When Ubisioft first unveiled Roller Champions, I’ll admit I wasn’t that excited about it. It seemed like a derby take on Rocket League and it just didn’t really look like something I’d go out of the way to play. That being said, I was given a chance to play a few rounds during a closed-press demo during E3 and I’ve got to be honest, I’m totally hooked on Roller Champions.
Whereas Rocket League relies on vehicles, Roller Champions makes the player the vehicle on skates. It very much is a roller derby with a simple goal of scoring points. But of course, it’s online, which means nothing is simple.
We sectioned off into two teams of three and boy let me tell you, I did not expect to make an enemy of “Lego.” For being a simple ring, it was really was ridiculously fun. Shoulder checking enemy players to the ground was intensely satisfying. Though I sucked at aiming at the goal, it was amusing to try and prompted us to cheer each other one when looking to beat the other team.
Lego kept kicking my ass, but I’d like to think I got him back more than a few times. It’s a simple game with a simple objective, but the movement was incredibly fluid, the music was addictive, and the mechanics were really enjoyable. I can definitely see myself playing this with buds on a Friday night for a competitive stint with friends. Given that it’s not my usual genre to pick, I was surprised by how much I didn’t want to put the controller down, which absolutely makes this my surprise delight pick for E3 this year.
Roller Champions does not have a release date at this time, though it is slated for a 2020 launch.
