Nobody was expecting Sloclap, a studio made famous by their martial-arts focused action games, to release a competitive multiplayer football game. The pivot from Sifu initially seems crazy, but I can understand why Sloclap felt they were up to the challenge. The studio has experimented with multiplayer before with Absolver and has created hundreds of athletic body animations. Still, Rematch is a very ambitious title, and thankfully, one that sticks the landing.

Rematch set out to create a fun and engaging football video game, and they’ve succeeded tremendously. An extremely strong core gameplay loop makes every session so exciting and captivating. However, there’s no denying Rematch is still a little rough around the edges with performance issues and feeling small for its pricing. I have faith that Sloclap will fix these problems with time. For some, it may be worth waiting, but overall, this is definitely a game worth keeping an eye on.

Not quite Shaolin Soccer

Upon opening Rematch for the first time, players are taken through a tutorial that teaches the basics of every mechanic. The intro is presented as a training montage, with cutscenes showing personal growth & bonding with your team between each drill. It’s such a light touch, but one that’s extremely effective in immersing players into the world of Rematch. 

This intro does a good job teaching the game’s mechanics, but I highly encourage checking out the other tutorials. These explain advanced applications of dribbling and passing, which are essential for maintaining control of the ball. Beyond the tutorials, there are challenge workshops that test your understanding of the mechanics. However, there are only 7 workshops that barely scratch the surface of Rematch’s intricate gameplay. Additionally, they’re all rather basic and fail to represent the pressure found within an actual match. I feel spoiled by Rematch’s beginning. It set a bar that I expected all of the single-player content to hit. Don’t get me wrong, Rematch is purely a competitive multiplayer experience, but it could’ve done much more with its introduction.

The balance between passing, dribbling and interceptions is simply perfection, with each technique controlled by a different face button. Offensive and defensive tools are evenly fleshed out, so the ball never feels truly secure. The only advantages you’ll have are your teammates, which is where Rematch’s excellent cooperative experience shines. Field positioning is vital, as awareness of your team’s location is just as important as the ball itself.

Players can also sprint across the field and, of course, shoot the ball with a mighty kick. These both add a lovely layer of risk vs reward. Sprinting is a limited resource that regenerates quickly, but is in constant demand. Players move faster with higher stamina and can even superdash, which are your greatest assets for reaching the ball. In contrast, kicking is a powerful, limitless tool that can send the ball across the entire pitch. However, it’s also the slowest action and one that leaves you very vulnerable to interceptions. Choosing the right time to sprint or kick can ultimately change the course of the entire game.

Of course, this isn’t a 1:1 realistic adaptation of football, Sloclap’s had some fun here. The most striking element is the transparent walls encasing the entire pitch. Taking a cue from Rocket League, the ball cannot leave the field; instead, it simply bounces back into play. Rebounds are used for difficult-to-predict passes or baiting goalies into diving the wrong way, which is immensely satisfying.

Speaking of goalies, I’m quite fond of how dynamically Rematch handles this job. Instead of a dedicated goalie, the first player who enters the goal zone is given additional options to dive and grab the ball. This system means players don’t get stuck in a defensive role for the whole game and allows anyone to take the position at a moment’s notice. Across the board, this is an incredibly smart redesign of football that brings a unique, engaging flair.

Cooperation and communication across a hectic pitch

Rematch’s multiplayer is straight to the point. There is only one standard gamemode, with the option to play on teams of three, four or five. The only major difference between these modes is the size of the pitch, which grows with larger teams. Each team size offers its own strengths; 3v3 is intimate and focused; you’ll get the ball more often, but it will come with far more pressure. 5v5 is utterly chaotic, but the best mode for learning how to cooperate with other teammates. 4v4 is a nice compromise between the former modes, but overall, the least distinct. 

Part of me hopes Sloclap expands their horizons somewhat in future. I think this is a prime space to experiment with some fun arcadey bonus modes, or additional forms of challenges. Rematch has a very focused scope, but I could see it possibly expanding. Multiplayer interactivity is rather limited in a complementary way. You’ll see minimal information on your opponents and won’t be able to communicate with them directly. The game includes a voice chat for teammates, but the cooperative ping system is quite effective too.

Using the d-pad, players can shout simple encouragements or information across the pitch. More useful is the contextual ping, which shouts quick commands, most notably to pass the ball. In a frantic game like Rematch, these straight-to-the-point pips are very helpful. When you possess the ball, it even draws a line across the field to whoever called out. I also noticed enemy players making the pass gesture to their team, a small detail that I absolutely love.

These features are amazing at allowing team communication for players who can’t talk over a mic or simply don’t want to. Even in instances when I played with a friend, I found it much easier to indicate my commands in-game than actually describe my position.

Unfortunately, as with all multiplayer, a few bad eggs can ruin the experience. Despite the very recent launch, I’ve had a couple of games with particularly nasty teammates, spouting hatred into their microphones. I hope Sloclap introduces some way to report or avoid specific players in future updates. Servers have not been as consistent as one would hope. Most games I’ve played have been without issue, but my few instances of laggy sessions have been devastating. In these matches, I’ve seen the ball teleport to everyone’s confusion, goals fail to register, and the ball spawn inside the goals at the start of a round.

Beautiful art & customisation, with a dreadful catch

Sloclap perfected a really enticing art style with Sifu. This blend of realistic facial expressions and body animations with sharp models and bright colours shows an absolute mastery of art. Rematch is a little more reigned-in in scope, but pushes the quality of these models even further. I love how clean and sleek everything looks. Player movements are so pleasing to look at and telegraph all actions clearly.

Beyond music, Rematch also has a clever 3D audio system that highlights the sounds of enemies running towards you. It’s another small detail, but it’s really helpful for knowing if an opponent’s approaching, especially if you’re too busy to check the minimap. Keeping in tradition with modern multiplayer experiences, Rematch offers a wealth of customisation options. Sloclap wants to keep the art style reigned in, so things haven’t gotten too silly. There’s a variety of options for costumes and character creation, but nothing you wouldn’t see in a real sports game.

Character creation is satisfyingly in-depth, allowing for just enough personalisation. There’s no control over your height or shape (likely to avoid interfering with animations), but you can freely customise your face, body type and hairstyle. I appreciated the inclusion of prosthetic limbs and even a vitiligo slider. Logically, uniforms are far more limited. There are multiple clothing layers and full control over their colour palette, but there’s nothing too crazy going on here. I enjoy being able to choose the number I wear on my back, although I appear to be one of the very few players who chose a number other than 69.

Frankly, this is really disappointing to see. Rematch is already rather expensive for its limited content, so seeing a predatory model on top is gross. Storefronts and limited-time unlocks are always going to try and squeeze funds from players that have already provided a fair entry fee.

Rematch is also going to struggle with making seasonal content incentivising without ruining their art style. There’s still lots of untapped potential for hairstyles, celebrations and stages, but uniform options are already really similar. Are future seasons going to be capable of innovating without compromising Rematch’s aesthetics? Only time will tell, but I can’t help but feel sceptical and nasty about the whole affair.