Rocket League Sideswipe is growing up and almost in double digits, as Season 8 has kicked off on May 22nd. You can take part in a new ranked mode, get your hands on some nice new cosmetic items, or continue your uninterrupted climb up the Rocket Pass ladder.

Season 8 comes on a bit of a personal sombre note, as the reintroduction of 3v3 ranked was quite a lot of fun, however, all good things come to an end. For this new season, you can now take to the court and see who has the best handling with 2v2 Ranked Hoops.

As you can probably guess, Hoops is the basketball version of Rocket League. There are two giant baskets on either side that you need to get the ball over and into, so a lot of your standard strategies won’t work, you need to effectively aim downwards, not sideways. Beyond being a fun new mode, it is an interesting strategic change that will need a big alteration to how you play.

As you play a few games of this new mode, you will of course be filling up the Rocket Pass, but with a difference. Starting last Season, Rocket Pass progression is officially permanent, so you will be carrying right on from last month. It was of course announced last season, but there is always that sense of hesitation until it is properly implemented, so it is definitely a welcome sight to see in action.

Of course, a new season means new items in the Item Shop, to help you look as flashy as you can for when you slam dunk yourself into the hoop. The Sky Blue Holo Data Goal Explosion will be you that techy look when you manage to score a goal, and the Sky Blue Tsunami Beam will give you that full smurf look, you just need to hope you never join the orange team.

Rocket League Sideswipe can be downloaded now from the App Store and Google Play.