5 Years after release, the car soccer game Rocket League switches to a free-to-play model. MeinMMO authors Maik Schneider and Max Handwerk have been behind the wheels of rocket cars for years and think you should definitely check out a match in the game. Or maybe not. It depends.
When will Rocket League be free? It is still not entirely clear when Rocket League will switch to the F2P model. So far, there has only been talk of “this summer.” You can take your time to decide whether you’ll join or stay away from the rocket action.
Wait, you don’t know Rocket League at all? Then the Rocket League drivers from the MeinMMO racing team, Maik Schneider and Max Handwerk, will introduce you to their experiences with the game.
This is Rocket League – from the perspective of two drivers
Rocket League is amazing: Fat electric beats, brightly glowing walls, a countdown: 3… 2… 1… Go! With full speed, my blue shining car takes off. The rocket boost fires bright flashes backward, giving the car the necessary boost to collide with the opponent at the center simultaneously while hitting the ball. The ball flies wildly to the side, but my duo partner is already there: with an elegant turn, he jumps off the wall, artistically hits the ball in the air, and kicks it towards the opponent’s goal.
The first opponent jumps past the ball – and I race forward. “I got it,” I fire in the chat and go full speed into the ball. The ball crashes towards the empty opponent’s goal, and the keeper has no chance. A massive goal explosion throws all players into the air. 1:0 after just a few seconds – and the next goal is already looming. That’s Rocket League! No wonder it is among the best multiplayer games on consoles. Or, colleague Maik?
The groovy music spreads good vibes at first. The first game is quickly found, and the only racing game that regularly flickers across my screen starts. I stay back during the kickoff, and my buddy pushes the gas pedal to hit the ball into the other half. Quickly grab the big boost ball from the corner, and then I fish out everything that comes towards my goal. That’s my plan at least.
But the ball flies uncontrollably towards the wall, and the opponent makes a fantastic move – half coincidence, half luck – delivering a powerful cross into the middle. I initiate the drift and go for the boost. But neither my buddy nor I can parry the strong shot that came from the flank. 0:1 after just a few seconds – and my mood disappears with a huge goal explosion. That’s Rocket League, too.
Why you must love Rocket League
Practice makes perfect: “Half coincidence, half luck,” describes colleague Maik in his account the death cross that put him and his buddy behind. And yes, sometimes really strange things fly across the field. I’ve experienced that too many times. But: In Rocket League, most goals are the result of finely honed rocket steering skills.
The controls are easy to learn but hard to master. Hundreds of times you fly past the ball before you slowly feel like you have it under control. That can be really frustrating and is difficult. But once you’ve got the skills down, you’re hard to stop.
Besides your own skills, teamwork is extremely important: a team that neglects defense for many attacks quickly finds itself at a disadvantage. Conversely, you also can’t let up in front. Balance is key – and that’s something you need to train and coordinate well.
Once you’ve completely internalized the controls with boosts and flying moves, real masterpieces of goals can emerge. It’s precisely this learning curve that makes Rocket League so exciting. Or?
The skill-based matchmaking pushes you slowly up the rankings, and with you, the opponents grow stronger. That makes sense and you rarely play against overwhelmingly powerful enemies, but rather against rocketeers who make similar mistakes as you. But with each season, you have to reclaim your ranking in 10 games, and these 10 games can become quite unpleasant.
Luckily, gameplay isn’t everything in Rocket League – the atmosphere matters a lot. Rocket League is one of the few games that plays music even during matches – a top feature that works not just in Fallout. In addition, there are countless vehicles, skins, and cosmetics in general.
And you unlock a lot of them without having to pay extra money while playing. However, it is also possible – Rocket League has a large system of microtransactions, including a battle pass that is understandably called “Rocket Pass” here.
The cosmetics system has already caused trouble in Rocket League, but you can still assemble pretty crazy cars even without spending money. For example, by trading with other players.
These types of cosmetics exist in Rocket League:
- Massive vehicle models
- Stickers
- Paint jobs
- Wheels
- Boost trails
- Topper items
- Antennae
- Goal explosions
- Trails
- Engine sounds
How Rocket League can drive you crazy
Cool style – difficult teammates: True, the cosmetics in Rocket League are definitely a lot of fun. Whether you want your car to shoot melons instead of lightning or to launch a giant confetti explosion during a goal explosion – basically, anything is possible. That’s pretty crazy, but it adds a lot to the mood in Rocket League. And, most importantly: Cosmetics don’t give you a gameplay advantage. So if the opponent has crazier skins than me, it doesn’t mean he’ll win the game.
But you know what can really ruin your mood while playing? The in-game chat. It is set up so that you can fire off all sorts of comments through quick commands. However, for example, “What a save” is often used sarcastically when a keeper fails dramatically.
And when the opponents (or teammates) even make the effort to type something in the chat, it’s pretty clear that nothing good will come of it. The small field in the upper left is often completely bombarded with messages – and that can distract from the game. The chat can be really funny – but often enough, it drives you to madness. I haven’t experienced this in any other game in this way. Meanwhile, the notorious chat has even crept into real life:
But the fact that you sometimes need this outlet also highlights one of Rocket League’s biggest problems: When things aren’t going your way, the game can be tough. Strong opponents seldom forgive mistakes, and the 10 games to “re-rank”, often after a long break, have stopped me from diving back in for longer periods.
If you take three bad beatings in a row, no crazy cosmetics or toxic hints in the chat can help – quitting the game is the most fun at this point.
…but when it’s going well, it’s pretty awesome, right?
Duo in an hour?
Rocket League isn’t for you, but you’re into crazy multiplayer games? Then maybe you should check out Fall Guys. The crazy game in the Takeshi’s Castle style is currently driving our colleague Jürgen Horn crazy – and he loves Fall Guys anyway.
