I'll begin by saying...this game is rough. It's rough in many, many ways. It's not just a matter of difficulty, but also presentation, style, and a lot of aspects like that. It's a game that shows promise, but as it stands...is a very niche title. The game's premise is novel and far too rarely executed on. It's a game I wanted to like, and while I do enjoy it, it's a game that is lacking in some areas and needs a lot of improvement.

However, I've found the game...is simple. The simulation aspects are there, the game is sutiably difficult, and the fights are bloody and exciting. Every fight can put your gladiator school to ruin. However, the game just doesn't (yet) have the depth that really lets you get into the nuances of the game. Variety feels rather lacking. There are only really 4 venues to fight - two in North Africa (Utica and Leptis Magna), and another two in Italy (Brundisium and, of ocurse, Rome itself). In each city things grow increasingly difficult as you go from city to city, climbing the ranks. The concept is great.

The management of the teams is simple. It's effective as you buy staff to train and heal and maintain your gladiators. The game lets you choose too how you treat your gladiators. Do you want to build a prison, or a high-quality training establishment? Or maybe something in the middle? Based on what upgrades you buy for your school, what ameneties you provide for your fighters, their skills be influenced rather heavily, though at great cost as maintianing such enhancements can become quite expensive. Thus your goal is to run the most effective school possible, but also a profitable one, and sometimes these things can be at odds, espeically given the rather sporadic nature of fight scheduling and their value (more on that near the end!)

The fights are suitably engaging, in a way, especially if you turn the combat text speed to 0.5 to really hype the suspense, or a more brisk but still intelligible 1.0 (by default it's at a blindingly fast 2.0), each fight can become quite tense, especialy if you're invested in your fighter. That said, the game feels very obtuse in terms of what a crowd's desires are. There's no indication until you're actualy committed to the fight what the crowd may be feeling - whcih is understandable, but you'd think that a city would have a certain 'flavor' or the crowd coudl be a little more predictable, at least over time. Instead, it seems that there's a straight up random chance (20% to start) that a gladiator will be spared at the end of a fight, which can only really be increased by investing perk points into them. More talk about those later.

Sadly, there isn't really many ways to invest in them. It's simply a matter of very hands-off training, increasing the facility ammenities, and giving your fighters weapons or armor. While armor feels like it's well-done, in that wearing armor is a trade-off of dexterity, stamina, agility... Weapons are lacking. I just don't feel like weapons exist in a very engaging or interesting space. There are nominally over a half dozen weapon classes, but they merely exist to make you buy weapons as a gold sink, as there is no differentiation between them. A sica is no different than a gladius which is no different than a fascina (trident), or pugio, or any of the other weapons. And while any gladiator can use any weapon, there is a bonus to using particular weapons - and given that all weapons share the same damage ranges, have no speical characteristics, and generally cost the same...well, it feels like a missed opportunity mechanically speaking

The parks are a novel feature that I rather like; and the perks for the individual fighters feel well balanced. However, many of the Player Perks, designed to simulate, I believe the school's traditions, history, inclinations, over time, feel very unbalanced. There are a few (the Reputation Boost perk in particular) that feel outright broken! It states that it raises your reputation to the maximum simply by investing into it. That sort of bonus, naturally enough, just kind of kills any purpose for the mechanic. The same could be said of a lot of the other perks - such as being able to ignore fatigue, or retirement ages, essentially making your team into an emotionless juggernaught as you can choose to ignore morale penalties with certain perks. Things like that are wonderful boni, but they can seriously unbalance the game. That said, other perks, such as Opportunity Chance increases, starting level bonus, weapon bonuses of various types, gladiator health increases. Things like that make a lot of sense and play into the whole notion of Ludus Traditions...the others just feel outright game-breaking and need to be reconsidered.

