Welcome to our Roller Champions hands-on article, we had access to the Closed Alpha, and you can read all about it here!
Timmy:
Become a world-renowned athlete! Roll into the arena and compete in fast-paced 3v3 matches to build your sports legacy! Glide from wall-to-wall to dodge opponents or tackle them through the air – hone your skills to become the Champion you’re destined to be!
Create your Champion and show off your style in the arena. Customize your outfit as you progress with new outfits, wheels, helmets, and more!
Let’s go back to E3 in 2019, Ubisoft announced Roller Champions, a game that looked like Rocket League on roller skates. It seemed very energetic and colorful. Roller skate derby is a niche sport in many parts of the world, and I was curious to see what this game would bring to the table once it hit mainstream.
Sadly we are not yet mainstream, but I was able to play the closed preview session. I do not own the most powerful gaming pc, and my first impression was kind of laggy. My 2736 by 1824 display resolution was to blame, and once I got it set up correctly, I was able to dive in (or should I say skate?)
As I was able to play only a little compared to sometimes being able to play weeks, I can only base my opinion on a few hours, but so far, it is positive with a little doubting on the side. Allow me to explain.
As you start the game, like any game, you need to go through the tutorial and learn the basics. Roller Champions has more to look at than I’d initially expected. Speed, getting the ball, scoring, running rounds, … At first, I was very clumsy at this game. I was always tripping or falling.
Rarely being able to grab the ball, let alone being able to make a goal. I was very underwhelmed by the game mechanics and how they worked. I will not lie. The first half-hour felt very uncomfortable to me. It was only after insisting on keeping playing that I felt more and more comfortable with the game. Still unable to shine, I was slowly getting better at it.
Roller Champions did prove me wrong, though. I never thought I would grow to like it as much as I did. In all honesty, it caught me off guard. I never really liked competitive games of this genre, but Ubisoft’s attempt at the genre, it made me enjoy the game. Still not great at it, at least I no longer feel like this is a genre to avoid.
Overall, the game left a positive impression so far. I am sure the final version will be tweaked even more, and I do intend to play the game once more at that time. Not a fan of the genre, but Roller Champions did do the trick to get me interested to see where this leads. I guess that alone is due to not only looking great but feeling the love for the game.
The one thing I did dislike so far, I got knocked down so many times, and I know this is all to do with timing, but I was so bad at returning the favor myself. I know I should not blame my lack of skills; I just had the impression it was not always due to me sucking at this game rather than just not being able to. Maybe this is just my gut feeling speaking, but I do stand by this.
In conclusion, Roller Champions is a game that totally got me interested and if properly fine-tuned, I am sure many gamers will truly enjoy this game. Too early to say if it can become really big, but it has this weird niche appeal that might just be enough to get it to lift off completely!
Rob:
I played Roller Champions once before, during Ubi Summer School with my brother (Nick de R.); so I was really excited that I could join the Closed Alpha for a second run. As Timmy already described it’s a strange mixture between Rocket League and Roller Disco/Skate Derby. I liked it the first time I played it, but it felt different this time around, and not always in a positive way. When I loaded up the game, there were some connection problems throughout my time with Roller Champion (a common complaint) and the controls behaved a little strange. Luckily this problem was solved when I plugged in my Xbox Controller, and it felt a little more like that afternoon at Ubi HQ.
If we look at the actual gameplay of Roller Champions, they tweaked the matches a little. When I performed a tackle in the first version I played, I could get back in the game in a second. When I got tackled in the Closed Alpha, I was lying on the ground for a few seconds, and the game rushed on (with goals and other stuff happening around me). In a match this energetic, it’s stressful to lay on the ground for even a few seconds, just like in Roller Derby. So, maybe something Ubisoft can address?
While playing with my Xbox Controller, the camera movements felt much smoother than with a keyboard. I had a reasonable control over where people were and how the flow of the game moved. Due to this being a Closed Alpha, ranked matches were disabled, which led to playing against some high-level players with loads of fans. Having more fans results in more credits and better gear, which made some of my matches hard and not fun to compete in. It did motivate me to get better at the game, gain more fans, and buy more credits, so I reckon once the ranked matches go online, it’s all good.
Let’s talk price-point. I would not pay a lot of money for Roller Champions, at least not as a full game. It’s a fun game, especially in the heavy Battle Royal game-setting of nowadays. So it’s the right choice of Ubisoft to go Free to Play on Roller Champions. Maybe the could add a season pass or something like this, to gain some revenue (please no micro-transactions or loot boxes). But, no, it’s not worth 60 bucks. It’s too niche to grasp the attention of the larger audience, but due to being free to play, it’s much more accessible.
In conclusion, Roller Champions is shaping up to be an excellent competitor on the Free to Play competitive game scene. I will personally be picking this up, once the final version drops (and when it’s tuned to it’s finest).
