REVIEW: Fans will love ‘Blood Bowl 3’ (PC)

Blood Bowl 3 is the newest adaptation of the board game by Games Workshop, developed by Cyanide and published by Nacon. It updates the Blood Bowl series with new features, units, and updated rules that match the board game’s current ruleset. It is undoubtedly the most complete and aesthetically pleasing way to play Blood Bowl yet, but it does suffer from being obtusely impenetrable to newcomers. 

For those who don’t know, Blood Bowl is a turn-based sports game set in Games Workshop’s fantasy Warhammer world that plays similarly to a blend of American football and rugby. It features brutal beatdowns similar to NFL Blitz, intricate team building akin to sports management sims, and a light-hearted fantasy skin filled with orcs, elves, trolls, and dwarves. Successful matches in Blood Bowl 3 are as much about your performance on the field as your construction of the team beforehand. 

This means that playing Blood Bowl 3 starts with getting a team. Players can have numerous teams active at a time and are able to use all of them both in offline matches against AI opponents or online against other players. When making a team, players first choose from one of 12 types such as the rat humanoid Skaven, Orcs, Nurgle, Imperial Nobility, or Elven Union. Each team has a difficulty rating out of five stars as well as a pros and cons list tucked away that players can consult when choosing. 

While I’m sure that the pros and cons are helpful for a player once they have a grip on Blood Bowl 3, it does next to nothing for those that don’t. It would help a lot if the teams had more detailed information on how they are intended to be played or breakdowns of some of their unique units and features to help new players find one that works for them. It also would help new players a lot if they started off with a beginner-friendly team to learn with. 

Once a player has chosen the type of team that they want to play they are given an impressive amount of control over it. With a starting budget, players are able to hire players, modify them with skills and traits, hire boosting staff like assistant coaches, and other upgrades. On top of that, players are also able to customize their teams with uniforms, logos, playing fields, cheerleaders, and other tweaks to make them feel unique. This process is thankfully made accessible through an option to start with a balanced team that favors the team’s playstyle.

After assembling a team players are able to enter them into locally-played leagues or challenge other players online. To learn the game there is a brief tutorial league for players to run through, but it leaves out a lot of details about how to play out. Having only a passing familiarity with Blood Bowl before starting it took multiple games to feel as though I finally understood the rules of the game enough to form strategies and competently approach games. The learning process is made even harder if the player makes the mistake of making a team with any real complications. 

The offline leagues also each feature their own coach for players to face off against that are accompanied by small introduction cutscenes. These work fine to set up the character and show players a bit more about the world, but as they stand now, I don’t see offline leagues being played the majority of the time unless it is by new players learning the ropes or more experienced ones using them to test out teams before taking them online. 

Actual games of Blood Bowl are played out over two halves, during both of which each team has eight turns. Games start with a coin toss to determine who kicks and receives to start the game with both teams then trying to score touchdowns in zones on opposite sides of the field. However, play never entirely stops, meaning that players constantly have to move players and interact with one another on each of their turns. 

Turns are played out in a turn-based fashion with each player having stats that determine their movement and skills when it comes to actions like catching the ball, knocking other players down, and dodging attacks from other players. Every time an action is performed it requires a skill check made by rolling a six-sided die. If a player ever fails a skill check their turn is immediately ended on top of the action failing. 

There is a ton to keep track of during play, especially when it comes to learning the ropes. With a single bad roll ending the turn early, it can also be very punishing while trying to learn what works well and what doesn’t. The learning curve is well worth it, however, as once the player begins understanding what strategies and tactics work with their team they have a lot of room to customize their approach and adapt to the actions of the enemy team. 

Blood Bowl 3 also takes an interesting approach to the lifespan of one’s team. As players finish matches the status of their teams stays constant, forcing them to manage growing budgets, player injuries, and upgrades in between each match. This layer helps develop a deep connection between the player and their teams, as well as giving players a ton of control over their team as they develop it. 

Blood Bowl 3 is undoubtedly the best new way to experience Blood Bowl. It is filled with character, brimming with options, and has plenty of depth for players to explore and toy around with. It is unfortunate that it doesn’t give new players the proper tools to break through its outer crust, however, as it will surely live or die by its online community. For those that are hungry for more brutal sports action, however, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything better. 

Blood Bowl 3 releases on February 23 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.