It would have been nice to fight across the whole Empire than merely North Africa and Italy. It could have also allowed for a degree of variety too in the fighting styles, or the sorts of fights you can manage, or increase the scouting possibilities, creating a regional fame system so that if your team fares poorly in one area you can move to somewhere else where your style is more interesting to the crowd - whether through the crowd's preferences of fighter style. It just feels like a bit of a missed opportunity to not be able to play with gladiator types, city preferences. Besides the obvious style choices, cities could have had meanignfully-sized arenas. Smaller venues would of course be less favorable to spear-wielders, for instance... Or massive arenas might be the only ones capable of putting on mass displays where you send your whole stable out to showcase an entire roster against an opposing school. Second, you always start in Utica, then advance, city by city, through Leptis Magna and then to Brundisium, and finally to Rome. It could have been more interesting if each city had a certain bonus or style or some other aspect to it, and then you chose where to start of the three other cities - and your goal was to 'conquer' all 3 of them, then move on to Rome. It's currently a linear path that I do wish had been a little more interesting.

There's also no way to arrange matches. A big part of being a Lanista, as I understand it, isn't JUST building your stable of fighters, training them, and keeping them in prime shape, but finding fighters to go against your men that will make for interesting battles. It'd be nice if, instead of 'merely' choosing your fighters, and your chosen school, you could also 'suggest' in negotiations who you fight against. And based on relative skills, purse size, crowd attendance, venue, and other factors, the opposing Lanista will agree or disagree to the arrangement. ALso, not being able to fight non-arena fights, is kind of disappointing as well. While the schedule of fights goes primarily towards the main arena(s) in a city, it wasn't uncommon to have schools supplement their income by providing entertainment to dinner parties, funerals, and frankly - to not have this option can lead to massive gaps in the game where you sit there for days or weeks on end hitting 'next turn' until you find a fight that matches your needs. And this isn't an issue that occurs only in the beginning when outmatched and seeking only less hyped fights. It happens also later on in the game too, when you find that it's simply not worth it to risk your less-skilled men in the less-hyped fights that occur.

I'd also like to note that the developer is quite active and open-minded for suggestions in this game, and while the game is technically a full release, I see ample probability that there will be some major game enhancements, mechancis, patches, etc, that will make the game better over time. In full disclosure, I have talked with the developer relatively recently and have been in contact for modding purposes. Further, in the course of our discussions, he asked that I write a product review here - however, it has not affected in any way the content or my opinions on this game.

+ gladiators
+ rpg-like elements

- ONE SONG THE WHOLE TIME
- everything feels half-finished
- models don't match the weapons or armour
- very repetitive. After you figure out how to play a turn, it's the same. Thing. Every. Turn.
- no sense of achievement. I got past the first city, clicked 'Advance', and nothing. Not even a change in the background, just a change in the name of the city and the enemy bosses.

Age of Gladiators is a turn-based, classic strategy/management game.

By "classic" I mean it combines the best elements of turn-based strategy with RPG, and when you situate it in a compelling environment (i.e. the brutal, ancient world of gladitorial combat), you have the makings of a great game.

This is the first management game I've come across where you play a Lanista (i.e. boss) of a Ludus (stable of gladiators) set in ancient Rome. The game doesn't have fancy graphics, flashy cut scenes, etc. but it does have solid gameplay -- from the time I started, I kept going, and the next thing you know, it was 5am...

Things it does well:

1. Unique setting: i.e. managing all aspects of a ludus -- this includes hiring/firing staff, fighters, upgrading your facility, etc.

2. RPG elements: You get to upgrade your fighters (and yourself) when they level up, as well as send them on potentially profitable (and risky) missions. It's always fun when there are RPG elements inserted into strategy games, as the player develops a "bond" with the gladiators in this case. The perks are useful, and the game is well-balanced.

3. Strategic layer -- you have to decide what kind of gladiators you want (e.g. tanks with lots of strength and health, or nimble fighters with high speed/agility/lethality), who to send to what types of matches (of increasing difficulty), who you want to develop and level up, and so on. What kind of staff do you want? How do you level them up? When do you fire them? When do you hire them? These are all decisions you have to make.

