Update: The Legendary Edition adds more content and make the title even better.
Blood Bowl is back. It’s a brutal and bloody game which mixes in the tabletop game of Warhammer with American football, chess and turn-based strategy. I will admit that I have never played Blood Bowl before, but in my youth I was heavily into Games Workshop and its products.
In the world of Games Workshop, Blood Bowl is essentially a neutral game as it does not capitalize on the normal feudal society rules of the fantasy world often depicted within the fantasy genre. Consequentially there is the curious state of two sides that would normally fight tooth and nail against each other to survive, yet now they get on harmoniously. Only Games Workshop has managed to create this fantasy sporting environment. Based in their universe of Warhammer fantasy battles, Blood Bowl II brings together the most iconic races of this Old World. Each of these races has their own distinctive features and traits, the dwarves typically have a block trait, elves (both types) are naturally agile. You get the picture.
Straight from the opening screen, players instantly get the sensation that this is different type of game. Not only greeted by an odd pair of characters, but the very essence of the screen is different to other sports games. This one is filled with clues about what is come. An ogre and a vampire dominate the screen, whilst off the sides are the Gretchin who represent the referees and there is a human on the left to represent the campaign franchise, The Reikland Reavers. Multiple options are available when logging in, with the campaign being top of the list. Also available for play are online and offline categories, which give the ability to take part in a league against either AI opposition or against fellow Blood Bowl players, which could be quite amusing with friends. There is also a team management page which gives multiple options when it comes to editing your teams. Even though it’s set in a fantasy environment, there’s a lot of depth.
The campaign gives rookies to the Blood Bowl franchise a taste of how to play the game, with a superbly scripted and laid out group of missions which detail the fall and rise of the Reikland Reavers. The campaign doubles as a tutorial, gently introducing key game mechanics as you progress. For instance, in the opening game, the player is introduced to the notion of blocking and the concepts of how to move the ball. In the second game, dodge and character statistics are introduced, and so on. The campaign story has a depth that I was not expecting, as the details behind the team’s shady backer and the vanishing of particular players get revealed. Each mission has a cutscene between it, which gives more details, and is delivered by the excellent Jim and Bob.
Jim and Bob, are the excellent hosts of Blood Bowl II. This vampire and ogre combination are the under-acknowledged heroes of this game for their script is brilliantly done. Bob is the big ogre acting as the colour commentator, who offers the genial side of the commentary with a wonderful array of both put-downs and praise. Jim is the vampire who leads the commentary team, and is a sheer delight to listen to as his discussions with Bob vary from the state of play on the field to the discussion of what they’re watching on the television. Two notable shows which they mention are “Doctor Flu” and “Game of Gnomes”. Both of which are reflections of the real shows and show the direction which Cyanide wanted to take the humour. Jim’s constant referral and need for more “red wine” are humorous and never fail to bring a smile to the face.
Gameplay is simple. Win the game by scoring touchdowns against the opposition. Sounds easy, right? Wrong! Whilst the easiest way to score in games is to run the ball into the end zone, you can also pass the rather spiky football to cover large swathes of ground. But the pass comes with a high amount of risk, with the chance to pass or catch significantly decreased by using lineman or your special unit, been intercepted twice is most irritating. Passing does have large rewards though. As an example. I’ve got the ball back in my own half before completing a very risky pass to my catcher who was three spaces from the end zone.
Unit classes have an interesting place within the metagame of Blood Bowl II. Lineman are your burly blockers, who have a higher strength stat than other units, good for going after the opponents units, but not the greatest for doing the specialist roles. The throwers and catchers are the finesse units, detailed with making large chunks of yardage. Blitzers are a combination of lineman and the throwers and catchers, with high movement speed and agility to give them a distance advantage over other classes. Races have an added influence on your class balance. Dwarves have runners in their ranks, which work slightly differently to the throwers and catchers. Taking the example of dwarves, they are a race that benefits from running the ball as many of their players have the block trait by default. Races affect the character’s stats and what special unit they can access. Humans are balanced with relatively simple stats in strength and agility. Elves have higher agility and movement, whereas dwarves have less agility and movement. Every race has its own pros and cons. In the end, pick a team which has a style which you enjoy. Looking to run it, try a dwarf or elf. Want to smash your opponent off the ball, perhaps orcs or chaos are more up your alley. Feeling adventurous and want to throw, humans are a good initial shout.
Every action is determined by a dice roll. If you have a player trying to complete a pass or even a simple action such as picking up the ball, a dice must be rolled. Indeed Cyanide Studios have put in a percentage chance so players get to judge who is best able to complete the action. Even navigating in an open field is a pain, moving beyond your designated area can result in your player tripping over his own feet and knocking himself out. This is both funny and irritating…especially when your player is wide open and running for the touchdown.
The turnover mechanic makes the game flow better and keeps you on your toes as any knockdown to your team completely ends your turn, just as fumbling the football does. This can be frustrating but it is a key part of the game as it speeds up the whole experience and adds to the already high randomness of the experience. The referee gets involved as well, taking out both sides player with little instigation, and the diminutive little grots are excellent at it.
The graphics and art style bring across the chaotic environment which Games Workshop intended with its Blood Bowl franchise. The arenas are delightfully made with race-specific iconography and location, and each character has their own little idiosyncrasies in their armour and face, allowing every player to appear completely unique. The stands are always full with a multitude of different races, with a heavy tendency towards the two teams playing.
Controls are relatively simple, with the majority of the game playable using A, B and X, plus the left stick. You can control the camera using the triggers, but it works in a corkscrew formation, meaning that the camera turns to the left when zooming out, yet turns to the right when zooming in. The top-down view is incredible as it gives you the true strategic view of the match as it develops. I have not completed the game in this view but it would be interesting to play a full game in this view. The controls keep the game flowing well but perhaps there may have been room for a little more variation in camera controls, as there could have been some saucy screenshots from this.
There are some slight issues though, the gameplay could be smoother. Perhaps with the ability to speed up an opponent’s turn would be an initial suggestion as the opponents turn can take a bit of time. The constant un-skippable cutscenes of movement or a particularly devastating block can be a bit irritating when deep into a game. On the whole the game is quite well made, with far less issues than many other games at the moment.
Blood Bowl II is a highly enjoyable game which meshes together its entire component parts into a product which is both fun to play and easy to get the hang of. The art and graphics are suitable without needing to be drop dead gorgeous. The humour of the hosts adds to the enjoyable gameplay and match day scenarios. Different races bring a variety of play styles to the fore, and when combined with the sheer brutality of Blood Bowl II, make it highly entertaining. Cyanide and Focus Interactive have definitely put in some serious hard work, and I recommend this game if you enjoy your sport, fantasy or strategy games.
Ben was a regular ICXM contributor between 2014–2017, publishing 45 articles across game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news. Their work focused on hands-on reviews, platform commentary, and breaking-news reporting during the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative.