July is always a rough month in the world of video games. It’s the month after E3, an event where so many must-have games are revealed along with their no-time-soon release dates. After such a wonderful showing (especially with this year’s being better than average), its hard to get excited for summer games.
To make matters worse, most big games hold out for the holiday season, leaving the hot summer months a bit barren. Yet every now and then, the gaming higher powers bestow something truly awesome on the community. Something to let them know that it ain’t so bad here in the middle of the year where sweat seems to drip off of you like a waterfall. This year that blessing comes in the form of Rocket League.
https://youtu.be/b1-KBiKun-s
Rocket League is a bit of an odd one. Coming out right after some really heavy hitters in 2015, many probably weren’t even paying this game much mind leading up to its release. But a little bit of boost, and some help in the form of a spot in the PlayStation Plus lineup at release, helped to launch one of the most fun games of the year so far into the limelight.
What makes it so great? Is it a deep, involving story? Is it the trials and tribulations of a character with a sordid past? Is it a rich open world? Surprisingly, no. In fact, it’s the absence of all these elements that makes Rocket League so damn great.
Rocket League has an extraordinarily simple (if not a bit wacky) premise. You drive a rocket-powered vehicle and use it to play soccer with a giant bomb. With only that information, you’re thrust onto the pitch in matches ranging from 1v1 to 4v4.
Using speed, jumps, flips, turbo, and explosions, you’re tasked with winning the game. Adding a bit of levity to the situation (not that the game needed anymore) players are able to customize their vehicle in some neat, and sometimes silly, ways.
The team over at Psyonix decided on focusing and perfecting a singular experience rather than throwing an insane amount of features into Rocket League, and it really paid off. Fluid controls, crazy explosions, frantic racing around, and soccer all combine to make something that is amazingly exciting in all of the best ways. To be completely honest, there is no surprise that the game has been downloaded so many darn times, because it is a gem that needs to be experienced by everyone at least once.
In a time where every gamer is looking towards the impending horizon, Rocket League managed to grab everyone’s attention with one of the most solid new games of the year thus far. It is a testament to the abilities of a small team, and what a little bit of strict focus can accomplish. The laughs, memories, and fun are more than enough to earn Rocket League the title of July’s best game.
Have you given this amazing downloadable title a try yet? How have you enjoyed it? Think it robbed another game’s spot? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
