Rocket League
Producer: Psyonix
Release Date: July 7, 2015
Platform: PS4, PC
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Sports
Turn On & Burn Out
Written by Jesse Seilhan
With over 3 billion fans, soccer/football has dominated the sports landscape for decades. And while games like FIFA and Pro Evolution have become some of the most popular and revered games in the land, something about the pace and rule set can keep the average gamer from joining in on the fun. So what if the field was in a giant see-through dome, the ball was gigantic, and each athlete was replaced by a super powered rocket car? Developer Psyonix answered that question in the form of Rocket League, and it just might be the best damn game of 2015.
Rocket League is as simple as “soccer meets cars,” but its execution and selection of customizable car parts is what makes the whole package work. Beyond the normal car stuff like bodies, wheels, and paint jobs, you can add a weird hat, funny antennae, and colorful exhaust to set your car apart from the others. Matches range from one on one solo duels up to four vs four chaotic explosions. Each battle lasts five minutes, which turns out to be just brief enough to both feel satisfied by the end and still give you the urge to play another 10 matches or so before calling it a night. Ranked and unranked matches give you control over your level of competition, with the ranked modes actually giving you a quality score to better matchmake for you. You can join up in the main menu and create a sort of private lobby with your friends before battling it out around the world, giving you a chance to see how cool your buddy’s snowman antennae and sombrero combo looks.
The gameplay is the real star, as Psyonix really figured out the perfect blend of speed, control, and destruction. The speed is already blazing, but turbo boosts placed around the field let you go even faster, which can be stored and used only when the time is right. Timing is the name of the game, as the difference between a huge goal and an embarrassing whiff is so close, often dictated by how much boost you have and how you judge the movement of the ball. The best players know their role and play it well, just like any athlete. Chasing the ball often results in madness, as teams that properly defend, pass, and shoot will find themselves more successful than a team full of ball-chasers, all going for the shot at every chance. For a game that is super silly and unrealistic, it still embodies the same basic principles of team sports with fewer restrictions than a “real” sports game.
Maybe the craziest thing about Rocket League is how deep the gameplay is. From the onset, you’ll find yourself learning the basics of soccer, from dribbling and ball control to passing and shooting. From there, you might begin to grasp how different angles and points of contact have a different effect on the ball, or how backspin might change its rotation. All of these are standard soccer concepts, and are handled well in the game’s brilliant tutorial section. But then you go and add rockets, and the whole thing gets turned on its head. With a little practice, you can drive up the side of the wall, jump into midfield, and strike the ball in the net from mid-air. Or make an epic save by double jumping in the air, rotating your car to create a wide blockade, and boosting the oncoming goal out of danger. Get a few players with this level of skill and you’ll witness some of the craziest and most enjoyable moments in video games this year. The graphics won’t win any awards, the concepts aren’t “out of the box,” but Rocket League proves that you can take a familiar idea, strap rockets to it, and it can be a ton of fun.