Rocket League, the most accessible esport to the general public

Rocket League is a multiplayer online arcade game that combines cars and soccer. Sounds crazy, right? It has been my favorite game for 2 years, and here I will tell you why.

Brief introduction

Rocket League can be played solo or in teams of up to 4 players. The rules are the same as soccer: 2 teams face off, and the players of one team must shoot the ball towards the goal of the opposing team to score. The only difference is that all players must play in a car. This detail is what makes the game fun and original.

Esports are often difficult to learn and require a lot of time, patience, and practice. Also in the most popular games, such as Fortnite and PUBG, the matches are very long, they can be extended up to 30 minutes. For a novice player, one of the keys to progressing in the game and gaining experience is to be able to play many matches. Perhaps, for a student or someone who does not work, this is possible, but people who have jobs and obligations in the real world are often left out. The average person simply cannot afford to spend so much time in front of a screen practicing how to play.

Luckily, Rocket League came to change this. Let's start by listing its pros.

Pros

• The duration of the matches is only 5 minutes. This is ideal for people who have full-time work and do not have too much time to play.

• It is not required to aim with the mouse, like in FPS games. It can even be played with a joystick.

• It is not required to memorize countless commands and skill trees like in RPGs and MOBAs.

• It is not required to be good at driving and racing games. The game is purely arcade and defies the laws of physics.

• Cross-platform matchmaking: the game is on PC, PS4, Xbox, and Switch, and you can play with players on any platform.

• It's free to play!

• You cannot get a competitive advantage with money. The game follows an "ethical microtransactions" scheme. The items you can get with real money does not affect the gameplay in any way, they are just cosmetics.

• There are tons of collectible items that you can get and trade with other players.

• The community is not toxic. You can play solo with other random players and have a good time playing. And if you do not want to play with other teammates, you can play 1vs1 too.

• If you get bored of playing the "right" way, you can also try the extra modes. One of the most fun modes is "Rumble", where every 10 seconds you get a random power-up and you can use it to get an advantage. For example, you can blow up the rivals' cars, or hit the ball with a boxing glove from afar. But beware! The other players also get power-ups and will use them against you. Since the game became free to play, these extra modes are more popular than before.

Cons

• To unlock the trading, at least 500 credits must be purchased. The credits are the in-game currency (100 credits = 1 USD)

• As in all esports, becoming a good competitive player takes practice.

But despite these cons, nobody is forcing you to become a professional competitive player. For example, you do not need to know how to do aerial shots and wall jumps to enjoy the game. If you play for a little bit every day, in a few weeks you will get used to it and you will be able to play naturally without even thinking about the movements you are doing.

For these reasons, I consider Rocket League to be the most accessible esport for the general public. It is not as popular as Fortnite or League of Legends, but it deserves its place among the featured esports.

If you have questions or want to know more, leave me a comment and I will respond as soon as possible.