Racket Club Review

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Fast Facts

Racket Club for the Meta Quest takes to the court and puts a new spin on paddleball sports combining games like pickleball and tennis. Overall the design and rules follow closely to tennis, but add in a scoring buff if you manage to win rally points. Playing Racket Club feels a lot like exercise disguised as a game and it’s a good one at that.

When you enter for the first time, Racket Club runs you through a simple tutorial mode teaching you the basics of serving, returning, targeting spots on the course and the structure for the tournament and the multiplayer aspects. 

Entering a court, whether playing singles or doubles, requires that you walk close to the door of the enclosed court and hit the action button. Once inside a court, you simply give a thumbs up to signify to your computer-controlled or human opponent or partner. The basic rules of the game are that you will take turns serving every other point. So unlike games like volleyball, you will switch servers with each turn even if you win the point.

As you hit the ball back and forth you can not let the ball bounce twice. So it can bounce on your side, even off the wall into your opponent’s side, except for the back wall. If you hit either the side wall or the court in front of your opponent your second shot can hit the back wall. If the ball bounces on your side you can also hit the ball towards the back wall in hopes that it bounces over the net and to the other side.

Hitting the ball back and forth begins a rally, and rallying for a longer time increases the turn’s overall point value by one. You can get as many as five points in a rally, so strategy in terms of waiting for 2-5 points to win a match can be something you need to think through. Sets go to 11 points and due to the rallying mechanic, they can be won quickly, which helps to keep games moving.

Jumping into matches with CPU characters can be done via the tournament wall. Completing tournaments unlocks more difficult matches and opponents. As you win, you can earn XP which lets you unlock rackets and clothing. The rackets you unlock have benefits in terms of their spin, power, and other stats, so finding a racket that matches your play style and needs is a bit of a chase as you compete in Racket Club.

The Club aspect of Racket Club comes from the open area where you can walk around and find other competitors for singles and doubles matches. There is a neat aspect of casually walking around and talking to people in the lobby and then jumping into any of the open courts either 1v1 or 2v2. 

I had the opportunity to play with and against my daughter and it was pretty cool to play on the courts as time of day changes. When the night arrives, the lights come on and the atmosphere of the club helps to set the mood as almost feels like playing in front of an audience in the big leagues.

I enjoyed my time with Racket Club and hope to see the audience for the game continue to grow. The variety in equipment and meeting people on the courts help to add longevity to the title. They have an active Discord that I recommend joining if you are looking for a match, tournament, or league.

Racket Club stands among the best sports games on the Quest platform. Are you looking for a racket sports title on the Quest/Pico/or Steam VR? Racket Club is top-tier and among my favourite games.

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Rapid Reviews Rating

4.5 out of 5

4.5