Dominus Gladiatus, the gladiator management simulator, launches on consoles and PC. Can this unique indie game capture the attention of players in a month full of massive titles? Or should it receive the dreaded thumbs down?
The Day To Day Life Of The Ludus
In today’s era of video games, there are not many new concepts appearing. Many copy cats or quick cash grabs flood the digital stores. Dominus Gladiatus attempts to break that mould. Developed by Brain Seal Ltd and published by PlayWay, this management simulation really caught my eye. Whilst there are some issues, Dominus Gladiatus really stands out as a new, fresh and inventive simulation game. This is a brutal, rewarding and challenging experience.
When it comes to narrative, Dominus Gladiatus is extremely light. The setting and plot are simple: set in ancient Rome, you are one of six Domini (Latin for owner or master). Your goal is to build a successful Ludus (Gladiator school) and dominate the gladiatorial arena. Set over a 165 day span, you train and acquire gladiators to fight against the other five Domini in order to become the champion of champions. There’s your story. Yes, it’s extremely sparse regarding story but it’s a simple and effective tale of attempting to achieve greatness. There are a handful of short animated scenes and text depicting your triumphs against other owners or defeats. Some players will be vastly disappointed if they are looking for a rich narrative set in ancient Rome. Still, this is a fun, engaging story which doesn’t outstay its welcome.
Roma Victor!
At its core, Dominus Gladiatus is a management simulation, but with that comes a heck of a lot of strategy needed. You build a school, and buy slaves to become gladiators, all whilst attempting to keep finances and morale up. Whilst the concept and narrative are simple, gameplay proves to be thought-provoking and downright addictive. At the heart of everything in this game is the Ludus. This school is where you train, build, sell, honour, repair, heal and ultimately, where you win and lose. You choose one of six Domini that all have different passive traits alongside some abilities. These range from increasing morale to more money at the start of the campaign. The variety in the six Domini is wonderful and allows for great replay ability.
Most of gameplay revolves around preparing your gladiators for battle in the coming days. You have a counter to let you know how many days away battles are, alongside what you are facing. Battles can either be for surrender, to the death or some timed events involving animals. These battles are simulated events that you can speed up or simply let play out, as you watch your gladiators fight for their lives. Each 30 days or so ends with a climatic battle against one of the Domini. Lose, and your campaign is over. Adding this rogue-like element to this style of simulation is a genius move, as it creates such a tense and yet addictive gameplay loop.
Depth Behind The Brutality
For me, the brilliance of Dominus Gladiatus lies within its surprising depth. Each campaign you partake in will only take you two to three hours, but it’s the intricacies within these hours that captured my attention. You don’t just buy a gladiator and send him into battle. Each slave has stats that include his fatigue, morale and health levels, whilst also showcasing how many fights he has before he will demand freedom. There are different classes of gladiator slaves can become – from double wielding aggressive attackers, to counter attacking, to long range spear wielding classes. Alongside these classes are upgrade points for each stat, such as combat, health, special move etc. Then there are the different weapons and armour you can buy for gladiators which improve stats and help them survive the colosseum longer. See what I mean now when it comes to depth?
It’s not just the gladiators which provide depth. There’s a robust staff system where you can employ doctors, slave traders and many more. These help make your business a well oiled machine. You can also purchase buildings to help keep the wellbeing of the gladiators at a high level. Living quarters allow rest for your fighters; an infirmary heals injuries that occur in battles, whilst the pleasure house keeps your men’s morale high. It’s a robust and deep system that I couldn’t get enough of. Addictive, challenging and bloody brutal!
Dents In The Armour
Although this is a wonderfully enjoyable experience, there are some issues I had with Dominus Gladiatus. At launch, the game only sports two modes- campaign and custom battles mode. Custom battles is a tacked on mode, allowing you to witness fights with different gladiators, animals and arenas. It’s a fun mode for about ten minutes and then it loses interest. The game will need more modes such as tournaments and events to keep players returning so the lack of modes at launch is a real disappointment.
Similarly, the lack of arenas and locations hurts the replay ability of the game. It would be amazing to see more arenas, locations and more customisations for the gladiators. These are minor problems compared to the major issue: performance. Often during my campaigns the game would run extremely poorly and freeze almost constantly on each days end, unfreezing after a couple of seconds. It seemed to be whenever I was speeding up the game to get to the fights quicker. This really hurt the enjoyment of the game and took me out of the moment. Running on PS5 Pro I did not expect this poor performance. There are some other glitches that have caused me to lose fights as well such as gladiators getting stuck in environments but these were rare occasions. Hopefully they can be patched out!
Simplistic Yet Affective
When it comes to visual presentation, Dominus Gladiatus adopts a simple, yet effective approach. Using a stylised 2D presentation format, it’s clear the gameplay and the simulation were the focus. Every location has a static backdrop alongside the animated characters. The setting of ancient Rome is poured into each location. There’s a clear visual difference in locations as well. The Ludus has a relatively peaceful and calm colour pallet compared to the bloody violence of the arenas. Characters look detailed and unique with different armour and weapons to choose from. The UI also adopts a simple approach, allowing for easy navigation across menus. Animations for characters look superb during the times the performance can keep up. A simple visual style but one that I came to love.
Audio design and soundtrack garner mixed results. Audio design succeeds, with great effects, such as the clanging of swords, roar of the crowd (and animals) and the brutal deaths which occur at the end of fights. There are a few voice lines for each Domini but these are few and far between and they will repeat themselves relatively quickly. Soundtrack is the disappointing aspect for me. One of my all time favourite films is Gladiator, partly due to its music, so I had high hopes for what they could score for a game in this setting. Sadly, it’s a mediocre soundtrack which is forgettable and weak. A damn shame.
Verdict
Dominus Gladiatus has a strong foundation for a superb game. Addictive gameplay, robust and complex in depth systems and brutal fights make this game an intriguing prospect. It’s let down by a lack of game modes, poor performance and middling soundtrack. If you can fall in love with the simulation loop like I did, there are hours of fun to be had. This feels like a solid effort by the studio but it could have been so much more. For now, this version will have to do. For the glory of Rome!
