Games like FIFA have ruled the soccer gaming sector for years with little to no competition. Blips on the radar have risen to prominence and put their own spin on the sport such as Rocket League, but there was no one-for-one soccer game fans could sink their teeth into. That was up until developer Sloclap released Rematch, which over recent weeks has climbed the gaming charts at an impressive rate. While Rematch offers up an environment and gameplay loop that will have soccer fans jumping out of their seat when you score a game-winning goal, there is still work ahead before the game can take home the cup.
Gameplay Mechanics
Rematch is a soccer game at its core, but what stands out to me is how movement is handled in the game. Players can zip around the pitch with ease and change direction on a dime when in pursuit of their target.
When the ball is in your possession, things can get a little unpredictable with the ball escaping you after being slide tackled by an opponent. Shooting and passing are the aspects of Rematch that require the utmost precision, and what I found to take a few matches to get more comfortable with. One thing that stood out to me the most through my time with Rematch was my ability to control the curve of the ball on longer range shots. This adds far more ways to position yourself on the field and will make the goalkeeper sweat it out in a one on one scenario since he has to consider passes to teammates and ricochets off the wall.
Passing, on the other hand, is a little more hit or miss with the requirement for a clear line of sight on passes. I often found it near impossible to pass to any teammates accurately, especially on breakaway runs. Some improvements that could be made here is a ball lock on feature or a strict passing lane input which would remove some of the finer adjustments you need to make in a game that’s already fast paced and chaotic enough.
Look Good, Play Good
Like many other modern online games, a battle pass is present within Rematch. When talking about the creation suite, it is a pretty standard creation suite, but I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to craft my own soccer uniform with a matching home and away set.
Soccer pitches can also be customized here, but from what I gathered in my short time with the game, those customization items can only be earned via the season pass. What I enjoy the most about these field transformations is they take full advantage of the art style Rematch went with which includes vibrant colors that make the environment and players really pop on the screen. This is a double-edged sword mainly because I wish they stuck around a while longer since they only kick in for a short amount of time after you score a goal. A cool aspect that could be worked into the game here would be dueling fields that clash with each other depending who controls the ball and the scoreboard.
Final Thoughts
Rematch is a game that I had very low expectations for mainly because soccer isn’t a sport I follow routinely. I am happy to report that looking back on my time with my expectations were met and then some. Personally, this game scratched my itch for an action packed soccer game a lot better than any of the FIFA games ever did. I also firmly believe Rematch can lean heavily into its arcade style and implement fun and exciting new game modes that will keep players coming back for more in the future. At the end of the day, the ball is in Sloclap’s court when it comes to consistent content being added that will give it legs in the long run.
