Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"

Is it appropriate to describe a game as Rocket League Football, given that Rocket League already is effectively football with cars? Maybe not, but that’s still the most simple way to define Rematch. In the debut sports game from Sifu developer Sloclap, you run around a futuristic pitch flying into tackles, unleashing banana shots, and flat-out refusing to pass to better placed team-mates. It makes for a breathless end-to-end footy fest, with abundant expansion potential.

Sports fans familiar with the term ‘Be A Pro’ will find a particular affinity with Rematch. This element of old-school FIFA and NHL enabled you to play out matches using a fixed viewpoint set just behind your player, in an attempt to approximate the feel of real-life sport. Tackles, dribbles, and shots all required more real-time awareness than standard side-on footy. Sloclap’s arcade kickabout adopts the same approach, with all teammates human-controlled. A trio of match types are available, with the Parisian studio committed to adding tournaments and leaderboards in the future.

Surfing on a Rocket

As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic. If a team goes four goals ahead it’s immediately awarded a walkover, but the early matchmaking delivers even contests which often come down to the last 30 seconds. (Fixtures are six minutes, with no half-time.) Shooting – using R2/RT for power, and the right stick for aim – is challenging, but a well-placed assist or crunching tackle are almost as satisfying. You can boost – sorry, sprint – using L1/LB, with a traditional stamina bar denoting how much puff you have left. Score a late winner and you want to continue that form into the next match. Concede a sickener and there’s an immediate drive to rectify it.

Among the neatest features is the way Rematch tackles goalkeeper play. Many years ago, we asked FIFA 10 developer EA Canada why online matches in Be A Pro were only 10 vs 10. Its response was that gamers would be reluctant to play a full match between the sticks. Rematch addresses this by rotating the team’s netminder after each goal conceded. You hold L2 to stand up to shots, or tap triangle along with a directional press to dive. The ball physics can be inconsistent – we’ve leapt over soft shots well within reach, and had blistering efforts warp into our gloves when seemingly destined for the top corner – but overall it’s an adept way of handling a potential problem position.

As well as flinging yourself about to pull off spectacular saves, being in goal also provides a welcome test of your individual discipline. There’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’, and nor is there one in ‘Rematch’ – but a keeper becomes a sweeper as soon as he leaves the penalty area, and both those positions offer unlimited stamina. This grants you the freedom to leg it upfield on a rapid counter attack, or make a late (if very long distance) run into space – leaving your goal empty. In 3-vs-3 it’s an essential risk, as you need to support attacks when you can. In 5-on-5 you’ll be punished every time.

That’s another enjoyable aspect of Rematch’s variety: all three match types require different strategies, and provide unique feelings of joy or frustration. 3-on-3 requires you to concentrate and attempt a mistake-free game, with vast areas of the pitch uncovered if you lose possession. 5-a-side, meanwhile, is a frenzied free-for-all, with team-mates sprinting all over the joint. It gives you more scope to play selfishly and just try to rack up and assists, but often means being overwhelmed if you attempt to establish yourself as a defender. For now 4-on-4 offers the sweet spot, affording balanced attacking play without constantly being hammered on the counter.

Bit of a Rush

While their perspectives and controls are different, aspects of Rematch will feel familiar to purveyors of Rush mode in EA Sports FC 25. Play in a team with at least one, and ideally two, defenders and discipline is usually enough to see off selfish, goal-hungry opponents. Go gung-ho every game and you swiftly lose match after match, along with your patience. Real-life footballing nous also matters. We may have joked about passing in the opening paragraph, but our favourite technique in Rematch is the late unmarked run into the penalty area. All a team-mate has to do is roll the ball across with a simple pass – but instead they usually shoot from out wide, and an easy goal goes begging. As for the keepers who hammer the ball upfield instead of palming it off to a defender: maddening, every time.

Still, that’s on the user base, and not the developer. You might even say it’s realistic – every five-a-side team on the planet has that goal piggy who’d sooner shoot from angles that defy physics than lay on an assist. Those solo maestros are catered for in Rematch with a small selection of skill moves, such as the ‘lob pushball’ – flicking it over an opponent, then running onto it – and bicycle kick. The list is modest, so they quickly become repetitive, but it’s still a pleasure when you pull one off and arrow the ball into the top corner.

Those magic moments will keep you coming back for a week or two, but what about a month or year? Well, that’s one of the reasons we’ve settled on a 3.5-star verdict for now. Earning XP increases your skill level, unlocking cool customization items. However, Rematch is also offering real players for use in game. While the first of these available is a huge name – Brazilian legend Ronaldinho – the only way to get him is to spend 1,000 in-game coins, at a real-life cost of £8. Gamers are used to paying extra cash for skins in free-to-play experiences, but Rematch is priced at £20 – and for all the criticism EA Sports FC 26 gets, no Ultimate Team item is ever cash-only.

Sloclap needs to untangle that wrangle, in addition to expanding its modes and skill moves, for this plucky newcomer to enter title contention. But the fast, frantic football concept is sound, and its future feels exciting.

After another goal? Check out our best sports games ranking!