Rocket league has been a unique gaming sensation over the last three years. In celebration, Psyonix is currently midway through an anniversary event adding new items, an arena, and a brand new game mode to the fold. In addition, Golden Eggs can be earned which are essentially a combination of a crate and key which contain retired items from past events.
Playing either ranked or unranked modes will net you event currency in the form of balloons. Balloons can be redeemed for any one of 7 new items available for purchase. The real eye candy from this selection however are the wheels. Once you are done with the static selections, Psyonix has an event “crate” called Golden Eggs.
Golden Eggs, unlike past event crates, do not require a key to open. They do however require 150 balloons so decent time investment will be needed to open them. Ultimately, you can open a maximum of 10 Golden Eggs which contain over 60 retired items from past crates. Did you miss out on item you wanted? The chances are still slim but it’s a chance nonetheless.
The best addition to the birthday event is the new Throwback Stadium. For any who played SARPBC(Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars), Throwback Stadium is familiar as it was the mode which inspired Rocket League. Unfortunately, most players didn’t experience it since the original game was nowhere near as popular as Rocket League is. The primary change is that the net is now inside the arena rather than embedded within the walls. It’s a great mode which emphasizes teamwork and passing as ball-chasing will do nothing but get you scored on here. The arena is also larger and the ball has a lighter weight to compensate. Be prepared for new angles of attack as more talented individuals will often wall peel or air drag over your net from behind, requiring goalies to be on a swivel.
After a week of playing around with it, I really hope Psyonix elects to add a ranked version of Throwback Stadium. Unfortunately, past changes with ranked gameplay have proven unwelcome within the community as evidenced by the standardization of unique arenas. My personal wish is for Psyonix to add a ranked roulette, which would be comprised of all arenas and modes in one selection, which will test the skills of players and their ability to adjust rather than rely purely on muscle memory in one arena type or setting.
There’s no doubt Rocket League has made an impact on the gaming community. As we move through the third anniversary and on to the next, what is it you would like to see? What could Psyonix do to further evolve and improve upon an addicting formula without alienating its primary player base?
(Balloons and associated rewards will be available until the anniversary even ends on 23 Jul 18. The arena will continue to be available after the next game update.)
