Rocket Racing hands-on: thrilling, gravity-defying motorsport comes to the Fortnite launcher

It’s been a while since we’ve had a good arcade racer that isn’t Mario Kart

Fortnite has Mario Kart now. Following its addition of not-Minecraft in Lego Fortnite yesterday, today we take to the podium in a high-octane arcade racer from the developer behind Rocket League.

It’s a racing game that’s all about holding down the throttle and rarely letting off, using wide, arcing drifts to take corners and build up a boost. 

But rather than giving you shells and banana skins to throw off your opponents, this racer is all about finding your lines. The vehicles here can do almost anything they can in Rocket League, the studio’s vehicle-based soccer game. That means you can fly and cut corners, as well as stick to ceilings or walls. 

The cars in Fortnite Rocker Racing can do almost anything they can in Rocket League :: Epic Games / Psyonix

In one of the tracks I played, there was a waterfall next to a tight corner. Boost jump through it, and you cut the corner out entirely and skip to the front of the pack. 

If you want to flip to a wall or ceiling, you just tap X (on Xbox) and a direction, and your car flips and grips straight to it. You can either do this to avoid obstacles or other vehicles, or to take advantage of boost pads dotted around the track. Of course, you have more traction and speed if you stay on the ground, so there’s a lot of on-the-fly strategizing in your mind as you skid and steer through the competition. 

Races are extremely tight due to a catch-up mechanic that lets the people at the back of the pack move faster to catch up, and much of the race is decided on who uses their boost at the right time, as well as who’s mastered the drifting mechanic. Drift around a turn and you get a burst of speed, as well as filling up your main boost tank. Do you want to hold onto some for the final stretch or secure a lead early on? 

Fortnite Rocket Racing comes with over 20 tracks at launch :: Epic Games / Psyonix

The ability to jump and boost-glide at any time makes for some daring and desperate plays. As one of the only people in my group to get to grips with the drift mechanic straight away, I didn’t feel much need to try to flip over corners, but I could see them behind me – some of them successfully bouncing across and others careening into walls before exploding. 

It’s been a while since we’ve had a good arcade racer that isn’t Mario Kart, and Rocket Racing has plenty of personality to set it apart from Nintendo’s racer, despite its similarities. Even after playing for just 45 minutes, I can see how the meta might evolve, with the best players charting the riskiest, most rewarding racing lines through each track while the community attempts to follow suit. 

With over 20 tracks at launch across three biomes – as well as a track editor promised later – Rocket Racing shows a lot of promise. Grab your Rocket League and Fortnite skins (we’re promised cross-progression across all games), and I’ll see you on the podium.