Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War

No campaign
Base game has only 4 factions (Imperial, Space Marine, Orks, Necron)
Everything else requires DLC that cost almost as much as the base game .

Every time I click on game in steam and it brings up this secondary launcher. It just freezes at the screen and I can not even play the game. Wasted money on something I can't play. Fail

While a little long in the tooth graphically now, this game IMO is the best WH40K grand tactical game out there. Many combinations of different unit types and capabilities, configurable game scale and features, and general 40K vibe make this a highly replayable game. Enjoyable even to non 40K fans (although by now I am one myself).

This game is challenging but fun and satisfying when you win. You have 2 ways of winning, clearing the map or completing the 6 phases of a story. Did I mention this game is challenging? Pretty high learning curve but worth the effort. Don't be put off by the DLC strategy the developers use. It is annoying, but if you get the game and DLCs during one of the frequent sales this game is worth the price. It is also worth your time if are a WH40K fan. I highly recommend it.

40k 4x strategy game. It's nothing amazing or beyond what you'd expect, but enjoyable and that's what counts.

This game is great, while I feel it needs more content it is a truly fun game, though we must have more adeptus mechanicus content

One of my absolute favorites of all time. Warhammer 40k done right. The dark feeling of always war. No diplomacy only every thing on the screen trying to shoot or eat you. And the modders add lore and units to the game for maximum bloodshed. Glorious!

Enjoying this game quite a lot. The DLC brings in surprising new ways to play and the map generation makes every game feel different.

Beware of enslavers >:)

I recommend this solely cause it was free at the time I got it.

I like both, Warhammer and 4x games. However, the depth isnt there anywhere near the level I expect from a 4X game, while on the other hand, the action isnt as high paced, as I would want it from a Warhammer game.

Aside from that, its not terrible. Just not good either. Which sadly already puts it in the top 10% of Warhammer games I guess.

Took me a while to get into it, but I really enjoy it.

This game is amazing, When I play this game i'm always having so much fun, my favourite class is battleship!

Infantry. Artillery. Tanks. and Alot more Infantry. :thumbs_up:

game is good without dlc but their are a couple that make it better my personal favorites are the chaos marines and adeptis machanicus

This game is honestly my favorite Warhammer game, it may look bad but there is a great modding community and the models look great 10/10.

Terrible rendition of the civ series with a 40k paint job.

This is an amazing game. The variety of units is so big and the ever-changing maps make it hugely re-playable. It's an extremely fun and challenging game

Highly recommended.

Very good turn-based strategy game in the 40k universe. Factions play very differently, and the game is still being worked on and is getting DLCs with new factions and units. And on top of that, the game is super moddable. Mostly played with friends in co-op against AI, which is where the one and only flaw lies: Do not expect to spawn as a team together. You will always somewhat spawn together as a team, but (mostly if you play on a large map with more than one teammate against many bots) there is a chance that a bot is placed between you and/or your teammates. Nowadays it does not matter to us anymore, but if you are new to the game and are still learning, it can be somewhat annoying. But this is a rather minor complaint, because everything else is a blast (especially with mods like voice lines, tougher cities, graphic updates, and changes of model sizes, etc.).

Definitely check it out if you like turn-based strategy games and/or Warhammer 40k!

Edit: Typo

love the game did think i would but once i got the hang of it

After winning as the 4 free factions you get after purchasing the game (Space marines, Necrons, Orcs and Austra Militarum) I can safely say that this is a great 4X strategy game, VERY easy to learn for newcomers to the genre. I love the models and the combat. I do feel though that the Orcs are a bit stronger than the other factions but nevertheless I do think this game is well balanced. Would recommend. Especially for map game and 40k lovers.

