Rocket League is the surprise hit from Psyonix which has captured the attention of gamers since its release in 2015. It’s actually the sequel of one of their first games which was called “Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battled-Cars”. The original game didn’t really get anywhere in terms of popularity or review scores whereas Rocket League has been very successful for them.
Being Arcade Sports games, it means Rocket League is unrealistic and focuses on must faster gameplay and customization than a Simulation Sports game like FIFA. Though they are usually just called Sports games and put on the same lists when it’s not quite true. The incredible success of Rocket League has been felt throughout gaming.
Overwatch might be a FPS game but during the summer, they add a mode called “Lucioball” which is inspired by Rocket League. Players run around as the Lucio character where they need to get a ball into the other teams net just using their gun. It’s become an annual event every summer and Blizzard add improvements every year so clearly the mode is staying for at least a few more years.
Of course it’s not just modes in popular games, there are a lot of similar games out now though not all of them are very good or popular. Pretty much just like what happens when a popular game comes out, lots of clones and similar games get put out from small indie teams which aren’t as good. Though there are games that have been around for a while as well such as Robot Roller-Derby Disco Dodgeball which are a lot of fun but lack players so you might not hear about them until another popular game comes along. Mario Striker Charged is another example of a previously existing similar game except this one is exclusive to the Wii.
What about upcoming game from major developers? If you missed E3 this year then you would have missed Ubisoft announcing Roller Champions which is a Roller Derby arcade game. Clearly inspired by the success of Rocket League, this is another fast paced sport game with a lot of similarities. Whether or not if will be successful is a different thing but Roller Champions does follow the same ideas.
Outside of the upcoming Ubisoft game and the gamemode from Blizzard, there are no other major games similar to Rocket League. Lots of indie games of course and some of them are very good with similar styles but different focuses. Like Disc Jam which combines air hockey and tennis to make a unique game with frantic gameplay using the 1v1 or 2v2 format. It’s a good contender on Steam but definitely isn’t as popular as Rocket League.
The difficulty developers face is that, arcade sports games have never been that popular on consoles or PC so making one is definitely a big risk. Whereas indie development teams don’t have the same shareholders who have demands placed on how successful games are, meaning there are more smaller teams making similar games. Heavy Metal Machines is a MOBA with vehicular action so it’s quire unique and has been doing very well so if you like MOBA gameplay it’s worth having a closer look at this game!
Rocket League has had a huge impact on gaming and revitalized the interest in Arcade Sports games which is something a lot of fans didn’t think would happen. The genre has been quite niche ever since consoles became more complex and seeing some life come back into a genre that was once so popular is very nice. It should provide some hope to those who are fans of other genres that have lost some popularity over the years also.
Have you been looking for games similar to Rocket League? What have been your favourite finds so far? Let us know!
