this game used to be good. over a decade ago. but now? it's riddled with some of the poorest game design decisions on the market. seriously, please take this as a case study for what NOT to do and how to NOT make a game.

happy to provide examples, but i don't think it necessary if you've played even a single round.

RUMBLE is one of the coolest VR games I've ever played but it's almost unplayable after a certain point because of its matchmaking. And not in a toxic way, just the nature of VR and smaller games with smaller playerbases.

Rumble really takes what VR is all about and created a truly skill-based physical combat experience like no other. It feels absurd summoning rocks and flailing them in advantageous ways to best your opponent. It's this weird kind of drug that gets really addicting the more you do it. The UI and overall aesthetic of the game fits perfectly with its theme and the art-style really complements the gameplay, from the tactility to the visual feedback of what's going on, it's just so great.

As for the personally frustrating part of this game: the matchmaking. The playerbase is REALLY small (like < 60 as of writing this), so if you eventually work your way through the ranks and play against the small fraction of the playerbase that's relatively new, you end up in this weird limbo where you can't really compete anymore because everyone you face are seasoned RUMBLE players that are flying around the map slinging rocks from behind you, leaving you blind in all the dust you're covered in lol. The other spectrum of this (since you can control how many ranks above/below you can allow matchmaking against, not that it matters when you're the highest rank), is you being matched against the absolute newbies.

I really want to emphasize that the players in this game are so friendly and helpful and overall just a blast to play against. And it's no one's fault that players who've been practicing and playing this for a long time want to use their sick moves on others in the ring, but it is unfortunate that it can be the rock wall (heh) that stops you from having fair matches and improving your RUMBLE-ing. I'm not even mentioning the fact that you can play against your friends in private matches, which is just as fun and removes the frustration of the matchmaking issues.

So, all-in-all, this game is awesome. It can be frustrating at times, especially in the beginning, but that's no reason to not try. And if you really want to get better and have the time to sink into it, asking your opponents and learning from them is a great strategy. But if you're like me and enjoy a more casual approach to games like these, getting a fair match is an unfavorable gamble.

Get the game and play it. It's honestly what this game really needs - more players.