Published 29th April 2021

Turn based strategy and bone-crunching action in the world of Warhammer – that’s Blood Bowl 3, and we’ve gone behind the scenes to check it out. We’ve even chatted to Games Workshop about the enduring success of one of its weirdest creations. 

Over in previews, we’ve charged onto the bloody battlefields of Chivalry 2 – and decided we don’t like archers very much anymore; we’ve taken a look at Age of Empires 4, to find out if it can live up to the series’ iconic legacy; and we’ve watched DayZ creator Dean Hall accidentally set himself on fire in his ambitious new project Icarus. All that plus Gollum gets his own game, battle royale comes to the wild west, we investigate crimes in cyberspace, and more.

We’re also on a mission this issue - a mission to kill crunch. At major developers, the lives of staff are ruined by overwork and ridiculous hours. We think there’s a better way. We’ve talked to the studios that are forging a new path about their experiences with the industry’s dark side, and how they’re working to create top games without burning out their teams.

All that plus we investigate how you can go from 50fps to 500fps in one click; chat to Assassin’s Creed creator Patrice Désilets about his influences and inspirations; show you how to get round the graphics card shortages by building a great PC with no GPU at all; plus all the usual reviews, features, news, and regulars you’ve come to expect from the best games magazine in the business.