Rocket League Review: Introducing the Soccar

Back In 2009 Psyonix studios released a PlayStation 3 title known as Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars (Teenage Ninja M… sorry) that met with a lukewarm reception at the time. The fusion of sports and toy cars had some charm to it, but ultimately fell short. This year, the developers decided to tackle the idea once more with Rocket League, available for free to subscribers of PlayStation Plus or priced $20 for the PC edition. Since I had the chance to play the SARPBC (well, that helped…) - and was promptly unimpressed - my expectations of Rocket League were… modest. It took the game 5 minutes to make me utterly change my opinion. That’s how long it takes to play a single match. I’m a fan of Soccar now and I wonder: why is this idea so much fun and why it wasn’t the last time I’ve seen it?

Rollout? Kickoff? Why not both?

Press B to boost, press forward to score

Rocket League is basically a sports game where two teams try to score by getting the ball into the opposing team’s goal. To play, you need to have: a spherical ball, two goals and a variable amount of cars equipped with boosters. That’s right, toys instead of boys (or girls, for that matter). The cars may have different shapes, colors and ornaments, but are equal in terms of performance and abilities. You can, obviously, drive them and perform quick turns using the handbrake, but every car (ok, most of them) can do that. Most of other cars, however, can neither boost while jumping in midair nor can they flip at will. The boosts are located around the stadium allowing for a refill, in case you run dry. Another crucial trick to make the ball roll the way you want it to are the double jumps – the first jump gets you off the ground while the second one gives you the altitude and enables to make a quick flip midair. With careful timing, favorable conditions and a bit of luck and skill you can send the ball in the right direction. Unfortunately, the ball often ends up heading anywhere but there (with a strong tendency towards the worst possible option - your own goal).

Oh, you think Messi knows some ball tricks?

Question: Since it’s apparently a sports discipline, are there any rules I should be aware of? Not really. It’s “anything goes” around here. Thus, I wouldn’t count on the referee if someone decides to smash into you in the spur of the moment. Additionally, there are no out-of-bounds areas on the stadium. Oh, and I just remembered; the matches do have some rules after all. Rule number one: every time a team scores, the game is restarted from the center spot – that’s where the ball possession gets decided so don’t skimp on boost while you’re there. Rule number two: the match won’t end as long as the ball stays in midair inviting the players to desperately struggle for an eleventh hour draw. Rule number three: there are no draws. If the match ends in a tie, you play the extra time during which the “golden goal” rule applies – the first team to score, wins. To sum it all up, we may have switched boots for tires and dribbling for drifting, but the spirit of football remains mostly intact.

The gentleman here is about to score.

Simple yet beautiful

The truth is… there’s actually no point in explaining to you how to play Rocket League. I could have, theoretically, skipped that introduction because the controls are simple and you’ll catch on instinctively, if you ever happened to have played any other computer game. It’s one of those games where you just launch it, give somebody the controller and say “here’s the accelerator, here are the brakes” and then you proceed to have some delightful fun. The players don’t have to spend time on getting the hang of it and can go straight for the essential part of Rocket League – having fun with a physics based sports game. The physics may seem inaccurate at times, but it gets the job done, offering you the enormous joy of watching your wacky stunts. Wall driving, desperate lunges at the ball, jostling with other cars – every match I played produced the quantity of emotions reserved for the best sports games on the market. Wonderful gameplay, heaps of fun and actions to be remembered, that’s how I see it.

You can play against the AI but that’s a sideline and not the point.

Of course, all of this doesn’t come out of thin air; it’s the result of a tremendously well designed gameplay together with some features that other developers tend to dismiss in their games. The game gives equal chances to anybody; the car mods we unlock over time are nothing more than decorations, but in the end gathering points to unlock some new stuff will always be fun. The stadiums have a simple design and give no significant advantage to one of the teams. The gameplay is swift and at the same time overflowing with positive excitement; it’s hard to get angry even when things go wrong. All thanks to the game’s fast pace and some dedicated randomness generated during the matches. The tables may be turned in an instant so you really shouldn’t be wasting your time on brooding. A 0:5 losing game may yet be won in extra time. Not once have I heard somebody complain during a multiplayer match. You scored an own goal? Who cares? The matches last only 5 minutes anyway. Since Rocket League’s main objective were multiplayer matches, the creators made sure that matchmaking works fine and even enabled the option to play on a 4 person split-screen. In case you have more than one display you can assign additional displays for the other players to use; I explored this option using the Nvidia Surround and the result was pleasantly interesting.

Fun fact: a good paint job adds horsepower. Or was it moxie?

Every new beginning makes for a clash of personalities.

Good game

The best part about this game is that anyone could have made it. A few car models, stadium, ball physics and done, you’re ready to cash in. But in reality, you can feel the hard work and time the creators spent thinking when making Rocket League. The game is no accident at work and neither is it a cheap way to earn easy money. The gameplay elements work fine, the controls are simple and satisfying and the network code runs and connects without a hitch. The visuals look outright great and take no small part in creating the mood of a genuine sports event; including such nice details like dedicated camera view to track the ball or replays. The game didn’t crash even once, nor caused me any other problems, for that matter. A fine work, vivacity, a sensible design and simple yet brilliant ideas - these are the words that spring to mind when playing Rocket League.

Warning: Scoring may get you high.

Should I recommend Rocket League to a particular group of people? If so, it would have to be anyone who likes to play with his pals or simply likes online arcade games. The list includes also people not keen on competitive gaming after having heard what strange human beings live there. Rocket League will most likely spare you the experience. However, those of you fancying a complex single player mode won’t find much to do here. Rocket League is a work of a now seasoned developer who earned his experience and managed to keep his sense of humor. Well-thought-out gameplay, great execution and pleasant visuals come together as a very user-friendly and emotionally satisfying gaming experience. Long standing series like FIFA or PES may have nothing to worry about, but you most definitely should. If you get sucked into Rocket League, you may get the feeling that other sports games have suddenly become bland. I mean, when was the last time you’ve seen a game boost your kicks this high?