WHAT IS ROCKET LEAGUE
Rocket League is a vehicular soccer game developed and published by Psyonix for various home consoles and computers. It was released on July 7, 2015 worldwide to incredible commerical success, and is now considered one of the greatest games ever made (according to Wikipedia and me, at least).
The game features up to eight players on two teams competing to be the first to score the most goals by hitting the ball into the opposing team's goalposts by driving rocket-powered cars, similar to real life soccer. Its gameplay has spawned a (once)-thriving ESports scene and also features a broad inventory of cosmetics that has created a whole other community of players dedicated to making designs to look their best while scoring.
Its soundtrack features original music as well as EDM hits by artists such as Alan Walker and Slushii, and the game has collaborated with record labels such as Monstercat in releasing in-game music.
It earned a variety of awards on its release, such as PlayStation Universe's "Best Sports Game of E3" and Gaming Trend's "Best Multiplayer Game of E3" in the E3 2015 event. It also won the award for Best Independent Game and Best Sports/Racing Game and was nominated for Best Multiplayer at the 2015 Game Awards.
BUT WHAT IS ROCKET LEAGUE TO ME
Once upon a time, I was a baby-toothed kid who had just gotten their first Xbox One. As much as I loved innocently playing with the Kinect and playing the included games like Zoo Tycoon, there was a recently-released game I was interested in and asked my mom to buy while they were away on a shopping trip.
My family came home with Rocket League. I fell in love the moment I saw the logo come onscreen, alongside the spotlighted arena and the ball, just waiting for me to ram into it.
This is one of my favorite games of all time. Just the concept is so whimsical to me—playing soccer, but with cars strapped with rockets. The adrenaline rush of defending against an enemy shot or scoring your own, the way time seemed to slow the moment the ball went in and the goal explosion burst into being, the way every new Black Market decal or wheel seemed new and amazing and oh so wondrous.
There's been a lot of mistakes and weird decisions along the way, and it doesn't look too good. The removal of trading is a notoriously bad decision, and Epic Games' plans with Rocket League's addition into its metaverse isn't too good for Rocket League's identity as its own unique video game. But I'm not giving up on it. It's carried me through three-month vacations, through sick days, through my old and beat up Xbox One's lifetime.
It has saved me far too many times for me to give up on it. Even now, years later, all I need is a controller, my Xbox One, and the electronic pulse of the game's opening music to feel like I'm home.
COSMETICS
I love the gameplay, but honestly, the thing that attracted me into Rocket League at first sight was the cosmetics. There are so many ways to customize your car, and so many different items to choose from. So, here's an explanation of how cosmetics work, my favorite cosmetics, and my opinions on some of them.
THE COSMETIC SYSTEM
Cosmetics in Rocket League make up a few different categories. I'll be focusing on the ones for cars, specifically.
In Rocket League, you can change a car's Body (the model itself), its Decal, its pain (not items), its Paint Finish (this option can be applicable or not depending on the Decal applied), its Wheels, its Rocket Boost effect, its Topper (an accessory placed on top), its Antenna, the Goal Explosion caused when scoring, and the Engine Audio.
Additionally, items are sorted into various rarities. First up are the special rarities with meanings: Common/Base items are a car's default items, Premium items are given through special or exclusive offers, and Limited or Luxury items are from the Rocket Pass. Next are the true rarities, which consist of Uncommon/Sport, Rare/Special, Very Rare/Deluxe, Import, and Black Market (usually only reserved for Decals). The first names listed in the rarities I listed were the original names before Epic Games changed them, but they're still used today out of habit.
Items could also come in different colors, which, at launch, included Black, Burnt Sienna, Cobalt, Crimson, Forest Green, Grey, Lime, Orange, Pink, Purple, Saffron, Sky Blue, and Titanium White. Out of these colors, Crimson and Titanium White are traditionally seen as the most rare and expensive to trade for in the community. Other colors, such as Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, and Onyx, have been added, but are not seen as grouped with the original paints as they are variants only released for specific items.
RATING BODIES
This is the section where I try to rate every body in the game... with some limitations. I'll only be rating original Rocket League models, and only some of the old Limiteds will get a mention. New ones, I'm unfamiliar with.
OCTANE
Ah, the humble Octane. It's the hero car. It's the default car, and the car on the box, and the car on the logo (though, weirdly, it doesn't have a spoiler in it). It was the most-used car in the competitive scene until the Fennec arrived, and even then the Fennec uses its hitbox. It's the poster child, and while other might think it's boring, it's too much of an icon to deny how good it is. It's an 8/10 to me.
DOMINUS
The Octane's brother, with a more rectangular hitbox, and still favored by pros nowadays. It's clean, it's classic, it's the American muscle of Rocket League. A 7/10.
BREAKOUT
No matter what the game says, this, the Octane, and the Dominus form the Holy Trinity of Rocket League cars. If Octane is the generic car, Dominus is American muscle, I see the Breakout as the European car. It looks like it has pop-ups, for god's sake. It's an 8/10.
MERC
It's the van of Rocket League. What's not to like? It's relatively iconic, and I've actually seen some fun and creative designs with it. A 7/10.
HOTSHOT
It's a design. It's something. Do I hate it? A little. Do I like it? A little. It's iconic of early 2015 Rocket League, yeah, but still... eugh. 5/10.
GIZMO
The name fits so much I can't complain. It's fun, it's wacky, it's a Gizmo. 6/10.
BACKFIRE
This is the first car I mained. Did I like it then? Yes, very much. Do I think it's really nasty now? Absolutely. People loved this car but also it's kinda ugly. 6/10.
MORE OF THE COMMON MODELS IN PROGRESS...
Insert description and car.
After the base or common rarity models are the Very Rare or Deluxe models. I don't like much of these, but here you go with my opinions!
AFTERSHOCK
A lot of the Very Rare cars were originally DLC until they made them free or available from Drops, this car included. It looks nice, but... I wouldn't design with it, and I don't vibe with it either. 6/10.
MORE OF THE VERY RARE MODELS IN PROGRESS...
Insert description and car.
After that, the highest rarity of car model is the Import rarity. These... these, Psyonix truly cooked. I love so many of these to death, so here.
OCTANE ZSR
A lot of the Import models are essentially upgrades or other versions of the common models, starting with this Octane. I like it, but not more than the original. They're both the same to me. This model doesn't really elevate or degrade the original design, just changes it slightly. It's cool. 8/10.
DOMINUS GT
What the actual fuck, they cooked so hard with this design it's insane. I love it so much more than the original Dominus. I'm bad at describing things, all I can say is that it looks amazing. 9/10.
BREAKOUT TYPE-S
They turned the Breakout from an old sports car to a new one, and I personally think it looks great. I like it a bit more than the original Breakout, honestly. Weird quirk this thing has though is that its preview has it using Very Rare Chakram wheels, which... other previews don't use. 9/10.
FENNEC
Introduced during the Radical Summer event, my favorite event, the Fennec is the car I love most. No other car compares to this, in my opinion. Yes, it might be overrated, as it is considered the best car in pro play comparable only to the Octane, but I don't care. This is my main, I have a Titanium White Fennec and everything. I love it. 10/10.