To start off, I'm not a "die-hard" 40k fan. Never played table-top. Know the memes. Played some of the games. So, I think my opinion can serve as a reasonably unbiased review.
This game is a turn based "civilization" style game where you move your units on a checker-board style map that is randomly generated, with certain environment and location preferences that you can control. Unlike the Civilization series, however, there is no diplomacy. There are only two ways to victory: destroying your opponents or completing your faction's questline. The "hook" of the gameplay is resource management within your cities while also trying to diversify and position your army to face the varied enemy players and wildlife you'll come up against.
The game comes with 4 factions on purchase, and they all play unique from one another to keep them interesting. Unlike a lot of strategy games, there is not a lot of "copy-and-paste" style units. Most units have a role to play and has unique abilities and gimmicks, depending on your faction. This goes for resources as well. One vital resource for one faction may be nonexistent for another. One faction can only found one city while another is encouraged to establish as many cities as possible.
Overall, if you're just looking for a decent strategy game with a sci-fi flair, then you'll probably enjoy this game. However, I cannot not endorse getting this game on full price. I just don't think there's enough "game" to justify that. And, of course, you got the catalog of DLCs. Is that kind of scheme annoying? Yes. Is it any different from other strategy games nowadays? No, unfortunately. But, from the few DLC that I've purchased for this game, it seems like the factions are still balanced at least from the PVE side of things. And, they are still fun and unique to play.
If this game sounds like your cup of tea, I recommend doing what I did and get the base game during a sale and then pick a handful of DLCs that sound interesting to you.

A relatively basic 4x experience with a focus on war. In-lieu of Diplomacy/trade/religion... we find ourselves thrown into a randomly generated map with Warhammer 40k races that are as different as you would expect them to be.

One of the biggest selling point for me was the inclusion of the steam Workshop which includes many amazing mods made by fans.

If you're able to move past the DLC situation, which seems typical for Warhammer 40k strategy games (physical or otherwise), then I think you'll find an enjoyable game here.

This is the best turn-based strategy game I've ever played. The economy mechanics are transparent and deep, but not excruciating. There is definitely a learning curve here for every faction, and the factions have very different and compelling play styles and difficulty.
Though a lot of the factions are DLC, they feel well worth what you pay for. Playing this in 2025 and absolutely addicted.

I wanted to love this game as much as I love 40k but I can't. The base game is decent and worth it to buy on sale.

However. Every time I open the research menu I see parts of my army locked behind a paywall. I can stomach an entire faction like Tau being DLC but the Chimera? or the Landraider? You gotta be @#$% me! Here is your spaghetti but the sauce and cheese cost extra! Get that outta my face!

Oh its just 1 DLC to complete your army. NO! its 3. Reinforcement, Fortification and Assault. Nearly $6CAD each.
I don't mind that there are only 2 ways to win a game. Kill everyone else or quests. I can't recommend a game that splits your army and puts part of it behind a pay way.

Super fun game. Complete on its own despite the presence of DLC. A steal if you grab it on sale.

Don't be fooled by it looking like Civ. It's a wargame with a light building element. No diplomacy in sight.

All in all, a great game that punches well above its weight.

Ive only played two matches and man this game really sucks you in. like half day long matches.

Nice turnbased game, but unfortunately without a proper campaign. You can start skirmish-games over and over again, but that's becoming boring pretty quick.

the game is good and very fun to play, but when you go look at the DLC and see that there £160+ and £90 on sale but feel like you payed a down payment for the game and it now feels more like a demo than a full game.

The game provides a lot of fun playing it. Each faction has its charm. The mentioned paywall is for sure maddening and an innovative concept of grouping dlcs by lore or time would be desirable. Reaching the storytelling part of it and its dlcs there could be so much more. Nevertheless a great game.

Gladius is absolutely fantastic! This game is great for new and returning players to either 4X Grand Strategy, Warhammer, or both! VERY addicting, long EPIC matches. FOR THE EMPEROR

Not a fan of the dlc pricing structure, but i guess they gotta pay the dlc team somehow. But I do enjoy the gameplay, all the factions ive tried so far have all felt pretty unique, and the story mode for each faction was pretty interesting. Game ran really well too, outside of an issue I had where the game would often struggle to start up, once you got to the main menu it was fine. Sometimes I had to end the task a few times before it would take, not sure what that was about.

This was the slow paced turn based strategy game I was looking for! Wanted something to play while watching videos or doing chores. Would totally recommend if you're looking for the same thing.

Love this game. Great depth and I can play a full game in one sitting.

In a grimdark future they smashed together civ and age of wonders and it was pretty good.; lots of fighting and no diplomacy cuz why would you negotiate with xenos? As with all GW games, the DLC makes an otherwise affordable game pretty expensive.

To be clear I don't agree with others that the factions are overpriced or a rip off. Yes they released a lot of new content but I see this as a positive. If you started plaieng the game day one and subsequently bought the additional factions, then they are reasonable, granted you didn't need all the packages, some are almost useless.

