Rocket League

Rocket League is a futuristic Sports-Action game, in which players are equipped with booster-rigged vehicles for a high-octane re-imagining of football. It is a physics-based vehicle soccer video game developed and published by Psyonix, released digitally for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4 platforms on July 7, 2015. A version for Xbox One followed on February 17, 2016, while ports for OS Xand Linux are set to be released in 2016. A retail version for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One will be distributed by 505 Games in June 2016.

Described as "soccer, but with rocket-powered cars", Rocket League has up to eight players assigned to one of two teams, using rocket-engine equipped vehicles to push a ball into their opponent's goal and score points over the course of a timed match. The game includes single-player and multiplayer modes which can be played both locally and online, including cross-platform playbetween the PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows versions as well as cross-play between Xbox One and Windows versions with the potential for other networks to be included in the future, The PC version of Rocket League features Cross-platform play with both the Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One versions while the two consoles can't play with each other Cross-Platform yet. Later updates for the game enabled the ability to modify core rules and enabling new modes, such as gametypes based on ice hockey and basketball.

Gameplay

Rocket League's gameplay is largely the same as that of its predecessor Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars. Players control a rocket-powered car and use it to hit a ball that is much larger than the cars towards the other team's goal area to score points, in a way that resembles a soccer game, with elements reminiscent of a demolition derby. Players' cars have the ability to jump to hit the ball while in mid-air. The players can also pick up a speed boost by passing their cars over marked spaces on the field, enabling them to quickly cross the field, use the added momentum to hit the ball, or ram into another player's car to destroy it; in the latter case, the destroyed car respawns moments later. A player may also utilize boost when in the air to propel themselves forward in flight, allowing players to hit the ball in the air. Players can also perform quick dodges, causing their car to do a short jump and spin in a given direction, which can be used to nudge the ball or gain positioning advantage over the other team.

Players are awarded points for certain actions in the game, such as scoring a goal, assisting in a goal, centering the ball, shooting the ball close to goal, saving a ball from going into a goal, or winning the game. These points contribute towards a meta-game experience system, unlocking decorative rewards for players to personalize their cars which include, Rocket trails, Toppers, Antennas, Decals, Car Bodies, and Wheels. Matches can be played from between one-on-one up to four-on-four players as well as casual and ranked. A single player Season mode allows a player to work with computer-controlled teammates and opponents offline, while online games can be played with other online players, with computer-controlled opponents filling in for empty slots or players that drop out of matches. There are ranks in Rocket League so each player will be matched with players of the same skill level.



A few months after release, Psyonix released an update that adds "mutators" game modes, modifying some aspects of gameplay, such as increased or decreased gravity, ball size, ball speed and bounciness. For the 2015 holiday season, another update replaced mutator matches with an ice hockey-inspired mode, played on an ice rink and the ball replaced with a hockey puck with different physics. Positive reception to the ice hockey mode led to it being extended for a few weeks after the holiday season. The ice hockey mode was permanently added to the mutator settings for private matches and exhibition games on February 10, 2016. "Hoops", a game mode based on basketball, was added on on April 26, 2016.