--- description: Here's why everybody is so bonkers about Psyonix's car-soccer hybrid game title: Here's Why Everybody Loves This Bizarre New Soccer Game image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcd060a00f22e3bca/69885bcb524fc0ad24df3aae/20150211_rocketleague_01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here's Why Everybody Loves This Bizarre New Soccer Game by [Matt Peckham](/author/matt-peckham/) ## Matt Peckham Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 21, 2015 6:59 PM CUT  Psyonix's Rocket League Psyonix's Rocket LeaguePsyonix by [Matt Peckham](/author/matt-peckham/) ## Matt Peckham Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 21, 2015 6:59 PM CUT It’s like soccer with race cars. That’s the elevator pitch for San Diego studio Psyonix’s [_Rocket League_](http://rocketleague.psyonix.com "undefined"), a zany ball-punching demolition derby for PC and PlayStation 4\. The game arrived without ceremony two weeks ago, but it’s already clinched over 5,000 [“overwhelmingly positive” reviews](http://store.steampowered.com/app/252950/ "undefined") on Steam. It’s now pretty much what everyone’s talking about. Imagine Hot Wheels with something like Moon-gravity physics: swarms of splashy, customizable rocket-propelled dragsters that can leap into the air like tumbling ultralights. Players scoot or soar over futuristic astroturf fields honeycombed in weird symbology and enclosed within translucent hexagonal domes. The goal: to chase down a gargantuan ball (bigger than the vehicles themselves) and send it careening into soccer-style goal posts. And like soccer, it’s all about finessing assists and saves, but with a kind of outré elegance that’s like watching four-wheeled ballet dancers glide, plummet and pirouette. **MORE:** [**Here’s Why Valve’s Virtual Reality Controllers Are So Vital**](http://time.com/3966151/valve-vive-controller/ "undefined") It’s weird, no doubt about it, and at first tends to _play_ as bizarrely as it sounds. Figuring out how to best avail yourself of subtle variations in vehicle mass and momentum becomes as essential as sussing the statistical differences between top footballers in _FIFA 15_. But once you get the hang of the controls—and you will, it’s just a matter of your brain doing that thing brains do when recalibrating to alt-gravity physics—it becomes second nature. Stunts that look impossible in clips, say leaping into the air, rebounding off the dome and arrowing across the field, then flipping your hind end around at the last minute to smack the ball as it crosscuts your trajectory and score a goal, become eminently possible. _Rocket League_, it’s worth mentioning, is a kind of sequel to a 2008 game clumsily titled _Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars_. But the latter was only available for PlayStation 3, and didn’t generate the critical buzz _Rocket League_‘s been getting. What’s more, _Rocket League_ supports cross-platform play, allowing PlayStation 4 and Windows players to square off across ecosystems. Think of it as football unbound, and another example of the power of games to bring totally ridiculous ideas (that turn out to be pretty darned good ones) to life. ### The 10 Best Classic PC Games You Can Play Right Now  The Oregon Trail (1990) Nostalgia for this elementary school library favorite has never faded — probably because they’ve relaunched the game so many times. Originally released in 1971, the Internet Archive’s edition is from 1990, but don’t worry, you can still die of dysentery in it. MECC  Lemmings 2 - The Tribes (1993) A cute puzzler, the object of this game is to lead the little rodents to safety, using lemmings’ specialized digging, blasting, and building skills to navigate the landscape of each level. DMA Design Limited/Psygnosis Limited  Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - The Action Game (1989) This 1989 title was a Holy Grail for gamers, because it gave them control of Indiana Jones, one of the 80's coolest characters. Tiertex Ltd./LucasArts, U.S. Gold Ltd.  Wolfenstein 3D (1992) The precursor to Doom, Quake, and many of the gore-fests roaring across consoles today, this 1992 first-person shooter has you, as allied spy B.J. Blazkowicz, racing to escape the Nazi's clutches. id Software, Inc./Apogee Software, Ltd.  4D Prince of Persia (1994) Children of the 1990s will fondly recall this run-and-jump platformer as a top-notch adventure game, with great graphics and gameplay — and it has infinite lives. Score! Brøderbund/Terebilov KA  Leisure Suit Larry 1 - Land of the Lounge Lizards (1987) Tame by today’s standards, this 8-bit, adult-oriented title was the Grand Theft Auto of its time, following the exploits of Larry Laffer as he strolls the city of Lost Wages, looking for love. Sierra On-Line, Inc.  Dungeons & Dragons - Eye of The Beholder (1991) Roll the dice in this 1991 Dungeons & Dragons role playing game — there’s nothing like the nostalgia of being a chaotic good paladin roaming the dark passages beneath the city of Waterdeep. Westwood Associates/Strategic Simulations, Inc.  The Hobbit (1983) Open door. Go East. Enjoy game. If you want to go really old school, you can turn the graphics off in this text-based game, guiding Bilbo through Middle Earth using only your imagination as your eyes. Milbus Software  BurgerTime (1982) Guide Peter Pepper in this hamburger-assembling action game, as he tries to build the biggest mouthfuls while being chased by enemy eggs and pickles and hot dogs. Data East Corporation/Mattel Electronics  Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego (1985) This educational title rocked elementary school kids’ worlds back in the 1980s, putting their geography and history smarts to the test. (How would you do with it, today?) Perhaps the best part of this browser version is its throwback sound effects. 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