Blood Bowl 3 Review: A Gory Mess with Lots of Bugs

Blood Bowl 3 got the red card right after the disastrous launch, as the game is filled with bugs and issues, so we had to concede the matches.

Cyanide has proven to be an utter disappointment as Blood Bowl 3 suffers from many issues that made it nearly impossible for me to play the game. Now I know that game’s project manager mentioned issues with multiplayer before the game’s release. In addition to that, the development team also reduced the gameplay sessions to avoid downtime. But I guess that didn’t work for them either. On the launch day, there was a lot of content to see in the team customization area, which seems pretty creative.

I took my time with Blood Bowl 3 as I faced many issues while playing, such as server outages. Overall, I’d say the game was so broken that I barely made any progress. At first, I thought I was the only one having these technical issues with Blood Bowl. However, the gaming community on Steam had the same impressions, as the game seemed half-done before the final release.

So, what exactly makes Blood Bowl 3 a worse version of Blood Bowl 2?

The CPU Guide is here to share a detailed review of Blood Bowl 3 to share our thoughts on the game.

Why Blood Bowl 3 Isn’t Worth Playing?

Blood Bowl 3 is not what we expected from the start, and it turned out to be worse than my expectations as there is so much wrong with the game. So let me enlist and share my thoughts on why the game is not worth playing.

Filled With Bugs

There are more bugs in Blood Bowl 3 than in the Amazon jungle. Every match is infected with bugs, and I faced many issues where the players just stood stiff in a pose while running, or should I say, gliding around the field. And to make that even worse, they started sprinting instead of moving from one square to another.

Blood Bowl 3 Glitched Character

So yeah, there was a lot of mess with the seamlessness of gameplay. To make things worse, the ball indicator kept disappearing, making it nearly impossible to play the game as I had to look around for it myself. The same goes for the animation outcome, which plays even before the move has been made in the game. It’s a huge mess for a game announced back in 2020.

Timely Decision Making

I believe this is the most concerning issue with the game, which has nothing to do with optimization. When you reach the decision-making moment, the game is stuck on the screen where the decision goes with either using a special ability or rolling the dice. It sounds frustrating to keep staring at the screen for minutes so the game can tell us what the next move is.

Tabletop Game Rules in Blood Bowl 3

This issue concerns single-player matches where the AI is supposed to make the decisions. And it gets frustrating for you and your friend/rival on the other side in the multiplayer mode. So, this is how you’re stuck there for minutes, and there is no way out until the decision is made.

No Option to Save or Quit

Now I understand that the ‘no saving’ and ‘quitting as a loser’ scheme works for an online multiplayer session. But with Blood Bowl 3, you can’t even do that in the single-player mode. The moment you try to quit your 40+ minutes of progress in the match, the game will declare that you are conceding the match. It means if you quit, you lose. I think it’s a basic feature lacking in a campaign-based game.

I believe saving and quitting are necessary features in Blood Bowl 3 as it is filled with bugs, which can ruin all your results from a single match. So, it’s nearly impossible to progress in a game with bugs and no option to save your campaign completion.

Lengthy Setup Process

It took me ages to play the single-player campaign mode in Blood Bowl 3, as the game lands you in the online mode by default. Even when I had to play the game offline, it required me to create an account on the server. The offline gameplay experience is a whole lot different than online.

Finally, suppose you are lucky enough and haven’t faced any downtime from the server. In that case, you’ll be directed to a messy user interface where you must bypass all the unnecessary options to set up and play the game.

Game Setup in Blood Bowl 3

The UI keeps moving in unexpected directions to indulge you in performing basic functions like managing your team. The graphics are pretty sketchy in the menu sections, as I could barely find the right option to proceed in Blood Bowl 3. Therefore, you can barely read anything, and once I managed to proceed in the game, I could not figure out how am I getting the bonuses or how can I apply them to my team. It is all a huge enigma with all the graphics.

