Rocket League

***Rocket League*** is a vehicular soccer video game developed and published by Psyonix. The game was first released for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4 in July 2015, with ports for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch being released later on. In June 2016, 505 Games began distributing a physical retail version for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment taking over those duties by the end of 2017. Versions for macOS and Linux were also released in 2016, but support for their online services was dropped in 2020. Since September 16, 2020, the game is free-to-play.

*Rocket League* is a sequel to Psyonix's *Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars*,(Also known as SARPBC) a 2008 video game for the PlayStation 3. *Battle-Cars* received mixed reviews and was not a success but gained a loyal fanbase.

## 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 goals, 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 on a random side of the field. A player may also use a boost when in the air to propel themselves forward in flight, allowing players to hit the ball in the air. Players can alter their car's orientation while midair, which combined with midair boosting allows for controlled flight. 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.

Matches are usually five minutes long, with a sudden death overtime if the game is tied at that point. Matches can be played from between one-on-one up to four-on-four players, as well as in casual and ranked playlists. The latter serves as *Rocket League*'s competitive online mode, where players compete in various tiered ranks within game seasons, with victories or losses raising or lowering a player's rank, respectively. The game includes a single-player "season" mode, with the player competing with computer-controlled players. An update in December 2016 introduced "Custom Training" sequences that can be created by players and shared with others on the same platform; players are able to specify the ball's path and the presence and skill of opponents on the field as to practice specific shots-on-goal over and over.

## Platform-exclusive cars

Whether you're playing *Rocket League* on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or Nintendo Switch, some of the cars are exclusive when you play this game.

* Armadillo (Xbox One)
* Hogsticker (Xbox One)
* Luigi NSP (Nintendo Switch)
* Mario NSR (Nintendo Switch)
* Samus' Gunship (Nintendo Switch)
* Sweet Tooth (PlayStation 4)

## Reception

*Rocket League*, upon release and throughout its lifetime, has been given positive reviews by video game critics. Similar scores were attained by the game's later ports.