How do you feel when you hear or read the words, free to play? A game with a no-cost entry, play to your heart’s content and have fun. A multitude of questions may run through your head. Is the game pay to win? Is it worth my time? Do microtransactions ruin the experience? The list is endless but let’s not beat around the bush, some of the biggest games in the world cost nothing to play. Fortnite, Warzone and Apex Legends to name a few. These are absolute behemoths in the gaming world with the sole purpose of capturing revenue through paid cosmetic microtransactions and battle passes. Roller Champions skates onto all major platforms as the newest live service game with no barriers. Ubisoft has tried and failed before to enter this busy market. Can they achieve success this time around?

What is Roller Champions?

Roller Champions is a competitive 3v3 sports title that sets you out on a pair of rollerblades. The arena is shaped similar to a Velodrome that you’ll perhaps recognise from the Olympics or Commonwealth Games. The premise of the game is very simple and that is to beat your opponent and be the first to reach five points. As I always do with any new title, I highly recommend playing the short tutorial features to familiarise yourself with the controls. You’ll need your teamwork hat on, being greedy with the ball will set you up for failure. Once the game commences, the ball will drop into the court in a random area in a choice of four. Whichever team collects the ball will need to traverse around the arena passing through gates in order to activate the goalmouth. Activate four gates as your zip around the track and you’ll have an opportunity to net a goal.

Careering around once will bag your team one point if you score, manage to circle around twice without losing the ball and you’ll score three points, three times will net you five points. Whilst imagining this may sound simple when you have three of the opposing team bombing towards you hoping to take you to the ground, it becomes an intense, high-adrenaline affair. It doesn’t matter how many gates you’ve passed through, lose the ball and the chain is broken and you must begin the cycle all over again. Scoring a goal requires perfect timing and precision. As you approach the goal which is close to the ceiling, you’ll be going at speed and if you miss, the ball becomes loose and can be collected from the other team.

Gameplay & Modes

The variety of modes on offer in Roller Champions mimics the same structure as similar offerings in the genre. Choose to practice, quick casual matches or jump into ranked mode. Completing ten quick matches is required to try and climb the tiers in the ranking system. At the time of writing, there were no seasonal modes to try but they are coming. I’d imagine these will be a mash-up of time-limited options to try. Reading into it further, it appears we will see modes such as 2v2 and hot potato. Whilst there is plenty to get your teeth stuck into from the start, I couldn’t help but think that what was there could become stale after a short period of time.

I’ll get it out of the way now, you need to be a team player to achieve success with this game. Whether you play solo with randoms or as a team with friends, you’ll be hard pushed to take the win without passing and moving. Controlling movement is simple and is performed with analogue sticks. The real struggle I found and still find now is the learning curve on how to tackle successfully. Tapping X will lunge towards a targeted player, a missed tackle, however, can prove a costly exercise. A failed attempt at freeing the ball from the opponent can turn into you dropping to the floor, losing valuable seconds. Passing is such a satisfying part of the game whether giving or receiving. Pressing Y can call for a pass from your team if you’re in close proximity, the same button will throw the ball to your teammate. Communication, precise movement, patience and cautious tackling all play a part in each game, practice makes perfect, sometimes.

Is it Pay to Win?

Those of your reading will be glad to learn that there is no pay to win element within the game. As expected there are paid cosmetics scattered throughout the in-game store for those who want to invest in a fresh and funky look for their skater. Battle passes are present from the very start with a thirty tier pass to start players off with, this early version comes in at a reasonably low cost of £3.99. I’d place bets on the next season being around the £7.99 mark with around 100 tiers or so. Whether you love or hate these seasonal updates, they are the bread and butter for developers and publishers as they rake continuous revenue whilst keeping players engaged.

New outfits, rollerblades, emotes and looks can be acquired as you progress and these can be altered and changed to your heart’s content. If you want to keep things basic and pay for nothing, you can absolutely do this, with no strings attached.

Graphics & Audio

Roller Champions paints itself as your typical free to play title in terms of appearance. Arenas are bright and vivid with splashes of neon paint throughout. Character models are cartoony to appeal to a broad audience with the flexibility to be decorated with those all-important cosmetic items. Menus come across as basic but clear and concise with touches of vibrance that cascade down from the game’s aesthetics. I’d liken it very much to the visuals of Knockout City, but not quite as pretty and vibrant as say, Rocket League. Character models could be vastly improved, especially in terms of altering facial features. The variety of arenas was thin on the ground with only a handful and often the same one several times you play, it made each game sometimes feel like a rinse and repeat operation.

Audio is a mixed bag and will have a combination of feelings from players. In-game music follows similar vibes to the title Rocket League with high-tempo beats that will have you nodding your head. I did notice some licensed musicians on the soundtrack but was unsure if all the tracks in the playlist were by known people in the industry. Commentary during gameplay keeps the adrenaline pumping and adds that competitive serious nature to the game. 

In Conclusion

I went into Roller Champions with minimal expectations. Ubisoft appears to be desperate to imbed themselves with a successful live service game alongside EA, Epic Games and Activision. They have already tried and failed miserably with Hyperscape. Recently Ubi has also shown some concepts for future free to play projects that suffered hugely negative feedback from the gaming community. With those factors in mind, I do believe that this game has some strong legs if it can filter through fresh ideas, playlists and interesting, affordable cosmetics.

Many may compare Roller Champions to the already mentioned Rocket League. It boasts a similar experience in high adrenaline, fast-paced gameplay in short and sharp matches. I’m really enjoying my time with this one and it is unique enough to persist with quick casual phases. You’ll have the most fun playing and teaming up with friends for sure, but the solo players can integrate for fun sessions. Personally, I’m intrigued to see if this one will last into the distant future. It reminds me of the success of the launch of Knockout City where it had a huge influx of players and then dropped off the radar. Only time will tell whether this suffers the same fate, or goes on to strive. There is no excuse not to try Roller Champions, downloading it won’t cost you a penny. I’m crossing my fingers for Ubisoft that they can finally get a victorious game under their belt amongst the pile.