This guide is the main part of my Review for the game.
http://cs2bus.com/id/Bash7/recommended/252950/
The reasons for choosing this format are as follows:

1. The character limit for Steam Reviews is around 7500 - this guide has over 15500...
   
2. The reason for this number is, that I want to talk about so much this game has to offer.
   
3. Adding to this, is the fact that I wanted to justify making this a guide, so I put even more into it - like lots of reference.

Enjoy the ride and feel free to give my review a visit.

First of all, a gamepad is strongly recommended for this game, playing with keyboard and mouse will probably restrict your play.[redd.it]
So in the unlikely event, you haven't heard of this game before, let me tell you about the basics first.

• Every match has a standard duration of 5 minutes, not counting the time replays take.
  
• Each of you drives a supersonic-acrobatic-rocket-powered-battle-car and the goal is to score more goals than the other team.
  
• If a game ends in a tie, you go into golden-goal overtime.
  
• Throughout the map are boost pads, which you can gather to raise your boost meter.[redd.it]
  You start with 33 and a small pickup[greghorrorshow.files.wordpress.com] gives you an additional of 12. You can also collect one of the 6 orbs[vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net] (amount on standard arenas) which will fill your bar fully.
  
• You use the boost to accelerate your car and eventually reach supersonic speed[redd.it], signaled by an additional trail coming from your wheels[artgames.info]. You can stop boosting now because anything more would be wasted.
  If you drive at this speed, you are able to demolish opposing cars in your way, resetting their boost to 33 and making them take a quick time-out to respawn next to their goal.

1. 1 v 1 (Duel) - In my opinion the hardest one, goals can be scored quickly and you need really good car- and ball-control. Every mistake ends in a goal, assuming your opponent doesn't make a mistake too.
   
2. 2 v 2 (Doubles) - Probably the most played format. Either get your best bud to join you or let Fortuna roll the wheel to assign you a teammate. You always have to be with your partner to either send a pass his way, take a shot he centered or back him up in the goal to make a save.
   
3. 3 v 3 (Standard) - Rotation, rotation, rotation. You have to always be in a flow with your team and the enemy team here. I will explain the mechanic of rotation further in the mechanic's section.
   
4. 3 v 3 (Solo Standard) - Equal to the Standard mode, you just can't queue up as a team, which makes you rely on luck to be teamed with people who understand each other with just quick chat. But always remember - the other players will have the same worries, so play it nice.[redd.it]
   
5. 4 v 4 (Chaos; unranked only) - This mode makes it's name honor. It really is chaotic, you will have scarce boost, most people won’t have proper teamplay and demolitions are probably the single best thing to clean up the situation.

I already told you to switch from Keyboard and Mouse to a Gamepad of your choice, however hardware changes aren't the only thing to do in the game:

• Graphics - as an eSports title this game isn't particularly demanding, just make sure you disable all the annoying post-processings like motion blur, bloom, and stuff plus unlock your frame rate (up to 250).
  
• Controls[rocketleague.wikia.com] - the single most important change will probably be setting your air-roll key to somewhere else, there are many other crazy setups out there, maybe watch a few and try them.
  
• Camera - a lot will depend on your vision in the game, so feel free to play around with those settings for a while, to get you started, maybe check some pro setups.[redd.it] Well, and TURN OFF THE DAMN CAMERA SHAKE.
  
• While you are here, take some time to learn a few quick chat options. The most important ones are those for your own team like ‘I got it!’, ‘Take the Shot!’, ‘In Position!’ and ‘Centering!’ - basic communication like this is the least you have to do in the game.
  
• Oh and… maybe do yourself a favor and disable voice chat for the reasons of bad sound quality and toxic people, as well as having quick chat as an option. Additionally, consider setting text chat to quick chat only. You’re welcome.

1. Soccar - if you hear somebody talking about playing Rocket League, this is probably what they are referring to playing football/soccer with tiny cars. You have two goals at the ends of the field and the kick-off is done from the safety of the earth.
   
2. Snow Day - I nearly forgot about this one, you play hockey in a 3v3 game, meaning your ball is a puck and the field is a little icy. Way less aerial plays and more wall plays in this mode.
   
3. Hoops - 2v2 on a small basketball court, you have to shoot the hoops from above and the tip-off is done in mid-air. This is a little more on the advanced side since its hard to play properly without being able to aerial with confidence.
   
4. Drop shot - this is the idea of combining volleyball with rocket cars. Well, there is no net and bringing the ball to the floor just once won't suffice. You play this in an octagon formed arena with a floor made up of octagonal pieces. The ball gathers energy from every shot and once it hits the floor, the pieces are damaged. If a damaged piece is hit again, it breaks and opens up - now all you have to do is to score by getting the ball to fall through the holes on the opposing team’s half of the field. After a “goal” the tiles on the side of the team that has been scored on will be restored.
   
