Roller Champions hands-on premiere: Ubisoft’s fun, F2P answer to Rocket League

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  Say hello to Ubisoft’s latest free-to-play game, Roller Champions, which is now live on the UPlay game launcher for Windows PCs. Play its E3 demo for completely free (no microtransactions) between now and June 14. If you like Rocket League at all, we recommend giving the freebie a shot. [credit:
  Ubisoft ]

LOS ANGELES—During its E3 2019 press conference, Ubisoft revealed a previously leaked three-on-three sports game, Roller Champions. But the company still had a tidy surprise for anyone who already knew about this virtual take on roller derby: the game is now available to download and play as part of a limited, E3-timed online demo for free.

Based on a half-hour of hands-on time playing the game ahead of the conference, we strongly suggest anyone with a Windows PC and the UPlay game launcher—and an affinity for the virtual-sports action of Rocket League—do just that.

The above gallery will tell you mostly everything you need to know about how the game looks and plays. Flashy, clear character designs whip around an oval skate track at high speeds, all vying for possession of a ball that must be carried or tossed all the way around the track at least one full lap before it can be “scored.” Tossing the ball into a single hoop, hanging on the side of the track, will score your team that point, or you can try to keep possession for another lap or two to increase your shot’s score value. Lose the ball, and the lap-count resets for the other team. First team to five points wins.