Braving the World of Online Gaming with Rocket League

Traditionally, I have always been heavy into single player games. Sure I had many weekends blissfully spent absorbed in Goldeneye as a kid, but for the most part, I’m a loner in the gaming world. Perhaps it’s an underlying fear of being found out to be a n00b or uncertainty about my ping, but I haven’t really taken to the shift in the gaming industry toward the online games as a service model.

After a wonderful evening at work a few weeks back sending off a coworker with a night of Rocket League, I decided it was time to overcome my trepidation about online domination and put myself out into the fierce world of Rocket League multiplayer. To help ease the transition, I chose 3 vs 3 Soccar style which I had recently mastered against AI using my shiny new Switch Pro Controller.

Match 1

Matchmaking put me in to a game that was already well in hand at 9-0 in favor of my squad with two minutes to go and would finish 11-0. Wow, this online thing sure is easy. Why didn’t I try this sooner?

Match 2

Ok, no one on the other team was really doing anything yet again. I began to wonder if the online community for Rocket League was just a bunch of lazy bots or if there was some sort of weird grinding going on by just playing matches. Either way, this was a chance to get some training in as we easily beat the team of players who died 5 minutes prior 12-0. At least I produced one of my favorite highlights of the night as I slammed my teammate into the ball leading to a comical goal.

Match 3

I decided to back out and find a new group to play with in the hopes of finding actual opponents to test my skills against. In a welcome surprise, everyone moved at the opening face-off meaning there were real matches to be had! After sinking a masterful goal a mere 7 seconds in to the match, I suddenly had an abundance of confidence that I could do this. Following a quick second score about a minute later, I was feeling great until 3 straight goals from the opponents led to a 3-2 loss and minor humbling of the ego.

Match 4

The rematch got off to a worse start as we found ourselves down 3-1 early. With a mere 9 seconds left, I had my first taste of heroics as I sunk a beautiful goal to send the match to overtime, where I promptly watched helplessly from inside my own goal as someone named Butterfly defeated us with a golden goal.

Match 5

I was determined to get my first real taste of victory in our second rematch. Yet another nail-biter ensued, but this time I made sure not to leave things to chance in overtime by nailing an absolute beauty of a goal from mid-court with just 6 seconds left for a 3-2 win.

Match 6

With just time for one final match, I knew I would have to turn in my most well-rounded performance to finish on a winning streak and to keep my now burgeoning hopes for a pro Rocket League career alive. The tension never quite ramped up to the previously obtained levels as my team put in a 2-1 victory that wasn’t as close as the score would indicate.

At 4-2 overall (or a still highly respectable 2-2 if you only count the legitimate matches), my initial foray into online Rocket League was an unmitigated success. Now, I just need to string together a few more virtuoso performances centered on my apparent late game clutch-ness, and I will be swimming in sponsorships and internet dollars.