prevalent concerns. It makes for a strategy game that is so close to succeeding but falls short of something special. After spending roughly 30 hours with Gladius and getting familiar with each of the factions, I'm comfortable recommending the game to fans of the genre who are desperate for something new or for those looking for a 4X game they can enjoy at a more relaxed pace. What's more relaxing than smashing Space Marine skulls on a Saturday morning with a maxed-out Warboss? Waaaaaghhh!
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  2. CD-Action
    Dec 4, 2018
    70
    Relics of War made me realize how much I need a Civilization game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Gladius is not there yet, but it is on the right path. It ditches trade, diplomacy, religion and cultural development and focuses on the military side of things, which of course is in line with the setting. I did miss other strategic layers a bit, but the game’s main problem is that it offers merely four factions. Other than that it’s very decent. [10/2018, p.86]
  3. Riot Pixels
    Nov 5, 2018
    59
    In the dark future, there is only war, but this is not enough for a proper 4X strategy game.
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