It’s been a week since April Fool’s day and, like many other games, Rocket League had its own spin on pulling a prank on its player base. However, as opposed to last year’s “Embiggened Mode,” which turned all in-game toppers into enormous versions of themselves, this year the joke was a little more subtle.
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A ‘Shitty’ April Fool’s
This year, popular reddit and Twitter artist “Shitty Watercolour” provided Psyonix with some amusing art to use as background images for the various game modes. It’s not the first time he’s done this, as a player banner with his art is also available in-game. Having become popular on reddit, Shitty Watercolour is an avid Rocket League player and popular in the community for his many amusing RL-related pieces.
Too subtle, or perfect?
Where last year the joke was extremely obvious, this year it was much more watered down. Optional April Fool’s jokes are a safe option, as it doesn’t annoy players who simply want to continue playing the game regardless of the date. So far, Rocket League April Fool’s jokes have never been mandatory. The very first iteration changed all the icons for the ranks to vegetables. Bronze players became potatoes and Grand Champions sported the eggplant. As we mentioned earlier, last year’s event saw toppers increase in size. But toppers are completely optional, allowing players to ignore the April Fool’s gag, if they so chose.
Is this the perfect approach to April Fool’s in competitive games, or should Psyonix have done more? After the success of the first year, players have asked if the vegetable ranks can become a permanent option. So far, we’ve yet to see them return. Should you want those ranks back, however, PC players can always use the popular BakkesMod software.
It will be interesting to see what Psyonix have up their sleeves for 2020.
