In the universe of Warhammer there are now dozens of games in all kinds of genres, many of which are … okay. However, a few of the games have surprisingly strong gameplay. MyMMO editor and Warhammer expert Benedict Grothaus has now discovered an older gem that he simply can’t let go of.
During my rather long vacation, I met up with a few friends for a LAN party. You know, nerds dragging their PCs to a table and sitting across from each other while gaming.
The biggest question we asked ourselves was: What are we going to play with over 30 and little common genres? It quickly became clear: Strategy it is, and we all think Warhammer is quite cool. So the suggestion came up to play Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War. The game is from the same studio as Zephon, which is currently being celebrated on Steam.
Initially, we planned just one round to get a taste. In the end, we played it the entire LAN and even now I’m still playing with friends or alone. Although Gladius was released back in July 2018, it still impresses me with its content.
Basically Warhammer-Civilization in the 41st Millennium
If you’ve played Civilization 6, Gladius will feel very familiar to you. The game mechanics are almost identical: You have a city or cities, expand them, and explore the map with your units.
However, Gladius omits one important factor: Diplomacy. You don’t need it in Warhammer anyway, after all, it’s not called Peacehammer. Instead, there are absurd units with a lot of punch and constantly ringing bells somewhere.
Whether against the AI, other players, or neutral units, there is almost always a skirmish or even a full-blown war with a big front somewhere. This definitely requires strategic and tactical finesse – even I, as a strategy veteran, have lost valuable units due to silly mistakes.
The game is played in turns, which at least makes the planning and the economic part of the game (the “Eco”) more pleasant than it would be in a hectic real-time strategy game. What fascinates me the most, however, is how well Gladius represents the Warhammer lore without assuming any prior knowledge.
Gladius captures the essence of the factions excellently
Almost all the well-known factions from Warhammer 40,000 are represented in Gladius. Only the conglomerates of Votann are missing along with some sub-factions, such as the Custodes, although they wouldn’t make much sense in this setting.
Each faction comes with its own mechanics, units, and play styles. Tyranids need biomass for everything possible, Space Marines drop their cities (and later units) from orbit, and the Imperium litters the battlefield with corpses – foreign and their own.
Do you want to know which faction is the strongest? I’ll tell you in the ranking:
For everyone who doesn’t know Warhammer, it’s simply different factions with differences. However, Warhammer fans also discover in these play styles what defines the factions in the lore.
My army is of course the Adepta Sororitas, the holy warrior nuns from Warhammer. They come with everything you would expect from them: fanatical units, cruel penances, and of course plenty of flamers.
Here you can see the trailer for the Adepta Sororitas:
Easy entry, expensive overall package
Gladius has no campaign but only offers individual battles on random battlefields. However, those who want a story can complete quests that essentially replace the campaign and serve as a tutorial at the same time. This makes it quite easy for new players to look at everything once and learn.
Anyone starting with Gladius will find the game on GOG or Steam regularly for a few euros – on sale for as little as 3 euros, sometimes even for free. The catch is, as often with Warhammer, the price of the expansions. The base game only includes four factions:
- Astra Militarum
- Necrons
- Space Marines
- and Orks
All other factions and additional mechanics like the “Lord of Skulls,” a kind of sudden death unit, cost money. Even in the current sale on Steam, the entire collection costs me over 100 euros, even though I already own part of it. While the game is still cheaper than Total War: Warhammer 3 with its over 270 euros, it’s still quite a bit.
Then again, it probably belongs to the Warhammer experience to pay an absurd price for your hobby. Anyone who plays tabletop is probably used to regularly emptying their account. But if that seems too expensive, you can find here the best video games to get to know the world of Warhammer.
