This game has consumed far too much of my life. It suffers from terrible matchmaking controls with boosted accounts and smurfs alike ruining games. The Epic acquisition infected Rocket League with a serious case of Fortnitulosis--there are so many atrocious vehicle aesthetics, limited-time "events," and horrendous new maps which make the game insufferable. At least before F2P, those elements were closeted off and/or completely ignorable for players, but they're now shoved in your face regardless of if you want it or bought the game initially. It can be downright maddening to play this game, and it has probably made my life worse in aggregate as a result.
Despite that, Rocket League has a silver bullet which will keep me playing it until either the servers die or I do: the core gameplay, remarkably unchanged since launch, is so damn good. This is as close as video games come to replicating the feeling of playing a sport. The game demands you learn a (ridiculously difficult) skillset, execute it as fast and accurately as possible, and usually work with others to score goals. You can do crazy shit and 1v5 carry! Overtimes are nail biting! You can also completely blow it for your team! (Also the pro scene is truly amazing to watch, I'll watch it when my traditional sports of choice are in the off season). In short, it is very much soccer with cars.
The skill ceiling is incomprehensibly high. I've come lightyears since my first months playing this game (peaking around C2), yet I'm at least as far from the pros today as I am from myself day 1. That repetition has created muscle memory I doubt I'll ever lose. I've gone months without playing RL only to come back and be hitting decent aerials within a game or two. On the flip side, I have spent many months-long (years-long?) periods where this is the only game I played. The five-minute games are like crack, just begging you to play one more, and never being too consequential to lose (except for tournaments, should you sign up for them). I can't end on a win or a loss, so I just play forever. This game, alongside Mario Kart, is my old reliable. Whenever I'm in a rut, I can come to RL. I'll probably lose and make the rut worse, but I know I'll have some desire to play this game.
Finally, the game is best with others. Obviously most game modes require you to have teammates, usually random ones. They're usually garbage bots but oh well. /s. On a personal note, RL has been at least the plurality of time I've spent communicating with my sister since moving out of the house for college. We'll game together every week or two over Xbox Live, and RL is almost always at least one of the games we play. She carries my ass while I miss bonehead ceiling shot attempts, but we've developed an unspoken understanding and play style together over years. Plus, we can catch up on non-gaming things while doing something together. That makes it our game. So, like it or not, this game is the most important one I've ever played.
Despite that, Rocket League has a silver bullet which will keep me playing it until either the servers die or I do: the core gameplay, remarkably unchanged since launch, is so damn good. This is as close as video games come to replicating the feeling of playing a sport. The game demands you learn a (ridiculously difficult) skillset, execute it as fast and accurately as possible, and usually work with others to score goals. You can do crazy shit and 1v5 carry! Overtimes are nail biting! You can also completely blow it for your team! (Also the pro scene is truly amazing to watch, I'll watch it when my traditional sports of choice are in the off season). In short, it is very much soccer with cars.
The skill ceiling is incomprehensibly high. I've come lightyears since my first months playing this game (peaking around C2), yet I'm at least as far from the pros today as I am from myself day 1. That repetition has created muscle memory I doubt I'll ever lose. I've gone months without playing RL only to come back and be hitting decent aerials within a game or two. On the flip side, I have spent many months-long (years-long?) periods where this is the only game I played. The five-minute games are like crack, just begging you to play one more, and never being too consequential to lose (except for tournaments, should you sign up for them). I can't end on a win or a loss, so I just play forever. This game, alongside Mario Kart, is my old reliable. Whenever I'm in a rut, I can come to RL. I'll probably lose and make the rut worse, but I know I'll have some desire to play this game.
Finally, the game is best with others. Obviously most game modes require you to have teammates, usually random ones. They're usually garbage bots but oh well. /s. On a personal note, RL has been at least the plurality of time I've spent communicating with my sister since moving out of the house for college. We'll game together every week or two over Xbox Live, and RL is almost always at least one of the games we play. She carries my ass while I miss bonehead ceiling shot attempts, but we've developed an unspoken understanding and play style together over years. Plus, we can catch up on non-gaming things while doing something together. That makes it our game. So, like it or not, this game is the most important one I've ever played.