You also have to plan around the fight calendar (because fights earn you money, and you have daily expenses), manage the health of your fighters, and most importantly, manage your finances (although you can borrow money in a pinch). You have to purchase armor and weapons too, which add bonuses to your fighters' performance -- this is a secondary benefit, but every bit helps when you're trying to squeeze out an advantage against your enemy in a tough match.

Oh and you can also place side bets on the fights, that can earn you a LOT of extra cash. Lastly, you have to decide what kind of lanista you're going to be -- ruthless (i.e. kill your own fighters and steal their winnings), benevolent (always give them a higher share of the purse and best living conditions), or somewhere in between.

Things it can do better:

1. I find it a little strange that you can't see who your fighter is facing until you've committed your own. I mean, in ancient Rome, weren't these matches planned in advance? Knowing who you're facing adds yet another (positive) element in the strategic layer. It really shouldn't be left to chance. That said, there isn't a whole lot wrong with this game.

Final comments:

I like the fact that you can choose the "type" of lanista your character can be too -- a merchant, doctor, negotiator, and so on. Each background gives you certain benefits. The fights themselves are dice rolls, but you can pick a combat strategy based on your fighter's strengths and weaknesses as well as your opponent's. e.g. if your fighter is not as strong, but is really agile and accurate, a defensive posture may yet triumph over a stronger (but slower) opponent.

Best of all, what I really like about AOG is that it does all this without fancy graphics, high frame rates, videos, actors or voice overs. It's just a great example of a classic strategy game that gets virtually everything right.

Age of Gladiators is a fun, well thought out and executed game, and I highly recommend it. The devs did a great job!

8.0/10.0

You start from a patch of dirt, some trainers and a couple of gladiators that don't know a sword from a spear... With this you must train, equip and (when needed) whip your crappy gladiators into shape. They will fight, they will die, you will cry and hire more... Don't give up, one day you will arrive at Rome's gates with champions of the arena at your back, the men that will rival the likes of Spartacus will fight in your name and paint the Colosseum red with the blood of your enemies!

Pros:
-Hours of gameplay
-Different every time you play
-Difficult gameplay (easier modes if you want)
-Good level progression of your gladiators
-Not every gladiator is the same, some are natural talents you have to look out for!
-Cheap as ♥♥♥♥!

Cons:
-No group fights

9/10 - Amazing game, definitely worth $10

Lacks depth and character.Theme of the game is amazing but unfortunately it lacks imagination.Building your gladiators does not feel satisfying because they are all just sum of different attributes,they lack character.So much more could have been done regarding gladiator customization like unique perks they get when they are created,different classes that can wear different equipment,maybe skill trees so you can level your gladiator in different directions as it gathers experience.Equipment could be diversified adding different bonuses (maybe special abilities your gladiator can use in combat).Right now game feels bland and offers very shallow experience...

I did enjoy this game, I'm not sure if it will warrant more playthroughs in it's current state, but I did get my money's worth.

You are bound to get a few false starts while you figure out the mechanics of the game, and there isn't a single sure path to success. Overcoming that early challenge feels very rewarding. Don't be fooled though, this is a text and numbers management game.

Your starting choice of perk is extremely strong, and makes the early game very enjoyable and challenging. Once you get through the first couple cities though, I found that the game became a steamroll. The occassional death of one of my gladiators did little to slow down the momentum that I had started to gain. However, the Gladiator genre is very lacking, and Age of Gladiators is a welcome addition to it.

