Roller Champions Review: Skate to Score

Ubisoft’s latest free-to-play, co-op multiplayer, hyper-sports roller skating title Roller Champions has been released. Prior to its release, we had some hands-on experience with the title. So how does it look? Let’s take a closer look at Roller Champions and see if it should be the next game for you and your friends to play in your casual gaming sessions.

Since the release of Rocket League back in 2015, the Hyper Sports genre has exploded into the mainstream gaming world. From the fan-favorite battle royale title Fall Guys to the forgettable vehicular-combat PS5 launch title Destruction AllStars, the market for games catering to the casual arcade co-op audience has expanded over the last few years. Ubisoft’s upcoming roller skating hyper-sports title Roller Champions is the latest and possibly one of the best offerings in this genre.

I have spent quite a while casually playing Rocket League with friends, trying different trick shots and fun unique ways to score a goal. When Ubisoft first showed off Roller Champions back in E3 2019, I was cautiously optimistic. The game certainly looked interesting, but not enough to get me excited about playing it. However, after spending some time in Quick Play matches and Skatepark, my initial perception of the title has changed. I’m quite excited about not only what Ubisoft is offering at launch but about its future perspective as well.

Roller Champions Review - Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater meets Rocket League

Ubisoft’s Roller Champions was initially pitched to be in a similar vein as Rocket League, a hyper-sports title that is perfect for casual gaming with friends. However, calling Roller Champions just another addition to the genre is unfair. While at face value, the game does offer an opportunity to jump in and have some fun with friends, it is much more than that. It offers the 'easy to learn, hard to master' gameplay to players. The physics-based arcade sports title requires not only the skill to seamlessly skate around the stadium but also the tactical awareness of whether to score at every opportunity or to take the higher risk of going around multiple laps and winning at once. With that being said, let’s take a closer look at what this free-to-play title offers to gamers.

Game Modes - hop into Quick Match or just hang out at the Skatepark

Roller Champions kicks off with a short tutorial that gets players acquainted with the controls and the basic game mechanics. After completing the short tutorial, the game takes the players to the main menu, where they can queue for a quick match or partner up with friends in a custom match. Players can also spend time performing tricks in the Skatepark. The Quick Match mode puts players in a simple 3v3 match in Roller Champions, with a target to score 5 points and win. Playing 10 quick matches unlocks the ranked mode, where players can compete against other players and get placed in an official ranking. Aside from solo-queuing quick or ranked matches, the real fun experience that Roller Champions has to offer is playing with friends in co-op or custom matches.

The game modes of Roller Champions (Image via Roller Champions)

Most of my play-session consisted of custom matches, where all of the players were together in a discord voice channel. Although it doesn’t really compare to real-life interaction, it was an amazing experience nevertheless. This added to an overall fun gaming session that included social aspects of playing together, coming up with team-play strategies on the spot, and distracting opponents, which took the competitive nature of the game and elevated it to a more casual and fun experience.

Ubisoft has taken this social aspect of Roller Champions island and expanded it in the Skatepark mode, where players can show off their skills. While the arena is mostly a straightforward elongated lap, the Skatepark is more of a sandbox filled with several structures that lend to the idea of showing off tricks on the rollerskates.

The regular game modes and the Skatepark are quite enjoyable, but it doesn’t offer much variety aside from that. A couple more game mode variations or a wider customization in Custom matches would have been beneficial in keeping the players engaged for a longer time. Hopefully, Ubisoft will add more game modes to Roller Champions in the future.

Gameplay - score one point at a time or go for a one-shot win?

The basic gameplay of Roller Champions is quite easy to learn. However, at the same time, it does require a higher skill level. Mastering the physics-based moveset will guarantee domination in the match. Players take on the role of roller skaters (which they create at the start of the game) and compete in a 3v3 score-based match. The arena is a simple double lane elongated lap consisting of four pillars, two on each side.

Each of the pillars represents a checkpoint, which the player or their team has to pass through to be able to score at the next pillar. As soon as the match starts, the ball drops from one of the pillars, and this kicks off the game. Whichever team gets the ball first, has to carry it through the four pillars to complete a lap and score. Meanwhile, the opposing team aims to not only make the player drop the ball but to get it for themselves, as it resets the opponent's progression through the lap. To get the ball from an opponent, players can tackle them, and to avoid an incoming tackle, players can not only swerve but also jump out of the way.

While it does sound simple at first, a match of Roller Champions can quickly evolve from a casual gameplay to one with multiple levels of calculative thinking involved. From dodging players to implementing teamwork in engaging opponents whilst another teammate takes the responsibility to score, the game requires a lot of coordination. When it comes to scoring, Ubisoft has also implemented an opportunity for critical thinking in scoring. Each team has a target score of 5 points, and the team that reaches that score first, wins the match. A team must complete a lap to score, but that’s not all. Scoring after one lap gives the team one point. However, completing two laps will grant them three points and completing three laps will result in five points and an instant win. An instant win after three laps can sound enticing, but it also comes with higher risks, as opponents can steal the ball and break the three-lap streak.

During my play-session, one of the teammates took the responsibility to score, while I tailed them, tackling opponents and acting as an enforcer. This teamwork was quite a contrast to our opponents, who chose to play individually, each attacking and trying to steal the ball, but not being able to keep up. However, that did not mean the match was one-sided. The opponents were successful in stealing the ball and scoring on several occasions.

