Gladiatus review: Gameforge's arena RPG in the browser

What it is

Gladiatus is a role-playing game developed and published by Gameforge. Its product page describes the setting as a version of ancient Rome that "combines history, legend and fantasy" — so expect the arenas of Rome alongside things that belong to legend rather than to history. You play a gladiator fighting your way up through the arenas of the Empire.

Gameforge marks the game as free-to-play. When you follow the official address you land in the Gladiatus game lobby on gameforge.com, choose a server and play in the browser tab. Nothing needs to be installed.

How a session goes

Three activities carry the game, and the publisher names them in one sentence: fight opponents on expeditions, show your strength in the arena, defy the danger of the dungeons. Expeditions send you against computer-controlled enemies — Gameforge speaks of over 100 unique opponents, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Dungeons are the harder, deeper version of the same idea. The arena is where you face other players.

Away from the fights you develop and equip your gladiator. The publisher mentions over 1,000 different items, and its own description puts character development and equipment on the same level of importance as the fights themselves, together with working out an opponent's strengths and weaknesses. In other words, Gladiatus is a game of preparation: the numbers on your character sheet matter as much as anything you do in the moment.

Gameforge's product page lists German, English, Spanish, French and Italian among the supported languages. The publisher leans into the theme with some relish: the old gladiators' salute, "Those who are about to die salute you", appears right on its product page.

You do not have to walk the road alone. The game lets you join forces with friends in a guild and combine your strengths, which also gives the arena a social side — you start to care about how your guild-mates are doing.

The time it asks for

Gladiatus is built from separate encounters — an expedition fight, a step into a dungeon, an arena bout — rather than long sessions in an open world. That makes it easy to play in small portions and to stop at any point.

How much time it eventually asks for depends on two choices that are entirely yours: how high you want to climb in the arena, and how active your guild is. A solo player who ignores rankings can keep it as a light, regular habit. A guild player will want to show up more often.

How it is paid for

Gladiatus is free to start: you create a Gameforge account and play without paying. Gameforge's account portal offers premium currency for its games, and that is where the optional purchases sit. We treat it the way the publisher presents it — free-to-play, with optional in-game purchases.

Who should take this road

Pack list