Rocket League Sideswipe (for iOS)

Rocket League answered a simple, bizarre question: What if go-karts played soccer? This led to one of the greatest sports games of the modern era, one that's accessible enough to be a wacky arcade hit while featuring enough depth for competitive esports action. Rocket League Sideswipe is a free, mobile spin-off, a companion game meant to supplement the original rather than replace it. Sacrifices were made to make Sideswipe a successful mobile experience, but Rocket League’s original charm shines through.

Handheld Horsepower

If you’ve never played the original Rocket League, I recommend starting with that before picking up Sideswipe. It’s free, it’s fantastic, and on Nintendo Switch you can already play on the go. However, Sideswipe should fascinate existing Rocket League fans with how it simplifies the familiar formula for Android and iOS devices (I played on an iPhone 12 mini). It’s almost like a demake, a fan project that imagines how current games could be stripped down and translated to older systems.

Sideswipe's overall objective remains the same. Ram your car into the giant ball to score points in the opposing team’s goals or hoop. That said, the presentation is vastly different. Instead of driving around an open, 3D field, you move back and forth on a tight 2D screen. Instead of 3v3, the two-minute matches consist of 2v2 battles and 1v1 duels. 

The new perspective also changes how you maneuver the car. When you boost, you can freely fly through the air for a limited time. Use this to blast onto the ceiling or make unreal interceptions. It almost turns your car into a rocket ship. Meanwhile, you can also jump and dodge in various directions, much more in line with the original game. 

These tricks are necessary, because Sideswipe still has the carefully tuned physics system that gives Rocket League its legendary learning curve. You really need to make shots at just the right angle with just enough force to get the ball exactly where you want it. You’ll mess up a lot, but when you nail a shot it’s absolutely thrilling. Within minutes, Sideswipe got my heart racing like a real Rocket League match. This need for finesse, more than anything, makes Sideswipe still feel like Rocket League as opposed to, say, Lethal League, Rayman’s Kung Foot, or some generic 2D arcade sports game.  

Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, the touch controls can’t always keep up with the action. You use virtual joysticks and buttons to unleash moves, so your thumbs may fumble when trying to execute high-level plays. It’s not a dealbreaker, the game’s streamlined format makes it extremely playable on mobile, but it’s the same issue we had with fellow esports mobile conversion League of Legends: Wild Rift. At least you can adjust settings like joystick size and locking buttons in place.

Off to the Races

After Rocket League’s massive success, its developer, Psyonix, was acquired by Epic Games. Rocket League Sideswipe feels like a game from the ludicrously wealthy company behind Fortnite, for better and worse. I’m almost surprised Apple allowed it on the App Store given the ongoing Fortnite legal fight.

For starters, Sideswipe looks and sounds great. I love my car’s shiny chassis. The three, unique arenas pop with glowing neon accents and vibrant explosions. Chunky sound effects put you on the pitch, while the up-tempo soundtrack featuring licensed artists creates the illusion that there’s an actual sport happening somewhere. 

Competitive players will also find plenty of convenient options. For example, you can communicate with teammates on the field using emotes or quick chat. Whenever a partner accidentally scored on our own goal, they were sure to apologize. You can also modify latency settings, input buffering, and force feedback. Leaderboards show you who is standing in your way if you want to become number one.

Rocket League Sideswipe is a free-to-play game, so it has all of the expected (but no less annoying) hooks designed to drain your cash. You can buy cosmetics, lust after mystery items, or purchase a battle pass subscription. If you connect to your Epic Games account, you can share experience points across Sideswipe and proper Rocket League to complete challenges at a faster pace. This draws you even deeper into the ecosystem. However, inventory items remained locked to their respective games. If I unlock a llama topper, aero mage wheels, and bubble boost in Sideswipe, I can only equip them in Sideswipe. Wins, losses, and other stats don't sync, either, since Rocket League and Sideswipe are different games with different ranking systems. Fortunately, you can play Sideswipe offline against bots.

Prepare for Liftoff 

Rocket League Sideswipe is a throwback to the days when publishers made mobile spin-offs of their AAA hits. Whereas most of those games felt like lazy knock-offs, Rocket League Sideswipe gives you a lot of Rocket League flavor in a 2D. mobile form. It’s a free-to-play mobile game, with the control issues and monetization gripes that come with the genre, but it’s great to know that Rocket League rules no matter the platform.