Rocket League will take a trip back in time next week with the start of a new in-game event called Radical Summer. Beginning June 10 and running for nine weeks, the event will return players to the glory days of the 1980s with three separate celebrations of "iconic movies, television, and culture" from the era with new items, time-limited game modes, and cars.
First up, from June 10 to July 1, is '80s Blockbusters, which will feature the Ghostbusters Ecto-1 Car Pack, with the Ecto-1 Battle-Car, Ecto-1 Wheels, Proton Pack Boost, Slimer Topper, a Ghostbusters player banner and avatar, and the Stay Puft Goal Explosion, for $2. It will also feature the event's first limited-time game mode, appropriately called Ghost Hunt, a 3v3 contest in which players use proton streams (don't cross them) to capture the ball and then deposit it into the opposing team's Containment Zone. The Blockbusters segment will also feature other big summer flicks from the day including Back to the Future, ET, The Goonies, and Karate Kid.
Once the films are finished, it'll be time to move on to '80s Culture, whatever that was. A new Spike Rush mode that gives all players the Spike powerup from Rumble will be playable from July 1-22, and there will also be new items "highlighting the iconic culture of the '80s" (so, leg warmers, the Walkman, and ridiculous haircuts?) available in the Rocket League store.
Last but not least, from July 22 to August 12, '80s Television will step into the spotlight with a tribute to that inimitable cultural touchstone, Knight Rider. There will of course be a Knight Rider car pack featuring KITT and other Knight Industries-themed items (details will be revealed later) and a 2v2 Beach Ball mode with a larger ball, lower ball gravity, and the Curveball mutator in play. The television segment will also feature appearances by DreamWorks Voltron Legendary Defender and stuff from WWE but not, apparently, Hardcastle and McCormick, despite it having the vastly superior-to-KITT Cody Coyote. I don't even know Psyonix could be thinking here.
I'm also a bit mystified by the absence of a segment built around '80s music. Videogames are more of a visual than an aural medium, sure, but music is one of the few things from that era that most of us who lived through it don't reflexively disavow—except, ironically, stuff like this.
An update to prep Rocket League for the big blast from the past will be rolled out today, and should be live by the time you read this. You can stay on top of the situation at rocketleague.com.
