Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War

Simple game to get into, you can add depth and complexity, increase difficulty and try new methods of defeating your enemies

A large selection of factions to choose from

It reminds me somewhat of EU4, but with a whole lot less busy work.

Great game

it hits everything i would want fro ma 40k civ

A must have for 40K fans. It's a bit heavy on the DLCs, but then it's been around for quite a while now and in my opinion most of them are worth it.

Would be nice if the game didn't constantly crash, esp. with me running an update rig

Great soundtrack and very addictive game play in the 40K universe. I always have a hard time stopping when playing this game. Just one more turn....

It's like SMCiv-lite, with more of an emphasis on combat. Tight tactical gameplay, but really tough. AI are relentless. It's weird that Astartes can only have one city, and it's crap that you have to buy DLC for every single new faction, when there aren't that many factions to begin with. Still, I'll probably end up buying all of 'em. It's a pretty fun game.

i love it plz give Me Custodes

cozy game, very high replay value

great mash up between red alert 2 and civilization style play. great strategy game, praise the Emporer

This is one of the worst strategy games I've ever played and I genuinely think the devs made this game on bad purpose. It's probably an experiment to see how well a game can sell with the Warhammer 40k IP slapped on it. I've played free browser games with more strategy and better balance.

Furthermore, the fact that they're still churning out DLC for units that would take 1 person 1 day to make is very telling.

Check out Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War (the first one) if you're interested in the Warhammer 40k universe. It has all the same factions and units, and it's much cheaper and far more polished.

If you have ever played a game from the civilization series, this game is that but Warhammer 40k. It is incredibly fun but you only get 4 factions to play around with while atleast 7 other factions are each seperately locked behind a 15$ price tag which is buns. (They even sell "unit packs" which cost more money and will give you one unit for each faction that you also pay for, ew)

CATCH IT ON A SALE, especially if you are thinking about getting the DLC. I got the game for 5$ which was a heck of a deal and honestly I would have bought atleast some of the DLC as well if I knew the game was going to be this fun. Space Marines are a good starting faction.

Game can be a bit tough at first especially with the roaming neutral monsters on the map that can appear and attack you from the fog of war before you see them but once you play a match or two its not that difficult to get the hang of and learn to play a little defensive at the beginning.

A great strategy game, even in 2025.

great game for turned based so much detail and animations are spot on

great game but as some terrible balancing issue. i can't even enjoy a normal ai battle .i try many settings . the ai cheats beyond any ai i ever seen. its terrible. i would of enjoy this game if it wasn't the ai cheating and the wild life been op some time. like it makes it a frustrating experience . i really wanted to enjoy this game i try my best but now i am done with this mess.

Nothing is balanced and it should be kept that way. Fun game to play with friends. Pick it up on sale but not a full price kind of game.

Excellent turn based strategy game.

Steep learning curve but very immersive

Its just great, a little pricey with all the DLC though.
On the bright side, you can pick and choose.

I play it with my brother in coop campaigns and its quite enjoyable, more so if you are a Warhammer40k fan.
The only minus is, that the PCs cheat heavily, would be great if they also got smarter instead of just having endless units on the hardest difficulties.

It's fun, can be a little lacking but still fun

Great game but the launcher is terrible. It crashes for me about 40-50% of the time.

A fun little game, but I recommend getting this if it's 20$ or less

Solid turn-based 4X without the need for diplomacy. And let's be honest, diplomacy has historically been the weakest point in the genre.

It fun, if I had my dream you would be able to add master crafted war gear to the unit types especially leaders, also assigning special characters which would lock you into a specific army version.

Super Fun Game! Wish itd be updated with newer rules and models.

For the folks wondering what if Civ V but Warhammer.

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

great game, just needed diplomacy

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.