Psyonix has just announced Rocket League Sideswipe, which is basically the mobile version of Rocket League with some twists. Earlier today, we got early access to play Rocket League Sideswipe, and we have been playing it for over eight-hour now. We asked the devs if we could share the gameplay images with the community, and now that they have given us a green flag, so here we are with our Rocket League Sideswipe First Impressions.
What is Rocket League Sideswipe?
Rocket League Sideswipe is a free-to-play mobile game that will release globally later this year. It is basically the mobile version of the popular vehicular soccer video game ‘Rocket League.’ Rocket League Sideswipe’s core mechanism is similar to that of Rocket League, but at the same time, it is quite different. Unlike Rocket League, where you can drive the car in the entire arena, the cars’ movement is restricted in Rocket League sideswipe.
Rocket League Sideswipe is a 3D game, but the car’s movements are restricted to two dimensions, meaning you can drive the car only forward and backward. Rocket League Sideswipe also offers a different camera angle. In this game, you will be playing via a side-scrolling view. Both of these reasons will give you an idea, why the game has been titled ‘Sideswipe.’
Game modes
Rocket League Sideswipe offers both offline and online modes. Offline mode is called ‘Solo Modes.’ There are three different types of Solo Modes:
- Freeplay: Where you can play alone to enhance your skill.
- Exhibition: Where you can play against bots.
- Tutorial: Where you can learn to play the game.
The online mode is called ‘Competitive Play.’ There are three different types of Competitive Play:
- Duel: Where you play 1v1 car soccer.
- Doubles: Where you play 2v2 car soccer.
- Hoops: Where you play 2v2 car basketball.
I won’t talk about the offline mode as you know it’s no fun. It’s only for those who want practice before taking on real opponents. Coming to competitive mode, it’s super fun – Duel, the 1v1 mode is okay, but I personally like the 2v2 doubles. Hoops is also pretty good, but it requires quite a bit of skill.
Each online match runs for two minutes, and at the end of the timer, the team with the higher score wins. Winning matches will increase your in-game ranks, and then you will be matched up against higher skilled players.
Controls
The controls have been perfectly adapted for the mobile platforms. There is one movement joystick on the left side of the screen and two buttons (boost and jump) on the screen’s right side. The controls are easy to use and understand. Furthermore, the controls can be customized.
No pay-to-win elements
Rocket League Sideswipe is a free-to-play game in a true sense. There are zero pay-to-win elements. Obviously, the developers will sell cosmetic items, but the good part is that the monetization will be limited to cosmetics only. Everyone will be equal in the matches. Furthermore, free-to-play players can also grind and get access to a lot of cosmetic items.
Plenty of Customization Options
The developer has provided plenty of customization options. You can customize the tires of your cars, paint, skin, boosts, and even customize the goal explosion animation.
Other things you need to know:
- The game offers an in-game music player where you can listen to music and skip the ones you don’t like.
- There is no chat option, but there are a lot of quick chat stickers that you can use to communicate as well as tease the opponents.
- There is only one way to log-in to the game – Epic Games. There is no Google or Facebook sign-in option.
- You can’t change your in-game name. It will be the same as your Epic Game username.
Verdict
Rocket League Sideswipe is no doubt a fantastic game. At first, I was disappointed that Psyonix did not port Rocket League as it is; instead, they choose to make it a kind of 2D game. But after playing the game myself, I understand why they did so. I personally enjoyed playing this 2D Pocket League, hehe.
The game is fantastic in every aspect; it has great music, sound system, gameplay style, graphics, and everything else. Yes, there are some flaws here and there, but this is just an Alpha test version of the game; there is quite some time for the game’s global launch, and I am sure the developer will fix these minor issues.
Lastly, Psyonix is pushing Rocket League Sideswipe as a mix of a casual- competitive game. I personally see Rocket League Sideswipe as only a fun casual game. This game is more like Head Ball 2, where the players will come, play it for one month and then leave. I fail to see how a player can stick to the same repetitive 2D gameplay where the moves are very limited, and thus every new match feels pretty much the same.
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