This is the first time I've done a straight revisit of a game for the blog, and it is for good reason. For one, my time with the game predates the existence of the blog, and for another, there is a special occasion today revolving around this game. BACKGROUND:
I remember hearing so much about Rocket League back when it first came out, and I enjoyed a lot of what I saw of the game online. I ended up finally getting the game in 2018, and it was among one of the first games I got for my newly-bought Switch. I played a ton of it during that time, but eventually fell out of it in favor of other games. I heard that this was going free-to-play, so I thought that now would be a great time to get back into the game so I can welcome my friends who will be coming in. PLOT: Nope. PRESENTATION: The visuals look pretty good, with vibrant colors, lots of neon lights, decent textures, and flashy particle effects. The Switch version in particular is kinda rough around the edges, with its occasional performance hiccups. It also isn't much of a looker in handheld mode, but that is to be expected. It's been quite a while since I last played this, and it seems like they've done a lot to polish the visuals for this version. There's a decent variety of stages, ranging from bustling cities, sunny beaches, rustic farmlands, and even futuristic-looking space stations. It's kind of hard to appreciate them when you're too focused in a match, but they all look really nice. While there's usually no music during matches, the wide selection of tracks in the menu is fantastic. Majority of them are techno/EDM-style songs, so if you're not into that, you may disagree with me on that one. Personally, I like many of these tracks; they fit the high-octane action of the game. The sound design is equally impressive, with satisfying car sounds, drift sound effects that perfectly match the terrain of the stage, crowd cheering that adds a lot to the atmosphere, and even stage-specific sounds like a Japanese announcer for the Tokyo stage, or a chiming clock for the train station-looking stage. The range of cosmetics in the game is astounding. You can customize everything about your car, from the model all the way down to the decals, and even change stuff like your boost trail and the explosion that happens when you score. There are also neat trinkets like toppers and antennae, and banners for your player card. For the Switch version, you have exclusive cars based on Mario and Metroid. GAMEPLAY: It's soccer, but instead of people kicking, you drive the car into the ball. That's all this game is, but goddamn, it is absolutely fun. Your car has the basic stuff (drive, reverse, power slide/drift), but it also has a boost (which is self-explanatory, but can also allow your car to fly) and a jump (which you can double tap to do a flip in the direction you're holding). These two mechanics really open up your mobility, allowing you do things like front flip into the ball to hit it farther, or jump and boost to sail over an opponent. They're also deceptively tricky to get a hang of despite being fundamentally easy to understand; I have lost count at how many times I've completely whiffed a shot by flipping in the wrong direction. There are also more complex techniques aside from that, like air rolls and feathering boosts. This game is definitely one of those "easy to learn, hard to master" experiences. I have clocked in about 40 hours total in this game, and I'm pretty sure I'm still hot garbage at it. Hitting the ball in the direction you want it to go is easier said than done, positioning takes quite a bit of time to get used to (especially in the air), and defending is hilariously easy to fuck up. Despite this, I still have a ton of fun every match, even if my team ends up in a huge score deficit in the vein of that one Brazil-Germany match at the World Cup. There are a variety of ways you can play this game. The standard is 3v3 team matches, but there are also doubles, 1v1 duels, and the aptly-dubbed Chaos mode (which has four players on each team). You can either go casual (which is what it is) or competitive, which has a ranking system tied to it. You can also participate in tournaments if you're feeling extra competitive. In addition to the regular modes, you also have a small assortment of extra modes. There's Snow Day, which replaces the ball with a hockey puck, Hoops, which replaces the usual goal with a hoop you have to hit the ball into, Rumble, which is a normal match but with Mario Kart-esque power-ups, and Dropshot, where the floor breaks and goals are scored when the ball falls into gaps of said floor. These are all really enjoyable spins on the regular game, each having their own quirks that make them their own experience. I personally have way more fun playing these modes. You can also set up custom modes both online and offline, so you can have fun with modified rulesets on top of the existing ones. There are plenty of things you can adjust, including wackier settings like ball size or gravity. There aren't a lot of single-player modes (other than training or AI matches), so if you're not into playing against others, you may not have a lot to do in this game. The only substantial single player mode is Season Mode, which has you compete against AI across several weeks in order to improve your team standing and eventually qualify for the playoffs. In terms of actual layout, most stages are flat fields, with only a select few having unique topography. Most matches take place in the flat stages, which is probably for the best especially for competitive matches. The ones with raised ground or walls tend to be confusing to play around. Since I've gotten back into this game, crossplay has been fully implemented across every platform, so you can team up with friends regardless of console. There is, of course, local play, which I was able to do a lot of when I'd take the Switch to campus, and it's tons of fun. If you can, you should absolutely play this game with friends. With the upcoming free-to-play change, cosmetics have been reworked into your usual item shop that uses microtransaction currency. This game used to be loot box galore, but it seems like they've moved away from that in favor of a less egregious daily shop rotation system. You can also earn blueprints simply by playing, which unlock new cosmetics if you spend a certain amount of the premium currency on them. I didn't really care for how they handled cosmetics before (it reminded me too much of CS: GO), and this doesn't seem as bad. My only question is how to earn this new currency without spending real money; as of this writing, I have not encountered a way to earn these things simply by playing the game. I also wonder if normal cosmetic unlocks from before still exist; since returning to the game, I've only unlocked the occasional blueprint, so I fear that they've removed cosmetic rewards in favor of this blueprint system. As of right now, I don't know what else is being changed once the game goes F2P, but I do know they're adding some sort of Battle Pass mechanic that rotates every season, which is in the vein of many other F2P games like Fortnite. I have no strong feelings over this, though I suppose it's another way to earn stuff simply by playing. I assume there will also be some sort of premium Battle Pass that you can pay for. I also don't know if they'll be changing events moving forward, but the ones I was able to participate in rewarded you with event-specific currency that you can trade in for limited-time cosmetics. I'm guessing that will still exist in some form minus the loot box shit. VERDICT: Rocket League is still a lot of fun, even after my extended hiatus. It takes a simple yet outlandish concept and builds an exciting competitive experience that rivals (or even surpasses) other sports games. It's easy to pick up, but the skill ceiling is quite high, making it a game that people of any skill level can enjoy. Though not really single-player friendly, playing matches with others (whether online or otherwise) is a blast, to the point that I have to actively remind myself to stop playing so I can do more important shit. This is a game that's absolutely worth checking out no matter your gaming background, and with it going free-to-play soon, there is no better opportunity than today. The fact that there will be an influx of new players coming was exactly what brought me back, and with just a couple of hours playing again, I was quickly reminded of how much fun this game is. I really think this is a game anybody can enjoy (either casually or competitively), and if you haven't already, I implore you to check it out when you can. Rocket League is free-to-play on every platform RIGHT NOW. Since there's crossplay, just pick your preferred console (or PC) and download the game there. If you're on Switch or PS4, you won't even need the online subscription service to play online! Here are links to the PC version: Here's a Spotify playlist containing the entirety of the Rocket League soundtrack. There are several OST albums for this game, so I deemed it more convenient to find a playlist that has everything: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5jSM6lE56BKLKRiavRO4Aw?si=KEziQL5FRMaRQFAF91h52g - end -
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
June 2024
Derryck
|