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The short answer to why “Rocket League” has superseded “Fortnite” as the penultimate online multiplayer gaming experience; it’s actually fun. Okay, jokes aside, it’s actually quite simple. The learning curve is a tad less ridiculous and the opportunity for action is far more frequent. This is all from a casual gamers perspective, but, aside from the obvious differences brought by the contrasting premises of the games, “Rocket League” really seems to make alternative stylistic and game-design choices to “Fortnite” wherever possible and that’s boded well for the games popularity and success.
What Is “Rocket League?”
“Rocket League” is a vehicular soccer game. It is free to play on all consoles, and the objective is to use a vehicle (of which there are many to choose from) to shoot a large, metallic ball into the opposing team’s goal. Quite plainly, it is car soccer. Where things get interesting is with the inclusion of boost (reminiscent of nitrous) that effectively turn the cars into hovering machines zooming or even flying around the stage.
Taking part in hijinks that follow from these flying cars recklessly careening and swooping around the stages in the 4v4, 3v3, 2v2, or even 1v1 matches is what makes the game so enjoyable.
What Boosts “Rocket League” Over “Fortnite?”
There are three primary areas where “Rocket League” propels itself past “Fortnite” and they are: a more rewarding and opportune gameplay loop, a learning curve that isn’t as severe, and more varied game modes.
More Rewarding And Opportune Gameplay Loop
In “Fortnite,” it’s possible to stave off conflict or land in an area where no other players landed. This can lead to some pretty stale gameplay without much substance. “Rocket League,” on the other hand, doesn’t really have any dull moments. The timer counts down to start the match, and from that moment forward, you just go.
The hunt for getting a good hit on the ball or pulling off a save on an opponent’s shot or, if you’re fortunate, scoring yourself is non-stop. It’s exhilarating and makes for a continuously rewarding loop of trying to get the best hit on the ball that you can. In addition to the gameplay being consistently intense and rewarding, the learning curve, or time it takes to improve, is very gamer-friendly
Learning Curve Isn’t As Severe
To really get good at “Fortnite” requires a deep understanding of the building mechanic, which, while pretty fun, also poses an obstacle to more casual players. Not everyone will want to develop their skills at building defenses with hours of practice or the purchase of lessons with some gaming trainer (not a joke, that’s a real thing) to be able to succeed in a game. With “Rocket League,” assuming you’ve played a video game before and have a basic understanding of how a remote controller works, you could really hop on the game and be relatively sufficient right away.
Of course, with more in-game time, you’ll learn techniques you wouldn’t have otherwise known (notably using boost to “fly”) and just get better, but it’s not nearly the disadvantage and hindrance to the enjoyment that “not being good” is in “Fortnite.”
More Varied Game Modes
Where “Fortnite” really only has its admittedly pioneering, battle royale gameplay available to keep players interested, “Rocket League” offers several different game modes to keep things fresh. As previously alluded to, there are various group sizes to participate in (groups of four, three, two, or individual matches) and various game modes. Aside from the standard, soccer-esque game mode, there are also four additional game modes. Rumble is one, and it is like the standard mode but with power-ups (a personal favorite).
Dropshot is another, and it is kind of like an amalgamation of hot potato, and the floor is lava as the objective is to have the ball fall through a hole on the opposing teams’ side of the stage. And then there are hoops and snow days which are basketball and hockey-themed iterations of the standard mode.
Is It “Rocket League” Or “Fornite?”
“Rocket League” has cemented itself as the next big online multiplayer title. The move to making the game a free-to-play title in late 2020 coincided with the game seeing its largest count of active online players ever, and the game is part of an exclusive and prestigious club of games to have surpassed one million concurrent players on Steam. (( Only accompanied by “PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds,” “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive,” and “Dota 2” )). (( “TheGlobalGaming | PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo. We’ve Got You Covered. TheGlobalGaming Serves as the Central Hub for Gaming and Entertainment News, Articles, Videos, Tutorials and Lots More.” 2021. TheGlobalGaming. 2021. )).
This all goes to show that “Rocket League” has taken the torch from “Fortnite,” but what’s been just as compelling is how “Rocket League” took the torch from “Fortnite.” Upon release, “Rocket League” was just scratching a different kind of itch for gamers; not really sniffing the gaudy player counts it’s been amassing as of late, but with its move to free-to-play and antithetical game design to “Fortnite,” the game is now garnering immense success. However, only time will tell what kind of staying power “Rocket League” is bound for (ironically, a current matter of interest with “Fortnite“).
