It’s time to head back to Gladius Prime, a land torn apart by war during the hunt for ancient relics. Warhammer 40,000 Gladius: Relics of War was first released in 2018, and 4 years later, DLC and content are still being provided for the game. The Escalation Pack is the most recent downloadable content to be released, and it features 9 new units for the civilizations featured in the game, assuming you own all current faction DLC.

As I quickly found out, the pack features 1 unit per faction, and 5 of the factions are only available through DLC. So off I went to play with my toys, while the other toys in the toybox were tantalizing me and tempting me to come to play with them. This would be fine if the extra faction DLCs didn’t cost $18.50NZD each. Luckily, there’s a sale on at the time of writing this review, so if you were looking at buying new race packs or the game itself, you can do so with huge discounts. Developed by Proxy Studios and published by Slitherine LTD, the Warhammer 40,000 Gladius: Relics of War is available only on PC and is a turn-based strategy game set in the Warhammer 40k universe!

So, off I went to discover this new game for the first time, for me at least, and I loaded straight into a match without any tutorial, since tutorials are for the weak-kneed. Instantly, I found myself slightly confused. If only someone had done the tutorial and learned how to play the game first. I fumbled my way through the first 10 turns, not really doing too much, just killing stuff off and wondering how I could create new units and buildings.

I then discovered that one of the starting units had the ability to create the settlement. Keeping in mind the only strategy games I have played are RTS games like Warcraft, and Age of Empires, I fumbled my way to turn 30, leveling up research, unlocking new units, and bringing down my doom hammer on any scum bag trying to occupy the same space as me. I then unlocked it. The GHOST ARK! The tier 2 vehicle research for the Necrons.

I didn’t do much research into the new units but having a name like a Ghost Ark, I was expecting a vehicle of mass death and destruction. Reality then hit when I finished producing my first one, it looked really cool and well designed, however, I struggled to see any attack capabilities on the vehicle. That is because there are none. The Ghost ark is what it sounds like in hindsight, an ark. A vehicle for transporting troops across the wasteland of Gladius Prime. Useful in specific scenarios, but I wanted more, I wanted a troop that would fight for the right to live on the lands.

I then researched what each unit was and that’s when I found the one! The Mekgatrakk Scrapjet is a metal tube covered in things that make the enemy die. This was the golden ticket, the thing I had been wishing and praying for, and as a tier 2, this thing was bad-ass. A motor vehicle with missiles and all sorts of other destruction strapped to it. Proving to be a very strong and fun unit to use early on, I had to see what else was in store for me. Next up was the Devil Dog, a Tier 4 mobile tank with a massive armor-melting cannon. This proved very handy when laying siege to cities and destroying enemy armory groups, although grinding to tier 4 took a little longer than usual.

After playing around and having fun with my ultra tanks that would make the WW2 tank builders blush, I decided to move on to a quickie. The Space Marines and their Scout Troop. This tier 1 unit is used like any other scout troop in any other RTS game, to recon and infiltrate. Keeping tabs on the enemy, this unit was very easily forgotten about and I only made one so that I could try them out. It didn’t seem too useful playing against the BOTS, but during online multiplayer, however, I can see this unit becoming very handy for gaining intel to help you crush the competition.

The other factions had some very tasty-looking troops. Tyranids have a tier 4 tough ranged infantry unit called the Hive Gaurd. At tier 6, the Chaos Space Marines can unlock and utilize a fast walker unit with TWIN ROTARY GUNS! How fun would this have been to use, however, it is a bit of a grind to unlock. The T’au have the biggest grind however, at TIER 10 they unlock possibly the most badass sounding unit to have been ever invented, The Tiger Shark. A flying super-heavy bomber equipped with maximum firepower! Craftworld Aeldari also obtained a reconnaissance unit called the Hornet, and last but not least, the final available unit in the escalation pack is the Skitarii Rangers. Available to Adeptus Mechanicus as a tier 1 unit, this Doctrina Imperatives infantry unit is equipped with a sniper and is able to move through cover.

All in all, the game was super fun, and it got the old wheel and cog turning while trying to strategize on how to crush all my enemies. The Escalation Pack, however, seemed like a big ask to put a price tag behind it. In games today, we see packs like this added to games as free content, and with half the pack being for factions that are locked behind other DLCS, this seemed like a big cash grab. The units included in the pack were very useful, however, and will add a spark of new life to the game, but I don’t think a few handfuls of units will hold the people for long.

Written by: Bigfoot