I recently got a chance to play around an hour of Dominus Gladiatus on the PlayStation 5 Pro, thanks to a review copy provided by Critical Hit PR.
You can find my gameplay video, along with my first impressions, below:
Pros:
- Deep and unique management sim.
- Rivalry dynamics.
- Multiple difficulty levels.
Cons:
- None.
Overall:
Dominus Gladiatus is a gladiator management simulator where your goal is to build a team of the best warriors to compete at the colosseum.
To do so, you have to spend money to “recruit” fighters. Afterwards, you have to have to train them and give them proper equipment.
Once every few days, you are asked to send someone to fight in the arena. While you can refuse, the only way to make money is to participate. If you run out of money, then you have to start the game all over again.
Dominus Gladiatus offers multiple manager classes to go along with multiple warrior classes. You can also build facilities that help your warriors, open up monetary opportunities, and influence the coliseum crowds.
The game is quite deep and can be quite difficult for beginners. This is because your rivals can sabotage your team with poisoning them, using rumors to spread discord, and more. Fortunately, you can also use your own tricks to bring down your rivals as well. With that said, it is probably a good idea to play at the easiest difficulty so that you can get used to the core mechanics.
In terms of the battles, the combat is entirely automatic as you can only watch your gladiators fend for their lives. In some cases, some will die in battle, leaving behind only their equipment for you to reuse.
Overall, Dominus Gladiatus is a fun and deep management simulator based around ancient gladiator fights. If that sounds right up your alley, then you should make sure to pick this game up.