An extremely intriguing project will be released on June 19, 2025. New titles in the toxic swamp known as “football games” are rare, and even the old ones have recently begun to disappear, so this release has already caused quite a stir. At the end of May, Rematch held an open beta test that anyone could apply for. If you missed this opportunity, don’t worry! We did it for you, and we’re ready to share our Rematch PC review to give you an idea of what to expect from this game.
I can say right away that this is not your usual soccer game. It’s a new game from the French studio Sloclap, the creators of Sifu. Yes, that hardcore Hong Kong action game about street fights where the character aged after each death. Before that, they released Absolver, an unusual multiplayer fighting game combining different styles of martial arts and fencing. Overall, the developers had experience creating ultra-dynamic and competitive games, so their decision to choose soccer as the theme for their next project surprised everyone. Perhaps that was the plan all along. Judging by the hype, the risk paid off.
According to Sloclap creative director Pierre Tarno, the concept for Rematch stemmed from a love of action games and soccer. This is easy to believe, given the studio’s track record and the popularity of soccer in France.
The developers aimed to create gameplay that would set Rematch apart from other games in this genre. They tried to strike a balance between arcade and hardcore elements to create an atmosphere reminiscent of playing in a yard with real people, whose skill levels could differ greatly.
Rematch is not your typical simulator
Rematch is a third-person online soccer simulator where each player controls their own soccer player. The main feature of the game is that there are no rules, stoppages, or fouls, and there are walls around the perimeter that the ball bounces off.
Matches last six minutes and are played in two modes: “4 on 4” and “5 on 5.” The first is more like backyard soccer, where the skills of each individual player largely determine the outcome. The second mode focuses on team play — it’s difficult to run across a large field alone without losing the ball.
Otherwise, Rematch remains a basic soccer arcade game: steal the ball, pass, score goals, and make beautiful feints. This simplicity is the main feature of the new game — it’s fun to play from the very first encounter.
Although Sloclap invited famous players, such as Ronaldinho, to promote the project and draw parallels with real sports, Rematch cannot be compared to FIFA (i.e., EA FC) or PES (i.e., eFootball) in any way. In general, it cannot be compared to classic football simulators, which long ago lost the right to be called that, along with their developers’ last shred of conscience. This is true even in modes where you can control a single player.
The game has a pleasant atmosphere. The field is surrounded by a reflective wall, and behind it is a stylish, changeable environment, such as a nighttime metropolis, a jungle, or a desert. Rematch’s graphics resemble modern animation, are not tiresome, and work perfectly on mid-range computers.
In terms of structure, Rematch is closer to Rocket League than to EA Sports FC, the genre’s mastodon. The game focuses on interacting with the ball. It hardly sticks to your feet. To make an accurate pass or shoot at the goal, you first need to aim and calculate the force.
Another similarity to Rocket League is that there are no rules. The most effective way to take the ball from an opponent is to slide tackle with both feet in the air. Passes are better made with a weak kick than with a special button because it’s faster and easier.
Thanks to its simple mechanics and intuitive controls, Rematch is a lot of fun to play. It’s essentially the perfect game for those who don’t like the realistic approach of EA Sports FC or the car-based gameplay of Rocket League.
The first few matches are chaotic, but the more you play, the more Rematch resembles real soccer. Once you break through the opponent’s defense with accurate passes and score with a curling shot into the top corner, you’ll feel like you’re part of Barcelona in its heyday, not to mention the feints, which look and work surprisingly well.
The easiest way to describe Rematch is as virtual backyard soccer with some assumptions and simplifications to the rules. In this game, each player controls their own soccer player. Regardless of experience level, players are capable of scoring a masterpiece goal with a bicycle kick. However, to learn how to make accurate passes and play basic combinations, players will have to spend a lot of time.
What is the unique feature of Rematch gameplay?
Rematch’s gameplay is unique in that even those without experience in similar games can easily score goals thanks to precise control of direction.
Rematch is appealing because even if you don’t have experience with similar games, scoring a goal here is easy thanks to precise control of direction, The game allows you to control the force of the shot and the trajectory of the ball’s flight, and this feature is equally convenient on a gamepad, keyboard, and mouse.
Unlike Rocket League, where these orthodox gaming devices are disregarded, the Sloclap team has optimized the keyboard and mouse controls. The mouse is usually not used in such games, but here it is the main controller. This is similar to action and shooter games, where it is vital to look around quickly and aim accurately.