Lacks Offline Game Modes

After spending some hours on Blood Bowl 3, I have concluded that the game is purely focused on online multiplayer gameplay. There is barely any importance for offline single-player action against AI. In the campaign mode, you can only access 6 campaign missions. In each of the 6 campaign missions, you have to win against multiple teams to face the ultimate champions of that particular mission.

Another weird thing is that one of these 6 campaign missions is a trial session, meaning we only get the offline story of 5 missions in the game. It sounds like a lot, but it isn’t enough for a campaign game, which is pretty underwhelming. So, I guess I’ll have to find new friends who play Blood Bowl 3 or convince my current ones to play this game.

Offline Campaign in Blood Bowl 3

Besides all these issues, there are small but not negligible issues in the game, like, poorly spelled AI enemy team member names, the mutation not appearing on the player, choppy menu font and graphics, repetitive cutscenes, and poorly written commentary lines which are also pretty repetitive. Overall, it seems like a rough and unfinished project.

Is There Anything Good About Blood Bowl 3?

It is not all wrong regarding Blood Bowl 3 and the set of options Cyanide packed into it. So here are a few reasons you may want to play the game for good.

Fun Character Customization

I appreciate the way Blood Bowl 3 allows you to customize the characters. A few years back, fans were itchy about the customization concept from blood bowl three as the game would seem pretty boring with the same mediocre outfits. Now I’m not trying to trigger any ethnicity or nation, but the game has 12 different races to choose from in customization. I Guess Cyanide understands that all lives matter, whether humans or monsters.

You also get the stats on the strengths and weaknesses of team members, so choose wisely. Analyzing these stats lets us know how the players will perform on the field. I believe it’s a helpful feature for players new to Blood Bowl so they might understand how the game works and what parameters are essential to consider.

Character Customization in Blood Bowl 3

Graphics Are Pretty Good

It is bloody and gory in Blood Bowl 3, with some attention to detail on the field. The color scheme for all the background elements is pretty strong, and there is no compromise on the quality of the visual effects. Cyanide invested some time going in-depth to make the characters look more realistic. You will find similar detail for the enemy’s team, whether you are playing online or against the AI.

Bloody and Gory Battle in Blood Bowl 3

If we talk about the cinematics and special scenes, Blood Bowl 3 has also nailed it. I loved and appreciated the detail they put in those small scenes, as the presentation seemed well done. Once you smack someone on the field, punching them blocks away, you will see the gore flying off the goblins, which is pretty intense yet creative.

Challenging Combats

Now, the combats are no joke if we talk about the difficulty level. As an NFL fan, I love the concept of football with a blend of bloody battles that seems dramatic and intense for the players. The game focuses on the board game rules, making it even more intense to play in multiplayer when you knock off your enemy a couple of blocks away. Therefore, you have to be very decisive as the whole game is based on the move you make.

Challenging Combat in Blood Bowl 3

And don’t forget to compile the abilities you gain to make your enemies more competitive on the field. My favorite part of the game was the hiring concept, where you can choose between the star player or mercenaries to come in your support. But it all depends on how much currency you have to buy this support. All these elements make things more challenging and competitive, especially for beginners. So, if you’re up for a challenge, I recommend you play Blood Bowl 3.

On Field Gameplay in Blood Bowl 3

Final Words

In conclusion, Blood Bowl 3 could’ve been a better game if it wasn’t for all the technical issues, bugs, glitches, and server downtimes. The game has already released updates and fixes for players’ current problems. However, there is a lot to fix, and Blood Bowl 3 has already given a bad first impression, leaving the fans disappointed.

Have you played Blood Bowl 3 yet? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.

Eiswan
Eiswan

Hi there! I’m a passionate content creator and gamer. Being devoted to making a difference through my publications, I chose to blog for a career to share my knowledge and expertise in gaming technology. Compiling my tech knowledge and gaming experience, I am here to bring you the latest updates and news from the gaming world. Follow me on Twitter .

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