Fortnite’s more than just a battle royale game, a sandbox survival game with Lego, and a metaverse playground where you can watch a giant Eminem perform. It’s also an arcade racer now, thanks to the addition of Rocket Racing, a new game in Fortnite built by the team behind Rocket League.
It’s also incredibly fun, and at just 2-3 minutes per race, Rocket Racing is worth checking out if you have even marginal interest in games like Need for Speed, Trackmania, or Hydro Thunder. (I only mention that last one because the trailer for Rocket Racing includes flying race cars launching through waterfalls that obscure shortcuts.)
Rocket Racing takes the imaginative car physics and customizable cars of Rocket League and throws them onto fantastical, impossible race courses. Cars fly through the air, turbo boost at hundreds of kilometers per hour, and even drive on walls and ceilings.
It’s the opposite of a driving sim; this is boiled-down, heavily purified arcade racing action, delivered in short but potent doses. Developer Psyonix describes it as an arcade racer played at 11, with mechanics focused on rocket-powered boosts and freedom of movement. Having played it earlier this week at a hands-on event in New York City, that description of Rocket Racing feels accurate. Tracks are plastered with obstacles that can damage your car, as well as speed pads that will give it a jolt of acceleration. Drifting around corners also gives your car an instant boost and fills up a turbo boost meter, which you can deploy on straightaways for ludicrous speeds. There’s even a starting line boost, à la Mario Kart, if you’re looking for even more speed-boosting potential.
Rocket Racing, much like Lego Fortnite, also brings in some cosmetics players
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