Pros:
Challenging early game
Fun theme
Many interesting mechanics
Appeals to the business management type

Cons:
Easy late game
Almost zero visuals
Light content outside core mechanics


My winning strategy and tips (some a little spoilery):
1. Buy a couple gladiators
2. Don't pay them anything
3. Run them into the ground for a few extra bucks.
4. Invest your early perk points into increasing the starting level of new gladiators- new gladiators will be stronger than the survivors of your first batches and opponents pretty quick.
5. Invest early gladiator perk points into being able to wear heavier amor- this will give them a clear advantage over the first few cities.
6. When upgrading your school, turn it into a prison with guards, and continue to treat your gladiators like slaves and not pay them.- No matter how low their morale gets, as long as security is strong they won't escape and nothing bad will happen.
7. Once you have a good system going, invest perk points into the +skill perk for gladiators you plan on keeping around, a decent mid game level 20 gladiator getting +5 extra points every level will be unstoppable by level 40 in the late game.
8. Once you have millions of bucks floating around, no reason not to get a full staff of trainers, medics, and blacksmiths. Make sure your money machine is strong before investing heavily into staff though.
9. A good perk to pick up once you really start rolling with some strong fighters is the one that removes gladiator fatigue, this way you can cycle through a smaller number of gladiators instead of trying to pay for a full stable, and train up some backups to step in when the occassional death happens. This makes having 10+ gladiators irrelevant, as you will rarely need to use any but the first 5. This was the final nail in the coffin in finishing the game once my deaths became very infrequent.

Various other tips-
-The starting perk of showman is very strong if you are having trouble in the early game.
-There is a perk that reduces wear and tear on weapons, 5 ranks removes wear altogether. When a gladiator dies, you keep their weapon
-There is another perk that increases the stats on new weapons in the shop, up to 50%
-Blacksmiths increase the effectiveness of your weapons and armor. Damage mitigation on plate can easily reach 65%+
-Combining all of the equipment perks and keeping an eye on the shop you can give you a permanent upgrade even if you get into the habit of losing gladiators.
-Most schools before Rome have only one or two strong fighters. it is possible to zerg rush past these gladiators since they still suffer from fatigue and injury the same way your fighters do. Make sure that you have invested into getting fights more often. When you do lose a strong gladiator to an opposing strong fighter, keep pouring it on, there is a good chance that the next time that fighter shows up he will be exhausted or wounded.
-Intellegence and HP do not seem worth investing into, finding a smart recruit can be nice, but the level cap of 40 comes quickly in the late game and those are wasted points by max level.
-Dexterity is a priority in my early recruits and points. Misses are so common in the early game that just being able to land a hit is a huge advantage.
-Once dexterity is decent, focusing on agility or reflexes is strong for being able to dodge yourself.
-High strength becomes less necessary if you have focused on upgrading weapons and blacksmiths, but can be useful in the earlier game.
-If you are planning on winning the game by being a cool dude, paying your gladiators, freeing them when they start to get a little sad, feeding them well, naming them after your loved ones, and trying to keep them all alive and happy... good luck, because that turns the game into a true challenge.

TL;DR = This is a tentative no. It's easily the best game of it's type on Steam (yes, there is more than one gladiator management sim), but replay value comes down to what you like in games.

EDIT: I would suggest Domina is actually the gladiator game to get on Steam. It's less of a cut-and-dry traditional management sim, but is better in every regard.

Review proper:

Alright, pretty straightforward on this one. It's a management sim, where you are the lanista of a ludus (there's some Latin for ya!). You control several aspects of your gladiators, their stable, and their matches, with the ultimate goal of crushing everyone who gets in front of you.

You start in a small arena in Carthage, working your way through the ranks until you reach Rome.

The Good:

Essentially, the gameplay is pretty solid. There's some neat mechanics, a few simple side quests, and the early game is very much a "oh crap, I need to do X or we're out of business" type thing. It's also easy (for me anyway) to get fairly immersed in it, and grow attached to a gladiator, imagine a backstory, etc. etc. In essence, it's not a bad story creator if you're imaginative, and a person could write a good AAR or two due to this.

Finally offing the dude who's been the terror of every (abstracted) tournament and is the most feared and famous fighter in the Empire feels great.