You will strike with the left mouse button, adjusting the direction and height with the mouse itself, as well as the rotation of the ball with a crosshair — a circle with a dot. Considering that complex shots, such as flight, side scissors, and overhead kicks, happen automatically, without the need to press additional buttons, it is more difficult to score a regular goal than a beautiful one in Rematch.
However, other aspects of gameplay are much more important and complex than they seem at first.
It took me a while to figure out why my character would sometimes pass the ball in a completely different direction. As you can see in the screenshot above, my teammate opens up on the far flank and asks for a pass. I naturally want to pass the ball between the two defenders because I’m looking in that direction. However, at the last moment, after pressing the screen, the pass’s trajectory appears pointing to the goal, and the ball flies exactly there. Why did this happen?
The second difficulty many will encounter while mastering the game’s mechanics is tackling. However, this is also one of the most difficult elements of real football, so I don’t have any particular complaints about the fact that, nine times out of ten, you will either swing your leg past the ball or slide tackle a few meters away from your opponent. This is especially true since there are no fouls or rule violations in Rematch, at least for now.
Therefore, we strongly recommend practicing before heading into team matches. Yes, Rematch is a soccer arcade game in which individual training is important.
Unlike in Rocket League, playing in goal in Rematch may initially seem easier than playing on the field because, despite the spectacular nature of the shots, the ball flies long enough for you to press jump and choose the direction; then, your avatar does everything else itself. However, since most players are inexperienced and act unpredictably, pressing the wrong button can cause your avatar to make a false move and make you jump prematurely. Therefore, goals into an empty net when the goalkeeper is lying on the ground are quite common in Rematch.
Players do not choose their positions before the start of the match. As in backyard football, roles change after each goal is scored, so you will most likely have to play defense. You can also replace the goalkeeper in the middle of the match because if he leaves the goal area, the nearest player automatically puts on the gloves and becomes the goalkeeper. For now, at least, everyone is taking their roles seriously and not running away from the goal. Some more experienced players are even offering to switch positions.
They saw that the newbies were having trouble with the position.
Rematch: Is it worth playing?
After dozens of matches, Rematch has not become boring. You want to keep playing, continue improving your skills, score beautiful goals, and defeat your opponents.
The release will feature full customization with a rating mode — that’s when the real game will begin. The developers promise that Rematch will not have any bonuses for characteristics or any “pay-to-win” mechanics. Therefore, this summer, Electronic Arts may have its first worthy competitor in many years.
Game Modes and Other Content
In terms of content, it’s very similar to Rocket League with multiplayer, ranked, and custom matches, which have different numbers of players on each team.
Whether intentional or not, the match modes have essentially become difficulty levels. 3v3 is the easiest due to the abundance of free space on the field. 4v4 offers an optimally balanced game. 5v5 is a real test of individual and team skills due to the minimal time available for decision-making.
Matches last six minutes and have the option of a final attack after the timer expires if the score is tied or the difference is minimal, which adds drama to the game. However, the game practically has no real soccer rules, such as offside, fouls, penalties, and cards.
While this is understandable, it would be a shame if the developers did not add a separate mode with at least some of these rules implemented. At the very least, penalty kicks in Rematch would look cool.
Of course, you earn experience points for participating in matches, but these points only affect your character’s rank, not their abilities or characteristics. In this regard, all players are currently on equal footing.
You can customize your avatar by changing its appearance and uniform style. You can even replace an arm or leg with a cybernetic prosthesis. However, these changes are purely cosmetic and have no effect on gameplay.
The final version of Rematch features several types of in-game currency that can be used to unlock content like special outfits and themed arenas. However, the developers at Sloclap promise they won’t turn into EA Sports and tempt players to buy loot boxes. However, there will still be an opportunity to spend money on a beautiful virtual hat.
This business model has worked successfully for several years in Rocket League, except that game is free, while Rematch will cost money, albeit not much.
As with any online competitive game, your enjoyment of the gameplay and ability to succeed largely depend on ping and optimization. I didn’t pay much attention to the game crashing and freezing a couple of times during the match because this is natural for a beta version. However, desynchronization due to an unstable connection to the servers can greatly spoil the impression of the game. For example, when the ball is in the goal, it can turn out a moment later that the goalkeeper caught it a moment later.
In mid-April, testing of Rematch began, and at that time, the peak number of online players on Steam exceeded 120,000, and some gamers are already calling the new game the future of virtual football. As soon as the game is released, it has every chance of becoming the new gaming discovery of the year.
