When an average person buys a game, they would most likely get around 20 hours of gameplay before they're content with their purchase. And an even smaller amount of people can squeeze maybe 50 hours if they really like the game, but what's it like to pour over 100 hours into a game you like? I can answer that question with a little game I've been playing called Rocket League.
What makes rocket league interesting?
In most types of games, skills are transferable like reaction time, accuracy, and critical thinking. The thing is, as far as I know, there's not another game like Rocket League. There's so much to discover even by playing the game such as Ariels, dribbling, and control. With it being in a league of its own with its physics engine and entirely new mechanics to explore and refine, this was going to be my next time sink.
How do you spend your time playing the game?
Believe it or not, putting in 100 hours in this game won't get you anywhere in the competitive scene. The highest rank, Grand Champion, takes weeks upon weeks of real-time just to reach and being at 100+ hours I have only reached Gold, which isn't bad, but I have a long way to go before I can be one of the best.
To be frank, the first 50 or so hours playing we're mostly just trying to understand how to play the game. And I know that makes me sound stupid, but it takes serious time to be comfortable with how your car interacts with the ball and the players around you. But after that first 50 hours of me just driving in circles aimlessly I finally started to get the game. I feel like at this point in my time sink Rocket League became less about having fun and more about being better than other people. Don't get me wrong both are valid ways to experience the game but I do think it's interesting that a lot of the time when I'm playing the game I'm not giggling and goofing around like usual.
Honestly, I do see Rocket League is the next big thing in not just the competitive scene but recognition itself with Rocket League going free to play sometime by the end of summer. I'm excited and also scared of how different the game I've poured 100 hours into will be in a year or so?
