The last few weeks have been intense for Ubisoft’s new PvP F2P sports game, Roller Champions. While we knew the launch was slated for Spring 2022, we went from complete silence to announcing its release for late May in just a matter of weeks. Well, that day is almost here, as Roller Champions launches tomorrow, May 25th (in about 13 hours to be exact). In this case, I had the opportunity to hit the track a little earlier to see how this original sporting experience works. Spoiler alert: I’m pleasantly surprised.
I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical when I attended the Roller Champions Review Event. The fact of not having news in such a short time to almost release the game is not very common in titles from triple-A developers (large productions), at least not those that are expected to have a good result. However, after spending many hours with this accessible yet competitive title, I can say that Roller Champions is not boring at all and its release doesn’t seem rushed.
The game is a combination of different sports. The movement is inspired by roller derby, tackles in soccer and other actions like shooting or passing bear some resemblance to handball. At first glance it seems like a strange combination that shouldn’t work, but believe me it does. The game dynamics are fluid and the mechanics harmonize, even more so when aspects such as team play and the scoring system are taken into account.
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This scoring system is one of the most outstanding aspects that make the original concept of Roller Champions so distinctive. In order to shoot the ball on goal, you and your team must go through a series of stages while in possession. These sections appear in four defined zones around the cylindrical arena, and going through all of them will open up the goal ring. The trick is that you can keep going to get more points by scoring a goal. The system scales as follows: if you drive a lap, you get a point; two rounds are three points, and three rounds are five points. Of course, keeping the ball gets harder as you add up the turns, so you’ll have to decide whether you want your team to take the easy option of scoring a single point, or try your luck and go for a bigger one. punctuation.
But the game isn’t just reduced to that. The movement system is based on gaining speed by riding up the sides of the arena like a skateboarder in a half pipe. In addition, there are two types of tackle: the basic tackle and the hook to knock down jumping opponents. Add to that the mechanics of dodging when you have the ball and the variety of interactions with your teammates, such as B. asking for a pass or pushing each other to go faster, and the result is a very accessible and easy-to-play sports game. Find out that it offers a surprising amount of entertainment and an understandable background.
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If there’s one thing I can say for sure, it’s that Roller Champions is a lot of fun. Not only is it highly competitive, but it’s a good game to play when you have 20-30 minutes to spare or when you and your group of friends want to have a good time. It’s not a Gaas game to spend a lot of time with as it doesn’t have a lot of progression or content to play for many hours at a time.
The progression system is based on expanding your fan base by participating and winning games. These followers contribute directly to your progression through the Roller Pass, the Battle Pass that has a free and a paid part. This system determines when you unlock each of the four arenas that currently exist (there aren’t many at the moment), and little else. Every game mode and content you can imagine is unlocked by completing just ten quick games.
You’re probably wondering how this affects cosmetic items and your character’s appearance. The good news is that all paid add-ons and content do not affect gameplay at all. The bad thing is that if you want to get rid of your character’s basic gray “Fresh Meat” gear, you’ll need to progress in your Roller Pass to get Loot Balls (which have a random percentage system that determines the items you get) to acquire new items. The other option is to swipe your wallet to buy it from the game store.
The point is that progression is counterintuitive and not rewarding. Qualifying matches provide the only relevant progress. However, based on my online gaming experience so far, I doubt that many players will choose this option as it comes with more difficulties and responsibilities that many would like to avoid.
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Still, what little I got to play Roller Champions made for good entertainment. I have my doubts that it will still be as fresh and attractive in a few months, even if the roadmap points to further seasons with new battle passes, arenas and game modes. My question is: will this be enough to make players want to keep playing? It’s difficult to say. What I do know is that at the moment, Roller Champions is a well-tuned, polished, engaging, and highly competitive game with a fantastic foundation to build on. Let’s hope Ubisoft finds an attractive and durable way to survive for long.