But with the newest DLC they crossed a line. Now YOU NEED THE DLC to reasonably play the Space Marines. They nerfed a lot of the standard units to fit the DLC stuff. Whereas before you could comftably play as all base factions without dlc and still did well.

I loved this game I was a big smurf fan and I loved how accurate the units felt according to lor until they relesed the ultima founding now my smurfs feel as if they are paper when they go against chaos.
I was able to beat a hard enemy with infantry only smurfs and now everything is useless... god I hate PRIMARIS

Another tragic example of an awesomely fun concept that has been robbed of its soul and had it split into a dozen horcruxes.

The base game is a skeleton of what it shouldve been, with its meat and organs split into a myriad of overpriced DLC. Greed killed what this game could have been and has reduced it to a mediocre forgettable mess

Like Civ kinda, but completely remove diplomacy, simplify economy and expand military and tactics dramatically. Factions also very asymmetric, unlike Civ.

Solid 9/10.

If you love civilization and WH40K franchise then this game is perfect for you.

Modding is huge plus here as well as negative; as the game can crash like on 100th turn... then you have to investigate what has caused it and well be ready for tilt fest :D

Without mods it can still crash, for various reasons.

Still great game !

Truly excellent and fun multiplayer 4x where every faction feels very distinct yet reasonably balanced.

For me, the best 40k strategy game out there.

Review is for the base game only which I bought at 90% off.

Civ V with Warcraft 3 heroes, if it was developed in 1998 but had tolerable graphics.

I do not recommend it.
BUT I support a sequel if the devs actually do something about UI and quality of life.
Unless you specifically want 4X or to use all races, Dawn of War 1 and 2 are better games for Warhammer fans.

There's something to be said about this being the only 40K game with basically all the races in it (DLC required) and it is the most accessible war game imaginable if you can tolerate the UI and lack of quality of life features. There is a fan somewhere that this game means the world to and I cannot give it a thumbs down for that reason.

I'll also add that I did not have a terrible experience, just not good enough to recommend.

Its a simpler 4x but handles the theme well and the combat can be decent.

Brutally honest? A sub par 4X game with a warhammer skin thrown over the top and the Paradox / the Sims esque 400 DLCs. 6/10 meh.

I also own this through GOG and it is one of my favorite games. The lack of diplomacy in a 4x game kept me away at first, but it actually turns out to be a great strength in that it streamlines the game loop in a really nice way. Excellent replayability and mod community.

Not sure what to make of Gladius . Have experienced repeate crashes that needed working around. Dont feel confident the game is producing what it should . Needs more than debug tool . Will need to play more of it to come to any solid conclusion and still hopeful that if nothing else it will serve as a good training ground for Zephon. Further crash so Uninstalled,

Decent 4x 40k game, very combat-focused as expected for the universe, basic research tree.
There's not much else to say. A lot of minor things could be improved. My personal pet peeve is the heavy shading, no matter how much you play around with Gamma and Contrast the graphics just stay dark.
Also be wary of the DLC pricing. You have to purchase additional races & units in small chunks.
Compared to the pricing of the Civ6 add-ons, or the Dawn of War expansions back in the day, the value is only there for the most hardcore fans I think.
As much as I love 40k I'm not gonna drop another 30€ on this.

What I like is the various factions and differing play styles, I cant wait for the upcoming DLC! I definitely recommend for anyone who likes turned based games.

The way they release DLCs is way too greedy.

Truly and amazing game, had so much fun. Only complaint is the massive paywall for characters that makes the game feel unfinished

This is a fun strategic game. You build and manage your cities, and send your units out to crush your opponents. This game is very confusing when you first start out, but offers a lot of complexity once you understand what is going on. If it's on sale, buy it and some of the first few DLC.

Also Warhammer 40,000 is a really cool aesthetic.

I usually hate diplomacy in 4X games. I want to be friends with everyone, but everyone is a bastard, and they want me to pay seven billion strategic resources for one goddamn scallop. Against my will, I end up fighting people.

There is no such problem here. If you meet someone on the surface of Gladius, kill them. They're out to kill you.

And it rules.

This is a fun strategy game. It can get expensive if you buy all the DLC but if you watch the game goes for less than 5 dollars at time and most of the dlc is on sale at the same time. just buy when discounted and enjoy.