A pile of gladiator games in one pack
Swords and Sandals Classic Collection gathers five main entries from the series plus two bonus games and three art galleries with behind the scenes images. The core of the series is turn based combat in the arena: you build a gladiator and fight through opponents one round at a time. The collection includes Swords and Sandals I : Gladiator, set on the Island of Doomtrek against 7 Arena Champions; Swords and Sandals II : Emperor's Reign, where you start in a cell and face twenty fighters under Emperor Antares; Swords and Sandals III : Gladiae Ultratus, a tournament with 24 new Arena Champions including stone giants and automaton robots; Swords and Sandals IV : Tavern Quests; and Swords and Sandals Crusader, a turn based strategy game in the style of Defender of the Crown with army combat, army management, a simple RPG progression system, and a Survival mode where foes come at you one after another. The two bonus games are Swords and Sandals Mini Fighters, a fast battle version with very small gladiators, and Gross Out : Battle For Sludge Valley, where a cast of misfits defends their town with Fart Cannons, Rotten Eggs and other disgusting weapons across 7 locations, built on the Swords and Sandals II combat engine.
Playing together
Only Swords and Sandals IV offers multiplayer, and it does so through local hotseat. In that game up to four gladiators compete across eight realms in over 40 minigames, adventures and battles, with local multiplayer for up to 3 friends. The collection also supports Remote Play Together, so friends can join in over a remote session. The rest of the games in the pack are singleplayer, and Swords and Sandals III is the solo edition since its multiplayer servers went offline years ago.
Before you start
Expect a mix of game types rather than one uniform experience: arena fighting, a board game style romp in Tavern Quests, and army level strategy in Crusader. The tone is comedic and medieval, with gore in the fights. The collection marks the first time the series has arrived on Steam, and the games are presented in full-screen.