It's artistically very pretty, too.

It's also possibly the easiest game to 100% in terms of Steam achievements. You can get all of them in one playthrough.

The Bad:

So here's why I don't recommend this - if you know what you're doing, the game is much, much too simple, you can ignore the majority of the mechanics, and it devolves into "click this, click this again, click it again, more click".

My first playthrough was exciting, because I didn't know what I was doing, and everything felt very tense and on the edge. By my second playthrough, I understood how to min-max everything, and went 1100 odd matches undefeated. Which honestly kinda sucked after I hit 200 wins, because it turned into me just clicking through everything in order to just kill off the last 100 or so other gladiators.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=776930791

No lie. There is no save scum involved there either.

It doesn't matter if you have the most famous gladiator, money becomes irrelevant, and there's just no way to fix any of these issues. Certain game settings do make things harder, but the only one that makes the late game remotely challenging (Let The Gods Decide) can also make it just about impossible to progress in the early game. The only real way to keep things edgy is to make up your own restrictions, which might work well for some, but not me personally. While I usually don't mind that, as "breaking" games is often part of the fun for me and I will still certainly play them even after finding the win button, there just isn't enough depth or other stuff happening in AoG for me to want to here.

In the end, it suffers from the same problem a lot of 4x games have - at some point, once you're doing well, it just becomes uninteresting.

Conclusion:

In the end, I can't really offer much in the way of a solution for the above problem, or think of any way to make it a better game. I can't say it's a bad game, because it isn't, but I can't say I'm going to go for a third complete playthrough either. I got my 30 hours out of it for the price of a pack of smokes, so I'm not dissatisfied, but that's it.

Excellent, surprisingly deep game. Bonding with the gladiators reminds me of x-com. Audio isn't all that good and it may turn repetitive. However, great value for money. I would have loved ,ore background knowledge on the weapons, places, etc. I think the developers can really build upon this idea.

I can't really recall playing this type of game. I have seen sports management software before, but wasn't interested. I gave this a shot because of the time period. I was not disappointed. The entire package is presented well. It was easy to learn, every screen is either self explanatory or has handy tool tips. The art and graphics provide impressive immersion to the atmosphere. You can watch the fights or skip them if you choose. Thumbs up to the developer for letting the player choose. You build your fighters, train, feed, cloth (barely), and sometimes put them to death.

When I lost my first gladiator (not a recruit, I mean gladiator) it was like a punch in the gut. I was mad, I lost money, and I made sure that boss was going to pay for killing my fighter.

I got my money back and he paid. All the glory goes to Rome!

Highly recommend this game.

Had potential to be a fun game but really lacks depth.
For those who don't own the game yet, the concept of the game is quite straight forward, buy gladiators and let them fight in the Arena to earn money to progress. Problem is that that is about it.
There is unfortunately absolutely no depth to the game, so as soon as you figured out how to buy gladiators (select them from a list) start a fight (klick on it and select your fighter) and level them up (click on stats you want to increase) the game just comes down clicking yourself from fight to fight which is rng generated with some basis on your gladiators stats.
And unfortunately that's it. You can progress in different areas but literally the only difference is that the opponents are stronger and you get more money for won fights.
And that is kind of sad because there were lots of opportunities. There is different kinds of weapons but instead of them affecting each other like on a rock paper scissor system or having other aspects, like their effectiveness being affected by the fighters stats, the only difference is that every fighter has a preferred weapon and looses some stats with others.
Then there is four types of agents you can hire, but instead of them interacting with the game, they just give you a per cent bonus on things like weapon strength and recovery time from a fight.
Also the game isn't really balanced out like in many small game titles and Game play doesn't feel very fluid because you have to manually click for every new day, with most of them not anything happening at all, but these are minor flaws one could ignore if the game otherwise would be fun.
Only reason to buy this game is that its cheap but there is way better options, that are actually fun, so i would recommend against buying it.