If you asked me to guess what developer Sloclap would make after Sifu, I imagine that “arcade-style soccer game” would have been at the bottom of my list. But lo and behold, that’s exactly what we’re getting in Rematch.
Rather than creating another punishing brawler, Rematch is a multiplayer sports game that plays it straight down the middle. Two teams of four or five are dropped into an arena and have six minutes to outscore one another. There’s no gimmick. The characters aren’t colorful mascots with superpowers. It’s good clean football — so long as you remember to turn off voice chat as quickly as possible.
Ahead of its June 19 release date, I took Rematch for a spin and instantly took to its casual take on the sport. As someone who has always found the full-on simulation of EA Sports FC too daunting, Rematch finds a happy place between that and Rocket League. And even if my teammates were mad at me the whole time for goofing around, all that mattered is that I was having fun with a sport I’ve never had much of an interest in playing digitally.
Rematch is set up like a lot of multiplayer live services games. When I log in, I have a lobby where I can either join some casual games, jump in a ranked playlist, or make my own custom room. There are some tabs on the top of the screen that let me customize my character, and a shop that appears to take a mix of premium and in-game currency. There’s nothing fancy about it, and that seems to be by design. I’d describe the entire project as “elegant,” as it strips just about everything down to their fundamentals. There’s no fluff here and that allows me to focus on the basics of play.
Those basics are easy to pick up in the tutorial. I simply have to move into the ball to pick it up. I can sprint to move faster, though that will deplete my stamina bar. I can also double tap the spring button to give myself a quick burst of speed. Shooting and passing the ball is a matter of holding down my right trigger, and sliding is as easy as hitting a button while sprinting. There are some nuances on top of all that, though casual players don’t necessarily need to know them all to pick up a controller and start playing. I can press a button while holding the ball to give it a quick punt forward, getting it safely out of my grasp if someone tries to knock it out from me. I can also perform some simple evasive maneuvers if I get too close to an opponent. Again, nothing here looks like a Mario Strikers move; it’s all grounded.
I worry that this all might feel a little too thin to support the game at first. It almost feels like Nintendo Switch Sports’ soccer mode, but with a few extra nuances and no pesky motion controls. My concerns melt away the second I get into an actual five on five game. I’m able to get into the flow of a match quickly, conserving my sprint for when I need it and carefully lining up my shots. I have to shed some bad habits quickly. I’m over reliant on the slide at first, which leads to a lot of missed opportunities. I struggle to get the exact feel for passing at first too, as I don’t simply auto-kick a ball to my teammates. I need to aim and pay attention to my pals as they catch my attention with a ping.
My teammates aren’t too forgiving. Within one round, I already have someone in my ear screaming because I failed to block a goal. Most of the heat I catch comes as I try to learn that position specifically. Rematch takes Rocket League‘s approach to goal in that it isn’t a set position that one person is tethered to. Instead, anyone can step in or out of the goal at any time. My teammates kept letting me know that they weren’t pleased when I’d step too far to the side to try and catch a loose ball and leave the net vulnerable. They also aren’t pleased when I try to pass from goal but can’t quite get the hang of putting it where I want it to be at first. Rematch‘s only real problem right now is simply that it’s a soccer game, and that brings a very aggressive crowd with it.
My hope is that those loudmouths quiet down once Rematch finds a more casual audience, and there’s good reason to think it will. If there’s one thing you could call a “gimmick” here, it’s that there are walls around the entire field. That opens the door for trick plays that give Rematch it’s more arcade-style feel. After a few matches, I pick up on the fact that I can kick a ball over the goal to bait the goalie into diving for it, only to have it bounce straight back to me so I can kick it in again. That can be a good way to deal with defense too, as passing off a wall can throw defenders for a loop. I experienced plenty of great trick shots during my session, like when I kicked the ball just next to the goal, deflecting it off the wall and into a pass, allowing my teammate to score.
Every match I’ve played has felt entirely different so far, and that’s what I’m finding so fun about Rematch in my first test. Some saw my team getting embarrassed by coordinated teams who employed a simple, grounded play style. Other matches were flashy shootouts where the teams were one upping one another with trick shots. My favorite match barely resulted in any points at all, as my team was evenly matched with our opponent. There’s a lot of versatility to be found in a simple system. I’m not sure if that speaks to how fine-tuned Sloclap’s spin on soccer is or if it’s just the reality of the sport coming through.
Whatever the reason is, I hope that the fun continues to hold up in the full game. Even when I thought I had my fill, I kept finding myself queuing up for one more round. The games are short enough to support that and the thrills are plentiful. So long as any planned microtransactions aren’t predatory, Rematch might just work its way into my multiplayer rotation.
Rematch launches on June 19 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
