Rocket League is a free-to-play soccer game created by Pysonix, and was released on July 7, 2015 for Microsoft Windows and the PlayStation 4, while other consoles like the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One were released later on. The game started off costing $19.99, but as the years went on, the popularity of the game became evident, and to celebrate the game’s success, it became free to play on September 23, 2020. But among many other soccer games, what makes Rocket League entertaining?

First off, Rocket League has a very big twist compared to other soccer games in that you play as a car. This makes the game very difficult though, with many controls and techniques needed to master the game.

Gameplay is fairly simple; matches usually last five minutes with an exception of a sudden death. To win, you must score more points than your opponent. You can play solo in a 1v1, or play with friends in 2v2 and 3v3. The game is also cross platform, meaning you can play with friends who play on other devices. There are also different game modes, but the main ones are competitive, casual, and various game modes. For competitive, the lowest rank is Bronze, while the highest is Supersonic Champion. When in game, you start off with a kickoff and then continue on with the game. Every time someone scores the round is reset and restarts with another kickoff.

Would this game be suited for a casual player though? To keep it simple, no, unless you really do not care or get upset easily. This game is very mechanical, and for new players the large skill gap is very obvious and can be a big turn off. The game has many needs for small micro adjustments and when playing it can sometimes feel hopeless. But after playing for a while the enjoyment will come. The first few weeks can be very triggering and is something to look out for.

Besides the large skill gap, the game has many things to bring to the table. It is free to play, you can play it on almost all devices (except mobile), it’s cross platform, short, and overall very fun. It is a great game to play when you have some free time and feels fresh compared to different soccer games.

It’s also worth noting that Rocket League has been adopted as a game of choice for esports leagues, including those in which our CVHS ESports teams compete.

Centreville High School has competed in the EGF high school league for the past two years, but have recently switched over to the PlayVS organization.

In the previous tournaments, the team of Ruben Salinas, Matthew Roberts, with Colby Munpanthavong and Kevin Vu subbing, were able to demolish the competition in the first year, losing only one game. For winning the North East regionals, the students were offered $1000 scholarships to the University of Connecticut.

In 2020, Ruben “Mr. Sink,” Matthew “Sypver”, and Christian “Leeachu” Cunningham were playing for CVHS, with Nate Wilson subbing. This time the team won silver.

For 2021, the new team consists of Matthew, Christian, and Liam Kelly, with Ben Campbell subbing.