Rocket League also packs me after 7 years
Studio: PSYONIX Release: July 4, 2015 Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X / S, Nintendo Switch, PC Genre: Sports / racing game
It was a slightly rainy Tuesday evening in July 2015, which should shape my (gamer) life sustainably. Namely Rocket League was published in the context of PS Plus, ie quasi “free”. Without greater ulterior motive, I invited myself the game and tried a few first lots, shot a few first goals and actually found it all the fragrance.
7 years and several hundred play lessons later, I still play regularly the same game, with the small difference that I now feel that I have no skill at all and never only improve my rank even a little bit. If you are not only looking for a new game, but after a completely new sport and also always wanted to fight against windmills, I would have a recommendation for you.
Easy to Learn, Hard to Master
This saying is certainly one of the most widely used when it comes to video games. But only very rarely find a game in which this suits as much as with Rocket League. The special feature is here mainly in the idea and in the game design.
If you do not know yet, I want to describe you briefly what it’s all about in Rocket League: You play either in 1V1, in 2V2 or in 3V3 in rocket-powered cars football and have to shoot more goals than the opposing team. So, that should already be enough, now it charges you! You are not convinced? Well, then I want to tell you what Rocket League makes you so great.
Jonas Herrmann
@ jopartaix
When Jonas has heard the first time by Rocket League, he was immediately interested as a football and racing game fan immediately. How deep gameplay and tactics would actually be, but he could hardly guess at first glance.
The control
If you’ve ever played a racing game on a console – whether Gran Turismo or Need for Speed, Forza Horizon or Mario Kart – then you can also control the cars from Rocket League. Gas, brake, drift, turbo boost, double jump… moment! Double leap? Yes, your cars can jump in Rocket League. So you can jump into the ball with a forward flip and shoot. This is really learned quickly and in the wind parts the first successes are introduced.
Until then, the first time someone flies almost 10 meters above you and stop the ball from there mercilessly in your network. Or until someone shoots the ball from the walls surrounding the arena, jumping afterwards and clearly clears them, while they are still mentally prepared to jump off.
Rocket League is very competitive and no matter how well you play, you will always find someone who wipes the ground with you. If you look at Profi-matches, for example, you can hardly believe that you are on the same game.
What? That’s in every multiplayer title so, do you mean? But there is a big exception.
A free game device
Similar to football, ice hockey or other team sports, Rocket League is a free game device. This means that you can not “secure the ball” the ball. Incidentally, FIFA or PES (RIP) is not really “free”, but often tied to the animations.
In Rocket League, the ball is calculated independently. Depending on what speed and from which direction you meet him, its trajectory changes. This is simple physics and you are not dependent on the final value of your striker, the space or happiness. If you shoot here next to it, you are simply blaming yourself.
Of course, this also leads to you that you can attribute any successful action as well. This creates unique moments and narratives. I could fill several other articles with stories of exciting catch-up hunts, spectacular parades or decisive matches in the last second.
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Impetus parade gate
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Here the entire motivation of Rocket League feeds. Through the free ball, there is ultimately infinitely possible game situations, which is why the title remains permanently exciting despite only a few new maps. Although there is new content for every season, but then is pure cosmetic. And that also has a reason.
The perfect balance
Since the release there was exactly one update that changed the gameplay. A few years ago, the hitboxes of different cars were standardized, so that it is basically 6 different models now, even if significantly more bodies are in the game. Of the pace and weight, however, all the cars are actually identical.
Other adjustments do not need the game, because the basic gameplay works.
The fact that all cars are basically the same and there are no special skills, it does not need external balancing.
The entire meta is created by the players * inside. There are no hero combinations that work particularly well until they need to be generated.
Rocket League offers the base and for 7 years, ambitious players are getting more and more out of this base.
Even though I’ve now found several thousand games that thanks to CrossSplay and good ranking system are usually found in a few seconds on the hump, hardly a game feels so refreshing and so full of possibilities like this.
Oh, and it’s free2play, so you have no excuse.
See you on the court!