Rocket League
Football with rocket-powered cars, three players a side. Rocket League is the only game here without a team of five: a group of three fits it exactly, and a group of five splits up or plays private matches.
Profile
What it asks of the group
- Rules to learnPut the ball in the goal. Boost pads and kickoff positions are the only extra rules.
- Aim and controlCar control is the whole game: aerials, wall play and recoveries keep improving for as long as you play.
- Talking loadRotation is the team skill: one player challenges, one supports, one covers the goal.
- Session flexA match lasts 5 minutes plus any overtime, so half an hour fits four or five.
- Team size
- 1v1, 2v2 and 3v3 online; ranked stops at 3v3; private matches allow 4v4
- Main mode
- Standard 3v3: a 5-minute clock, with sudden-death overtime if the score is level
- Short option
- Every mode uses the same 5-minute clock
- Platforms
- PC through the Epic Games Store (Steam for earlier owners), PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch, with cross-play
- Ranked access
- Ranked caps team size at three
- Price model
- Free to play. Money goes on cosmetics and the Rocket Pass.
- Released
- 7 July 2015; free to play since 23 September 2020
Opening hours
Where the first evenings go
The basics take minutes: drive, jump, boost, hit the ball. Then the gap opens. Free Play and the built-in training packs teach aerials and recoveries.
The team skill is rotation, where players cycle between attacking, supporting and defending so that two never chase the same ball. Three friends match the ranked 3v3 format exactly. Four can play 2v2 against each other in a private match.
Pairs and trios, short evenings, and players who already use a controller.
A group of five that wants everyone on one team, and players who dislike drilling mechanics.
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