I joined the Rocket League party a bit late, but boy am I glad I did. The concept is simple. Take the ball and put it in the other team’s net. Psyonix spices it up with rocket-boosted cars. On the surface, Rocket League’s gameplay is easy. But mastering its mechanics will set you apart from the average player mindlessly boosting after the ball. Hey, we’ve all been there.
With a little time and practice, you can pull off some epic moments like these I managed over the weekend.
That’s what skill looks like (ok, maybe with a dash of luck tossed in). It’s these awesome moments that keep me coming back for more.
Simple, but deep gameplay
The basic gameplay is simple. Take your car and hit the ball into the other team’s goal. But it can quickly head into deep territory. My first match was me just boosting around with the occasional jump here and there. Then I saw a player take off from the middle of the map and slam the ball into my goal in midair. Then another player drove up the wall and fired the ball into our net. That’s when I knew. Boost is your friend in Rocket League. Without it, you won’t stand a chance against better than average players.
Remember where the boost pads are on the map. You’ll be revisiting them often. Aerials, bicycle flips, wall hits, epic saves. Without boost, most of these aren’t happening. There is one other way to build up speed. Quick front and back flips can build up speed if you don’t want to waste your boost.
Fun with freinds
Every game is tolerable with some friends joining you. But Rocket League goes from a great game to one of this year’s best when you and up to three friends jump into a match. I can’t count the number of ‘holy sh!%’ and hilarious moments I’ve had over the past few weeks. Everyone screaming when someone makes a crazy goal or laughing when someone screws up a seemingly easy save. It’s the perfect game to play with friends.
Rocket League matches go from 1v1 up to 4v4. The 4v4 mode is appropriately named – Chaos. It’s pure insanity. Cars blowing up everywhere. Eight cars crowded around the net. It’s awesome.
Want more of a challenge? Jump in Rocket League’s ranked playlists to see how you stack up against some of Rocket League’s best (and worst).
A Quick Chat in Rocket League
I can’t review this game without talking about Rocket League’s quick chat system. It gives you the ability to quickly tell your teammates what you’re doing without using voice chat. You can also give compliments or tell your teammates you screwed up. The best part? The sarcastic trolling that quickly popped up after release. Accidentally scored on your own team? Expect a deluge of ‘Nice shot!’ emotes at the top of the screen from both teams. You’ll also see ‘What a save!’ pop up quite a bit when you or the other team screws up.
A Shockingly Good Soundtrack
This was about the last thing I expected when I fired up Rocket League. The soundtrack is outstanding. Have a listen to a couple of my favorite tracks. Fire up Spotify to listen to the entire soundtrack. Mike Ault (sound design for Rocket League) does a great job with the whole soundtrack.
I need more
One of my only complaints (and its minor) about Rocket League is the lack of arenas. Right now there are two. Oh, and let us play the awesome music in-game.
Psyonix will add variants to the two existing maps this month with the Revenge of the Battle-Cars DLC Pack. And that brings me to another point.
Psyonix does DLC right
Cosmetic items. That’s the only content you are paying for in Rocket League. These include new decals, boosts and cars. New maps and features are free for everyone. It’s this kind of DLC stance that make you want to support the developers and publishers who adopt them.
Keep the community together and let players buy cosmetic items if they want. It’s DLC done right, and even AAA publishers are getting behind it (Destiny, Halo 5, Rainbow Six).
Get Rocket League if you haven’t already, you won’t be disappointed
I really can’t think of anything bad about Rocket League. The gameplay is fun. It has an awesome soundtrack. And it costs $20. Rocket League might not win game of the year awards from critics, but it’s the game I’ve had the most fun with all year.
Played the PC version. 40 hours and still going strong