Blood Bowl 3 Reviews
I have been a fan of Warhammer for a bit, but my knowledge of Blood Bowl has been practically non-existent until now. I wasn't sure what the appeal of a tabletop football strategy game was, even less as to why there are three video games based on said game. Having played Blood Bowl 3 for this review, I get it now. I went in optimistic, but I did not expect this game to open my eyes to its appeal as much as it has.
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. However, it is unfortunate that it doesn’t give new players the proper tools to break through its outer crust. For those that are hungry for more brutal sports action, however, you’d be hard pressed to find anything better.
For Blood Bowl fans, Blood Bowl 3 is the definitive version of the game, so long as you’re okay waiting a bit to get your DLC teams back. If you’re new to the series, however, you may want to try out Blood Bowl 1 or 2 first to get a feel for the game at a friendlier price.
Blood Bowl players no longer have to make their own fun. Tournament creation is easier than ever, cosmetic upgrades are plentiful and varied, and the core game is the same as ever. Question marks still loom over the live-service elements like towering punctuation-shaped advertising blimps, but if you’re a Blood Bowl fan, you’ll like Blood Bowl 3. But you probably knew that already.
On the surface, Blood Bowl 3 should be the kind of game I’d hate. As a denizen of the United Kingdom, I know as much about American football as the average house cat. By contrast, I know a lot about Warhammer, but even that has been twisted in Blood Bowl 3, with the familiar factions settling their disputes through sports, like some kind of ultra-violent take on Mario and Bowser playing tennis together.
Blood Bowl 3 is a whole lotta fun to play, with the brutal action and strategic focus making for a really addictive experience. Admittedly, I am a newbie to the series so I might not have noticed some of the bigger changes made to the gameplay mechanics, but the core experience felt intuitive and it was surprising just how much depth came into each play. There is a bit of a learning curve (and the UI can be painful), but the game did enough to ease me in learn the ropes.
Blood Bowl 3 is as niche and complex as turn-based tactics games get, it just does it all with Orks and Elves and dwarves with silly beards.
It frustrates me that I have to leave Blood Bowl 3 with a middling review, but despite the solid core gameplay, everything around it frustrates me too much for me to continue playing. These issues may be fixed in the future, but at the moment I struggle to recommend this game to fans of Warhammer, strategy, or possibly even the more hardcore Blood Bowl fan.
Blood Bowl 3 is a great video game adaptation of a popular board game, using an updated set of rules and great presentation. The 12 featured teams offer variety and plenty of surprises on the field. The mix of careful planning and chaotic execution means each match is filled with surprises and reversals.
If Blood Bowl 3 does one thing right, it's that it really makes me appreciate that Blood Bowl 2 exists, which right now is a far superior game in all aspects. For now, save your money and wait to see if this one gets any better.
Although the core game is enjoyable and the stories it can generate will leave lasting memories, Blood Bowl 3 has a lot of problems. For Blood Bowl fanatics interested in PvP, there is fun to be had here, but for the more casual player who likes to play against the AI, it’s a really hard sell. With a few changes and improvements, the game could be a great one, but for now it is a bit of a fumbled attempt at a touchdown.
Blood Bowl 3 is a sloppy, muddy, buggy rehash of a better game.
Blood Bowl 3 has many things going right for it in my opinion. The in-depth combat system provides layers of difficulty that you can’t just breeze through games. It is very well written and with the voices that come from the characters, you can tell that they would speak or say the stuff they do. Graphics and visuals look great, especially in the cinematic scenes and when it comes to the game gore. Team customization is good with hopefully more unlockables on launch. Player customization is locked behind microtransactions. Having local multiplayer brings about a camaraderie that’s been missing for a long time. The lack of free player customizations, game modes, and a bad online league experience does plague the good things the game has to offer.
I have absolutely no doubt that 18-24 months from now Blood Bowl 3 is going to be the game the community has dreamed of for so long. However, as it stands today, it's the game we all hoped it wouldn't be.
Where Blood Bowl 3 fumbles is in its lackluster forward motion from the previous game. Its offline play is pretty limited, and too much has been recycled from Blood Bowl 2. It’s very rough around the edges for a game so long in the oven. All that aside, Blood Bowl 3 can be amusing, tactically engaging, and still great fan service for tabletop players and the Warhammer faithful.
Although there is still a strong fan base and a great concept, the game's completion is so poor that it is hard to believe that its release has been delayed for almost two years. In-game purchase elements that no one can understand further lower the value of the game.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Blood Bowl 3 is a solid game that has a RNG system and match breaking bugs that will make you want to rage quit while the graphic and sound design, including the humour, reminds you: it's just a game.
What I don’t understand is why the game was delayed for two years only to launch in this abysmal state. Maybe in another two years, this game will actually be playable. For now, stick to Blood Bowl 2 instead.
The new chapter in the Blood Bowl saga fails to achieve the leap forward that fans were hoping for, amid unexplained absences and an excessive focus on the multiplayer modes.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Blood Bowl 3 feels like an early access game and that's a real shame, because the fun gameplay is plagued by a ton of inexplicable design choices and the pushy microtransactions do the rest.
Review in Italian | Read full review