All in all, the gameplay turned out to be everything the title promised, and then built upon it. Based on the free-to-play nature paired with the 'easy to learn, hard to master' skillset, I could easily see Roller Champions garnering a dedicated yet niche competitive audience. It could garner a competitive scene that's not too dissimilar from that of Rocket League.

Music - We kinda rock this bar, You look like a superstar

Music plays an important role in any video game. A good soundtrack is capable of setting the stage and getting players excited. Ubisoft has always paid close attention to music for its titles. From relaxing sea shanties like Leave Her, Johnny in Black Flag to the blood pumping Lorde’s Everybody Wants to Rule the World in Unity’s cinematic with the backdrop of the French Revolution, to the fun party tunes of Ricky Martin’s Livin' La Vida Loca in Far Cry 6, music is what has made Ubisoft titles over the years, and Roller Champions is no exception.

In its nature, Roller Champions is a very upbeat casual title and that tone is not only embraced by its soundtrack but rather founded and built upon it. From the rhythmic melodies of Superstar by Beatrich to the somewhat haunting lyrics of Aviva’s Psycho to the upbeat tone of A Tooth for an Eye by The Knife, the game presents an amazing catalog of soundtracks that will urge you to spend more time in the game. During the time I spent in Roller Champions, I enjoyed the soundtrack through and through, bobbing my head along the beats. For other games, I cannot wait to queue in for a new match, but Roller Champions made me want to spend more time in the menu, browsing different options while listening to the upbeat music.

Customization and Roller Pass - Ball’er Roller Skater

Roller Champions is a free-to-play live service title with cosmetics-only microtransactions and a seasonal battle pass system called the Roller Pass. Egregious microtransactions in AAA titles are unfortunately becoming the norm, which is something that Ubisoft has been guilty of on several occasions. However, that isn't the case for Roller Champions. All customizations are cosmetic only and do not affect gameplay, and despite being a free-to-play title, neither does it constantly push the store to the forefront of the menu, nor is the store filled up to the brim with unfairly priced unflattering items.

Roller Champions follows a colorful hyper-cartoonish art style, reminiscent of that of other popular live service titles like Fortnite and Overwatch, and this art style is not only carried over but also exaggerated with the cosmetic options. The player starts off with a simplistic grey shirt and black shorts, but the real fun begins after unlocking and equipping different cosmetic options ranging from hair to roller skates.

The Roller Pass consists of 100 tiers and two parallel paths, one free and one locked behind a premium price tier. The premium tiers host the most extravagant rewards, but that’s not to discredit the free tiers, which also provide amazing-looking cosmetic items. Furthermore, completing the premium tier helps players earn back the invested wheels, the premium currency of Roller Champions.

The cosmetics of Roller Champions don’t necessarily add anything special to the gameplay, but it sets every player apart with different shirts, shorts, headgears, and emotes, which is quite enjoyable at the end of a match, on the winning celebration screen.

Performance - It runs smoothly on integrated graphics

Roller Champions has been developed to attract a wider audience. From the free-to-play model to the simplistic controls, everything about the title emphasizes that fact. In an age where more demanding games are released every day for the sake of higher fidelity visuals, Roller Champions takes a different approach. As a fast-paced multiplayer title, a fluent gameplay framerate is of the essence, and the game has been optimized to run smoothly at the lowest end of systems. I ran the game on dedicated graphics. Meanwhile, one of my teammates tried it on Intel integrated graphics and got a playable 30-45fps on low to medium settings. The modern-day integrated graphics APUs have become quite powerful (one only needs to look at the handy and capable Steam Deck), and running a recent game smoothly on an integrated graphics chip is certainly quite an achievement.

After winning a match (Image from Roller Champions)

The smooth gameplay does not take away from its visuals. As Roller Champions follows a hyper-cartoonish art style, it does require lower horsepower than the realistic graphical titles. It also means that the game looks good on the lowest of the low settings. The system I tested the title on is as follows:

CPU: Intel Core i5 8300H @3.90 GHz
GPU: GTX 1060 (6 GB)
RAM: 16 GB DDR4 @2666 MHz
OS: Windows 11 (version 22H2)
Control: Xbox style Controller
Graphical Settings: High preset
Average Framerate: 80fps in match

Aside from the mostly smooth performance, the game did have a few noticeable issues. Throughout the gameplay in the early access build, I faced some micro-stutters. While the stutters did not ruin the game, it was noticeable enough to break the immersion. My teammate's game crashed in the middle of the game, during which an AI took his place. He was able to relaunch the game and join again.

In Conclusion

Ubisoft’s Roller Champions offers a very simplistic premise, a roller-skating lap with a target to score after completing laps with the ball. The gameplay environment presented by the title, with its music and art style, is very laid-back, fun, and casual. The free-to-play nature also adds to its appeal, as players can try out the title without any monetary commitment. The Skatepark is the perfect game mode to group up with friends, hang out, and showcase different skills. The skills available in the game are quite easy to pick up, but they also provide enough leeway to build upon them and refine them to gain a competitive advantage based on skills.

In my over 2 hours of hands-on experience provided by Ubisoft, I had an amazing time in the game's custom lobbies, from swerving through other players to tacking and getting tackled by other players in an attempt to steal the ball. All in all, the free-to-play title is highly recommended for players to try out and have some fun with friends or to host a casual tournament to see who can score the most.