Rocket League will soon be celebrating its fourth anniversary on July 7, and have released their Summer event, Radical Summer, to kick off the festivities. Members of the Rocket League team spoke at length about the nine-week event, which runs from June 10 through August 19, during an E3 Coliseum panel earlier today. Host Greg Miller of Kinda Funny was joined by Rocket League team members Jeremy Dunham (Vice President of Publishing), Scott Rudi (Game Director), and Jason Rowells (Art Director) as they spoke about the event, giving a lot of detail of what’s to come this summer.
The panel kicked off with the trailer for the event, which features “Playing with the Boys” by Kenny Loggins. The song also makes a featured appearance in the game during the event. Dunham made special note that the trailer is meant to be watched multiple times, as the team has hidden more than a few surprises for those paying close attention. “There are hints to what’s in our next Rocket Pass in there, there are hints as to what’s in our next crate in there, there’s hints as to ways you can unlock content that may not otherwise be obtained in there,” says Dunham.
While Dunham and the others were playfully secretive about the bonuses in the trailer, they were perfectly candid about what players can expect during the event. Radical summer will be divided into three phases, each bringing new, limited-time events. The first phase, which is happening now, is called ’80s Blockbusters (June 10-June 30). This phase brings a ton of ’80s classic movies, such as Ghostbusters, E.T., The Goonies, and the Karate Kid. The famous car from Ghostbusters, Ecto-1, also makes its debut. The event for this phase is called “Ghost Hunt,” where players will use photon beams to capture the ball and bring it to stationary ground traps to score points.
The next phase, called ’80s Culture (July 1-July 21), celebrates all things ’80s such as the VCR and brick phones. ’80s Culture also brings the game mode that the team is most excited about, called “Spike Rush,” which they described as rugby on wheels. Players will toggle the spikes from Rumble at will to catch and throw the ball into the opposing team’s goal. However, when a player has the ball spiked, they will not be able to boost, adding a good amount of strategy to the gameplay. The team noted that this mode, depending on the player reaction, has the best chance of sticking around for good.
The final phase is called ’80s Television (July 22-August 11), bringing in another iconic car, Kit from Knight Rider, which Rowells pointed out has the same hitbox as the Ecto-1 and the Dominus. Items from classic WWE, Voltron, and even a Macho Man Randy Savage car topper will also make an appearance during this part of the event. The special mode, called “Beach Ball” is an obligatory summer past-time inclusion, played on the updated Salty Shores map.
For fans of the game, the panel is a must-watch, and you can check out the full video right here. Also, be sure to check out the Rocket League Radical Summer event going on right now!