Developer: Winterpixel Games Inc
Price: Free
Size: 38 MB
Version: 1.0.7
Platform: iPhone & iPad
Rocket Bot Royale is an online battle royale game, but don’t let that fool you. This is no hardcore PUBG or Fortnite-style game, requiring all of your fingers and toes to operate and with rounds lasting 45 minutes of your time.
Indeed, Rocket Bot Royale isn’t even 3D. Its manic tank battles are viewed side-on, and each scrap takes seconds to get into and only marginally longer to complete – at least at first.
Levels are deformable, like Worms
Your first bouts will doubtless see you counting among the first casualties in the game’s 25-player face-offs, probably through your own misadventure rather than a rival’s rocket.
While the controls and mechanics are simple, they take some getting used to. You have virtual left and right buttons on the left side of the screen, and your right thumb drags to aim and releases to fire your tank’s cannon. It can feel a little like rubbing your tummy whilst patting your head, especially when you factor in your tank’s adhesive tracks messing with your equilibrium.
Each round starts with a timed helicopter jump
Hopping up to higher levels on each twisty arena involves shooting down at the ground, which can just as easily send you careening into the goop below, meaning instant round over.
That goop will rise over time, forcing contestants to move into an ever more constricted space. Another variable is that the terrain around you is fully deformable, so you can literally blow a hole through an opponent’s cover, not to mention your own.
Levels frequently culminate in lots of tiny islands
Together with the explosive all-against-all action, the 2D perspective, and an array of comically explosive ordnance, it’s clear to see a strong Worms influence at play. It’s in real-time, and your tank is way more agile, but it’s right there.
Also clear to see is developer Winterpixel Games Inc’s strong link to Noodlecake. The studio was set up by the Noodlecake’s founders, and Rocket Bot Royale’s rinky-dink aesthetic could have been lifted straight from Super Stickman Golf 3.
Collect coins and weapons from defeated opponents
Rocket Bot Royale is a much less considered and more chaotic game than that classic, but it has its own live-wire appeal. The speed of each round, and the impetus to accrue experience points and virtual currency (all the better to buy bigger and better explosives with) makes returning for just one go difficult to resist.
The game also supports squad play, enabling you to invite three friends along for a co-operative ride when solo play grows tiresome.
Steer clear of the drink
We do have some concern over the potential to buy a job lot of the more powerful weaponry before each round. It’s not quite pay-to-win, but you can certainly gain a sustained advantage if you have more credits – which can, of course, be bought in large amounts with real money.
You can also gain that money through sustained play, however, while weapons can also be collected from the battlefield. Ultimately, skill and good fortune are the most potent deciding factors here, as with any good battle royale.
It remains to be seen if Rocket Bot Royale has the depth and balance that every good battle royale needs to build a community, but it has a number of the right ingredients in place. At the very least, there are a tankful of laughs to be had in your first dozen or so games.