Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War

it's fun

It's a pretty cute skirmish game, with some added base building. The gameplay itself isn't terribly deep, but it is fun. Unfortunately, the lack of depth hinders the replayability a bit, but it could still be a fun way to spend an afternoon with a few buddies. Sadly, the game basically forces you down the conquest path, with the touted alternative quest victory being poorly implemented and badly balanced- if you don't know exactly what is coming and spec to defeat it from the first turn, you're not going to be successful there. And without the quests, it's just kind of bland on the whole. The little bits of fluff that show up when you complete a research project are cute, but not enough to liven the game up.

That's as big a scan as Solaris, especially given as the races people want to play are DLC only.

The game draws on all the things you love about 40K, unit balance and abilities feels just about right, the lack of diplomacy means that you'll never have a moment where you feel bored or safe and the AI can be punishing with the right settings. I love the 4 factions availale for now. Space Marines don't care for building and instead drop units all over the map making them a constant threat. Imperial Guardsman creep across the map with range, armour and cities. Orks throw themselves into fights constantly and never spend a turn without looking for something to kill in order to keep the resources flowing in. Necrons are resiliant as all hell and any unit that survives an enemies turn will be back to fighting strength almost immediately, though luck is a larger factor as you look for tomb's to place your cities on. What is missing is a stable multiplayer, a good chunk of people wanting to play this game are stuck behind an error that suggest using port forwarding but has no real cure. Some of the more sought after races are yet to be announced but the devs seems keen no adding more down the line. Voice acting is missing from unit dialouge and would make such a great addition to the game. The AI can struggle without free spaces to strut it's stuff, wildlife and wire weed(pain hexes) seem to weaken the AI greatly, so for a real challenge turn them to low. Not all your favourite units will make it into the game even if your faction does, so forgive this one a little. Paint schemes are absent and so are marine chapters, you can choose a team colour from a small selection, but it doesn't give you that feeling of ownership and uniqueness you crave in the 40K universe. All in all this is a great game with room to take it from a solid 4/5 to an unforgettable 5/5, if you're fine with single player against AI this game will suck up you free time, but if you're looking for a multiplayer experience check in once in a while on the steam discussion page for updates.

I find what this game does to be done very well and enjoyable.