5. Rumble - Soccar with a little twist... every 10 seconds you get access to a power-up, which can be anything from a hurricane above your car, over a position swap with your enemies to a boxing glove, hitting the ball super hard.
   
6. Private (Mutators) - this is where you can go really crazy: wanna play a game of Drop shot with Rumble enabled and every contact to be a demolition? Want a huge cube for a ball that barely fits into the goal? Just try it out with your friends, you will have a good time.

A little heads-up on the linked videos here:

1. Sir Timbers - he makes short and concise videos on most of the mechanics in the game.
   
2. MasonRL90 - he often goes a little more in-depth and takes on common problems.
   
3. Last I try to use different resources, so you can get a hang of all the great channels out there, like this huge playlist.

As I said, there is way more to this game, than just driving around, but I won't be able to touch everything here, just let me give you a little sample:

1. Teamplay - first and foremost this game is team oriented. So if you are in the foremost position at the kickoff - go for the ball. Don’t chase the ball around the pitch and try to kick it at every opportunity. Trust your team - play passes and be ready for them yourself.
   
2. Driving - let's start with the basic of the basics: driving in your car. Driving around is easy enough, but be mindful of preserving your boost. This can be done best by flipping - the most effective way is a diagonal flip since you can boost through it, without losing speed.
   
3. Shooting https://youtu.be/jOjzJb4r3Zo - you just drive into the ball, to hit it with your car and that's it, isn't it? Well, basically yeah, but you want the ball to go in the corner of the goal or right in front of your teammate and not just anywhere. Additionally, you want to make it a fast shot, or sometimes even a slow one, depending on the situation. Learn the car and ball physics and where to hit the ball with which part of the car to achieve the desired effect.
   
4. Flying https://youtu.be/a5sQjUITf-8 https://youtu.be/ep_T4sxm0iE https://youtu.be/BtIjlnVh2DE - now this is where this game gets interesting, you have a car, you have a rocket engine, so jump, tilt your car backward and push the sweet boost button to sail through the air. Nonetheless, hitting a ball in mid air is a different story and takes a lot of practice.
   
5. Rotation https://youtu.be/THcMLWOEc_o https://youtu.be/tsSe9QmU3ZM - it's different for every format, as I touched in the game mode section before. In 1s there is only you, so no rotation; in 2s you want to basically be with your teammate and always back him up, in 3s you have two attackers and one defender, always switching depending on the flow of the game and last but not least in 4s... it's just chaotic.
   
6. Dribbling https://youtu.be/eBmgRPOmh98 https://youtu.be/1qzT79tOUSE https://youtu.be/noLjmDoAq1s - this is the magical act of gluing the ball to your car... just kidding. But that's what it's supposed to look like at least, you have to match your speed and the ball's speed to make sure you don't kick it away. If you have a free goal and aren't sure you will make the shot, just dribble the ball into it for secure scoring, however, mind that every cut you make can make you lose possession.
   
7. Backboard Shots/Rebounds https://youtu.be/eBiFTle8FkA - these are super important but also quite hard to do. Most passes will either come from the corner and roll over the goal, will be mid-field passes or rebounds. The first kind I mentioned are easy to defend against, however, if the ball bounces away from the goal, that’s a different story.
   
8. Wall Shots https://youtu.be/HxBYi59-5RA https://youtu.be/3tA45-a23hw https://youtu.be/0b3ZwvuIky0 - playing on the wall can be hard at first and doing a decent shot even harder, but when you get the hang of it, the game becomes way more fun. This is also very important for defense since meeting the ball before it can become a center and properly clearing it, is better than making a save.
   
9. Fast Aerials https://youtu.be/lkBZg0Ldhls https://youtu.be/1KhJJUrlL-c https://youtu.be/0ohM0iPynUI - the theory is quite simple, you boost and jump at the same time, while tilting your car backward. Make sure to hold your jump, since the height depends on the duration you press the button. Afterward, use your second jump to get you even higher up in the air. The most common mistake is not letting your analog stick return into its initial position when doing your second jump... #feelsbackflipman.
   
10. Half Flips https://youtu.be/QfeD1udGfEs https://youtu.be/FMplB1Xkl7E https://youtu.be/9920AGZg620 - this is super useful and it took me way too long to take it up, the idea is to turn your car, when driving backward without losing speed. You can also use this to go from driving normally to backward but I haven't found a use for it this way yet.
    So how you do it is: you drive backward, flip backward, cancel out the flip in mid air, by pushing your analog stick forward, air roll right or left and hammer the accelerator.
    
