You gain possession of the ball, run laps, score goals, and pass to other teammates and slip stream ahead of them as needed. The game is pretty simple – perhaps to a fault. Nothing wrong with that in theory, but given there’s about 50 other games that more-or-less do the same thing and are more-or-less fighting over the same sorts of gamers, I worry about Roller Champions’ odds. Perhaps, at the end of the day, that is what Roller Champions is a game that will sort of connect with a lot of people for a short while, and only create long-term sparks for a somewhat niche audience, perhaps building upon that later with future expansions. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with games that are best enjoyed in short bursts. The redundant arenas, lack of strategic depth, and the sometimes very drawn-out matches going well into overtime started to drag on the experience immensely and I couldn’t shake the feeling that the game just had nothing left to show me after about an hour or so of playing it. Then, as quickly and mysteriously as the fun arrived, it was almost entirely gone. I was getting better at the game, managing my speed and momentum, taking shots at the other team when necessary, and evading them when they tried to do the same to me. Sometimes I would even mix things up and start going the opposite way of my team to play a little defense by griefing the other team with head-on tackles. Slip-streaming past each other, keeping the ball moving forward way ahead of our opponents, banking laps, and scoring big points. "The redundant arenas, lack of strategic depth, and the sometimes very drawn-out matches going well into overtime started to drag on the experience immensely and I couldn’t shake the feeling that the game just had nothing left to show me after about an hour or so of playing it." I got a rush of competitive energy, gripped my DualSense controller a little harder, and started playing more aggressively. Then after my opponent’s team scored, it clicked. Well past the introduction, tutorial and even into the first match, I found myself mostly just wondering what exactly is there about this game that gives it a reason to exist. It’s true that this new competitive roller-derby-basketball hybrid doesn’t make the most unique first impression. What you get when you play the release version of Roller Champions is not worth the 4+ years this game has been in development, and I don't expect it to be profitable anytime soon considering the amount of cash it must have costed, which is probably north of 25M USD in salaries alone, (quick back-of-the-envelop math.) that's gonna be a lot of Roller Passes and customization items.Another day, another brightly colored free to play game vying for our attention. Project management perspective : this looks like a failure to direct what looks like a talented team towards a clear goal, because the game it itself looks good, has a nice sound track, but shows a clear lack of direction. Conclusion: Game design perspective : this is to me a very nice idea that the design team failed to refine into something that meets its niche. I watched big streamers like Sips cancelling their stream (probably sponsored by Ubisoft by the way) because they just got tired trying to navigate the connectivity issues and crashes. It's expected to see F2P launches crash servers and whatnot, but this game ain't no WoW nor a highly anticipated game like Elden Ring. The launch has been a mess, and I think they lost a lot of potential players my delivering a subpar experience. I had fun playing throughout the various betas, and the final release, but even if I considered myself a big fan of the game, I got bored very quickly, it's like playing the same thing over again. The Free to Play market is full of options, and I have to say the offering is quite limited with Roller Champions. I remember the hype at that time, and I feel they missed the opportunity to limit development costs and start small, see what happens, and build a community and a better game for that crowd. Instead of waiting so long to release it, they should probably have released it a year or so after the announcement at E3, like they originally planned. This game has been in development for ages. I've been following the game since its first appearance at E3, and I have to say the game didn't change much, same game pretty much, more I've been following the game since its first appearance at E3, and I have to say the game didn't change much, same game pretty much, more cosmetic options, a $ shop / pay pass, and what seem to be the same matchmaking issues and crashes.
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