Shaun Munro reviews Disc Jam…
Released for “free” as part of PlayStation Plus’ Instant Game Collection, High Horse Entertainment’s Disc Jam has already been widely touted as “the new Rocket League“, a half-apt, half-reductive comparison that may both help and hinder the sci-fi sports title in the long run.
For what it’s worth, Disc Jam is almost as finger-numbingly addictive as Psyonix’s car football phenomenon, though is actually most inspired by the 90s top-down sports classic Windjammers. In 1v1 or 2v2 set-ups, players essentially play a futuristic tennis-air hockey-volleyball mash-up of sorts, attempting to fling a disc past their opponent’s portion of field. Games are played out in best-of-three rounds, with the first player to score 50 points taking each round. The longer a rally goes on uninterrupted, the more points the eventual scorer will gain.
In these bite-sized 3-5 minute matches, both the thrill of victory and frustration of defeat are palpably felt. It is a game that’s incredibly easy to pick up and play, but also immensely challenging to master. Though players may be tempted to dive straight into some online mayhem, the fairly comprehensive tutorial section is absolutely recommended; some of the more intricate throwing techniques will give you a huge advantage out on the court (especially the game-changing Super Throws, which are extremely difficult to catch).
1v1 is the meat and potatoes of the game, while 2v2 is alternately fun and infuriating dependent entirely on who you’re teamed with. It can be especially annoying when you’re paired with an inattentive or lesser-skilled player for the third or fourth game in a row, and you may resolve to basically trying to take your two opponents on by yourself. Hopefully the planned introduction of ranked play in the near-future will help sort the wheat from the chaff, as currently you’re just paired with…whoever.
Fans of couch co-op can also rejoice, because both 1v1 and 2v2 are supported locally, though this inclusion unfortunately isn’t wholly indicative of a game flush with content, and this is where that Rocket League comparison really starts to hurt Disc Jam.
Rocket League has come a long way since its launch, but it still felt like a meaty enough proposition on day one. Were it not for the fact that this game is launching as part of the PS+ IGC and is being flogged for a very reasonable price on PC, it would be easy to call foul the glut of missing features that really should have been ready for launch. There’s a total lack of custom matches (such as the ability to add modifiers and alter both the max points per round and total number of rounds), only one arena to battle in, merely four laughably generic avatars to control, no bots for when the servers go down (which at the time of press seems quite frequent) and no ranked play, stat tracking or even a basic progression system.
High Horse has stated that the lack of bots is due to the need for players to compete against one another for the time being and keep the community alive, and ranked play is apparently coming sometime soon, but for now, the game does feel a little low on basic features that are pretty much expected in this type of game in 2017.
Even with all of this missing content, room has been made for a bizarre rewards system, where players earn a nebulous currency after every match which can can only be used on a Prize Machine that will unlock new discs, taunts and cosmetic items which, for the most part, aren’t very interesting. It’s RNG fare as tedious usual and won’t be rewarding in the slightest to all but the most collection-obsessed.
Also, in extensive playtests, matchmaking can indeed take some time; even on launch day wait times were sometimes 2-3 minutes for a game to start, which could be a major hindrance to the health of the game’s community moving forward. Server issues were also apparent, but it doesn’t seem entirely fair to wholeheartedly condemn the game for this on day one.
Disc Jam is a game of huge potential, albeit one that honestly doesn’t feel remotely finished; High Horse has near enough admitted that the game shipped earlier than they would have liked in order to be part of the IGC. It’s probably not reasonable to glibly compare the “final” product to an Early Access title because the core gameplay is very robust – though absolutely lacking the death-defying complexity and impressive visuals of Rocket League – but it does feel very much like a work-in-progress, especially with so many expected features apparently to be patched in later.
As the current product stands, it’s absurdly addictive and a ton of fun whether you’ve got a PS+ subscription or are shelling a few quid out for it on PC. If it stands the test of time as Rocket League has will depend entirely on how strongly the developers – admittedly just a two-man team at present – commit to their promises for the future. On the other hand, even if they never followed through on any of their promises, would Disc Jam still be worth your time and a fistful of change right now? In spite of its flaws, absolutely.
Pros
+ Incredibly addictive, easy to pick up and play
+ Has enormous potential if it’s supported in the long run
Cons
– Current lack of content makes the package feel rather bare-bones
– Matchmaking isn’t particularly smooth
Rating – 7/10
Reviewed for PS4 (also available on PC).
Shaun Munro – Follow me on Twitter for more video game rambling.
Originally published March 8, 2017. Updated April 15, 2018.