11. Redirects https://youtu.be/lNWICeAClV0 - One could argue, that every shot is basically a redirect, well but the one’s that actually qualify are shots that would miss the goal and you can change their trajectory to hit it and maybe even add a bit of speed.
    
12. Air Dribbles https://youtu.be/UZNsoMdDj5Y https://youtu.be/5B4HW6blWk4 https://youtu.be/eU4hUqS5IS4 - like dribbling, just in the air. Learning this will take you tons of time, patience and dedication - as it is one of the hardest things to do in the game.
    
13. Mind Games https://youtu.be/SSXk2AJG2OA https://youtu.be/MTdnpAYHfA8 https://youtu.be/njPZjGzSlvQ - a lot of the plays work by assuming where the ball is going, often times you will go for a block instead of a direct hit. Mind games abuse this way of playing by doing the exact opposite of what the defender is expecting.
    
14. Freestyles https://youtu.be/AY1K5Z1OSEI https://youtu.be/LwwmMAK2Do4 https://youtu.be/K1EqEm33jT0 - last but not least this is what you see in compilations and highlights. Just make sure not to confuse this with the normal way of playing, since basically nobody will freestyle in a competitive match.

One of the coolest things in the game is customizing your car.
There are tons of vehicles[rocketleague.wikia.com] to choose from, and they all behave a little different.[redd.it]
However, a lot of the cars and accessories have to be unlocked through paid-DLCs or by opening loot crates.
Despite that, don't worry - the most played cars are standard ones, like Breakout and Octane, so you won't be at a disadvantage without spending money.

Then on each car, you can apply:

• Decals[rocketleague.wikia.com], most of the cars have at least 6 default ones and then there are a lot more you can get out of loot crates.
  
• Colors[rocketleague.wikia.com] - a primary color depending on your team (yellow to pink for orange and green to purple for blue) and a free secondary color.
  
• Materials, you can choose a classical matt, glossy or pearl finish but there is also furry, wood, corroded metal and many more.
  
• Wheels[rocketleague.wikia.com] - oh so many wheels in every form and color.
  
• Rocket Trails[rocketleague.wikia.com], in my opinion, the most important part of customization because they also have an acoustic cue which can be kind of annoying and they look just soo cool.
  
• Toppers[rocketleague.wikia.com] - put a hat on your car or chose a pigeon-head to represent you on the pit.
  
• Antennas - most people play without them, however, you can choose your national flag or the emblem of some of your favorite games here.
  
• Year 2 Anniversary, coming July 5th will bring new customization options for Goal Explosions, Trails (not as in Rocket Trails aka Boost, but the indicator of driving at supersonic speed), and Engine Sounds.

Exceptions are

• The Batmobile
  
• The Delorean

On these, you can only customize the primary paint.

Just like anything else in this game, the arenas offer a great variety in design and some different constructions which require you to change your play ever so slightly.

1. Standard - this is the wrapper for all parks having a standard shape[redd.it].
   
2. Wasteland - it's basically like a standard arena, however, the floor is a little angled towards the middle, which makes balls bounce slightly different.
   
3. Starbase Arc - this field has the shape of an octagon, which gives your wall play a much bigger variety.
   
4. Experimental aka Rocket Labs - here you can test various new shapes, that are to be evaluated by the community. Just try them out to see what the game has to offer.

Moreover, if you especially like or dislike an arena, you can show this in the arena preferences, which you can access from the search game menu. These preferences also influence the chance of playing on one of those fields.

There are loads of different soundtracks[rocketleague.wikia.com] and new ones are added every season.
Just don't expect classic or something along those lines, most tracks go into an electronic-pop direction.
Coming with the new Update on the 5th is also the Rocket League Radio with Monstercat.
However the music isn't the only thing you will hear in the game, there is also the cheering crowd and other ambient noises, which really annoy some of my friends, personally, I don't mind them too much.
Additionally, there is the commentator and let me tell you this: Neo Tokyo has the best one :D
Above all, there are the car sounds, meaning the engine on the one hand and the boost on the other, this can help you locate enemies or teammates behind you and aid you in making decisions.

You've come pretty far and still, there is much more to the game and the best way to experience it, is to just go and play!
If you liked my 'guide' please leave a like, also remember my review and have a nice day ;-)

Lastly, if you find any mistakes in my guide, be it typos, logical things or wrong links, please tell me in the comments - thanks!

Also, if you comment anything trade related, or just something really plain stupid, I will delete it as well as report and block you, I am not for curating my comments, but I really don't stand for that.