Rocket League

[h1]More than just a game.[/h1] I've been playing Rocket League since around 2015–2016. At some point, it stopped being just a game I played and became one of those things that quietly stayed with me through different parts of my life. [b]Thousands of matches. Countless wins, losses, goals, saves, late nights, frustration, laughter, and memories.[/b] Most of those matches are completely forgotten by now, but somehow the feeling of the game never left. Rocket League has always had this strange magic to it. The concept is almost stupidly simple: cars playing football. Yet the skill ceiling feels endless. Even after all these years, there's still something satisfying about hitting the perfect shot, making an impossible save, or having one of those rare matches where everything just clicks. I've watched the game change a lot over the years, for better and for worse. And sure, I've hated this game more times than I can count. But I always came back. [hr][/hr] Some games are fun for a few months. Some stay in your library for years. And then there are games like Rocket League, where you eventually realize that a small part of your life is attached to them. [b]Rocket League is one of those games for me.[/b] [i]10/10. Not because it's perfect, but because after all these years, I'm still here.[/i]

[h1][b]Rocket League[/b] is one of a kind, like no other.[/h1] When we say [b]Rocket League[/b], people who isn't familiar with it probably go be thinking like [i]"haha, funny car soccer go brr",[/i] oh boi let me tell you it isn't just "a game" but it will also be draining your mental health if you're taking this beautiful sport very seriously. It's easy to learn, hard to master. Wanna learn cool mechanics? Even more difficult to learn and master. There's just so much you can do in this game, from controlling the ball on the ground to wall, dribbling in the air to the net etc, it's endless. Being a part of the team contributing simply by passing the ball to teammate, demolishing/bumping opponent(s) at the right timing, taking the opportunity to score, making great comebacks from 0-4, zero second goals and such.. it feels rewarding every time, those level of satisfaction is unbeatable. Not fond of playing as a team? Good news, there's [i]Duel Mode[/i] which is 1v1 so you only have to deal with an opponent and the demon in yourself. It's all fun and games until toxicity comes in. Somehow [b]RL[/b] is the only sports video game I love, and I don't even play any sports type in general. To be honest I don't like football either but I enjoyed watching some [i]RLCS[/i] scene on [i]Twitch[/i] live years ago. Watching the pros make amazing plays just leaves us in awe. [b]RL[/b] is enjoyable in both Casual and Ranked, [i]Extra Modes[/i] is available too where it isn't regular ball or there's quirky power-ups to use against your opponents. You can play against bots as well if you just don't want to PvP. There is also a bunch of workshop maps where you can explore for more variety, some are very helpful for aerial training. However the learning part in general requires very lengthy time to practice just to improve at the game, ranging from hundreds to thousands of hours. Everyone will get better mechanically after each Season- so it is never easy for average players to return to [b]RL[/b] after a long break compared to most other games. Truth to be told, being in lower ranks is much more laid-back and less chaotic, when fun is all what matters. Those were really good old times. Believe me, once you've climbed to higher ranks it just doesn't feel as fun anymore. Every second counts, every small mistake is a golden opportunity for opponent to score, managing boost, the pressure from opponents.. each of these whole 5+ minutes match can definitely feel stressful. To maintain and grind the ranks you gotta keep on practicing from time to time. This doesn't sound so "haha funny car" anymore, right? Not to forget that [b]RL[/b] actually have amazing list of anthem/music made by various artists. Often times it's not a bad idea to sit back and chill, listen to the music playing in the background at the main menu. The reason why I actually start playing this game was because of this one particular track, [i]Outbreak (feat. MYLK) by Feint[/i] used on one of the compilation video of [b]Dota 2[/b] clips back in year 2018. That song is fire! Occasionally been vibing to other songs such as [i]All I Need, LUV U NEED U, ROCK IT, Endgame, Flip Reset, just wanna luv,[/i] and many other classics too. They're all just sounds too pleasant to my ears! I've got a total of 5707 Hours recorded, combined from [i]Steam[/i], [i]Epic[/i] and [i]Playstation[/i]. However, nearly half of the hours on [b]RL[/b] [i](roughly 2.5k hours)[/i] were for trading so the only hours I've truly played was around 3k+. Ever since Player-to-Player trading was removed on 5th December 2023, [b]RL[/b] starts to feel a little dull overtime. The item set collections I've obtained over the years somewhat feels worthless. However I still love [b]RL[/b] for its core gameplay, and there is no other to replace it. Even so with 3k+ Hours invested, am I good at the game? Nope, somehow been performing worse mostly. How about the people I've met along the way? I'm very grateful to have found long time friends through random matches and trading, though I've also made a few "enemies" in between for some reasons. The number of friends I've played together with all these years? Absolutely fun and memorable, including the moments we would just be raging at each other for trolling and making mistakes. It's one of the games that many of us would hop in occasionally to have some good quality time together in either Casual or Ranked. Best ever $5 spent in year 2018. [u][b]Okay so enough boring story above, do I recommend [i]Rocket League[/i] to new players?[/b][/u] Sure if you start young, or simply have a lot of time in your hands regardless of age. Just take it with a grain of salt, or heck just grab that whole bag if you'd like too. Other than that, if you just want to have some silly fun sessions and fool around with friend(s), yeah go ahead and try it! I'd suggest playing using Controller over Keyboard with/without Mouse, it's much easier to adapt and control for most people. Only the rare ones play insanely good with KB/KBM. Also for anyone that confused why [b]RL[/b] isn't available on [i]Steam[/i] anymore, it's all thanks to [i]Epic[/i] for removing it from [i]Steam[/i] when the game's going Free-to-Play on 23rd September 2020 because they want new PC players to download and play the game via their launcher instead.