It’s so great that after years of fumbling around in a car trying to put a giant ball in the goal, someone finally had the idea of performing the same activity…with humans! That’s right everyone, if you want to know what it’s like to play Rocket League with people, then keep on reading…it’s our Rematch Review!
Now for those of you with broken sarcasm detectors, I’m obviously aware Rocket League didn’t invent the sport of soccer/football. Or more specifically, indoor soccer. But to be more serious for sec, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a developer pivot so wildly from one genre to another like Sloclap has done here. So how did the developer of one of the best John Wick inspired beat ’em ups fare making a football game? Let’s find out
Simcade?
It’s very important that I make one thing very clear up front with this review. Why? Because you’re going to have to rewire how your brain plays soccer games. Rematch is probably the closest we’ve been to a soccer “sim” as we’ve seen to this point. It’s important to mention this because the game disguises itself very well as a pick up and play arcadey experience.
This – it is not.
This game – much like Rocket League, has a very steep learning curve. That’s because everything in this game is done manually. What do I mean by manually exactly? Well, for the better part of 30 years, we’ve all been playing soccer games that for the most part, do everything “automatically” for us. When you press pass? The ball is almost like a magnet to your team mates. When you shoot? Outside of maybe some power control, your ball is like a magnet towards goals. Dribbling? Yep, magnet. FIFA, Virtua Striker, Sega Soccer Slam, Mario Strikers, Super Sidekick, International Superstar Soccer and the plethora of games that have come before all take the stress out of actually requiring the skill to play the sport by making sure that when you press that command button the ball goes right where you need and want it to.
Not in Rematch. Everything is entirely manual. Shooting requires the use of not only the shooting button, but both analog sticks. The right stick for aiming and the left stick for curve. You want to pass the ball to your team mate? Ensure you’re aware where they are because you need to hold the stick in that direction to make sure it gets to them. You will often find yourself passing a little behind or way in front of them until you get used to it. Even defending – both as a player and keeper is manual. It takes some serious getting used to but if you persist and put the work in, you’ll be rewarded with an exhilirating feeling of being genuinely good in a way that not many sporting games have captured. Even in my short-ish time with the game, I pulled off some incredible moments that I can only imagine will be easily topped once I become ever better over time.
But Rematch also infuses a lot of arcade style rules and clever gameplay elements into the overall package that can make the experience of playing incredibly intense or “sweaty” as the kids say these days.
For example, mercy rule applies. While quick matches are set for six minutes, if you get to 4-0 up (or 0-4 down), the game is over. No chance of a miracle comeback I’m afraid. To ramp up the tension (particularly in close matches), there’s a “last shot” opportunity when the timer hits zero so whomever has the ball at that moment can go for a run and take a last gasp shot to potentially tie the game up and get a chance at winning in overtime. It’s a pretty neat touch.
Sloclap have also implemented a very clever – I guess you’d call it “position” system? Whereby the game will essentially assign you a position (Goalkeeper included) completely contextually. These positions are swapped between players on the team on the fly depending on the scenario. It’s really neat. Has your keeper decided to be an f’ing hero and take the field on? If you’re worried about it run into your defensive penalty box and your player will suddenly adorn goal keeping gloves and take on the goal keeping control scheme. It’s brilliantly implemented and completely seamless.
Memes, glitches and hilarity
As great as the game often feels once you wrap your brain around it’s controls and mechanics, in it’s current state (as of a day or so prior to launch), it’s still somewhat glitchy and buggy. While I’m happy to attribute some of this to lag – alhough I was playing on local Australian servers, some of the other glitchiness I came across was simply too bizarre to be blamed on lag issues. None of the in game glitches were game breaking or anything, but they did cause genuine frustration at times, like when you watch the opposition shot go in after you saw your keeper stop it. Or the missed shot that goes off the wall, only to then randomly appear at the opposition strikers foot with you completely caught off guard and unable to stop the inevitable goal. These moments are very frustrating in the middle of a close intense match and aren’t how you’d want to lose one. But Sloclap appear to be genuinely welcoming of feedback and addressing any issues as of this review being published. Many of the issues I experienced are known and being addressed.
To be fair, a couple of the glitches and issues can even go in your favour. One time I happened to press the “Call” button at just the right time after we scored a goal and when the replay had finished and we were back at kick off…but I had the ball! It was pretty hilarious but I’m sure very annoying for the oppsition team.
As a Rocket League veteran, one suggestion I would definitely make is to make it clearer that “lock on camera” is a control option. Up until only today (as of this writing) I had no idea the game had a lock-on camera until someone mentioned it in the Sloclap Rematch Discord. Why is lock-on camera important? Because like Rocket League (and FIFA’s “Be a Pro” mode) you control only one player the entire time. It can be pretty annoying to constantly have to swing the camera around to keep track of things. Again, as I mentioned before, there’s a lot to get used to here and it can be a lot.
Do we need the hand of God?
Would I recommend Rematch? Well that’s a surprisngly difficult question to answer. On gamplay alone? For sure. While the learning curve is steep, it’s ridiculously rewarding and if you can get yourself a suqad of mates who co-ordinate properly and know what they’re doing, it’s very fun.
But here’s the thing, this is a game that you’re being charged for and while yes, the gameplay becomes very fun, there’s really not a tonne on offer here for your $35AU. You have your tutorial, practice mode, the Prologue (a cinematic tutorial) and your online matches. Even the online modes are fairly minimal. 3 v 3 , 4 v 4, 5 v 5, 5 v 5 Ranked (which can only be reached at Level 5) and Custom Matches. That’s all. No bot matches, no single player modes, nothing. Rocket League is completely free and offers more multiplayer modes, bot matches and a single player Championship mode against bots.
Not only that, you’re getting this bare bones package all while the game still contains your fairly standard monetisation. Cosmetics, Season Passes and Celebrity collabs are all here from day one (yours truly immediately ponies up for the Ronaldinho bundle). It’s a tough ask to demand a $35AU entry fee for such an anemic offering. Don’t get me wrong, I generally abhor the phrase “this should have been Free to Play” but this feels like the rare instance where I kind of agree.
Don’t get me wrong, Rocket League wasn’t free to begin with either, but it was cheaper and offered more. Luckily Xbox and “Xbox PC” owners can simply download Rematch as part of their Game Pass Ultimate subsciption. Which makes this a much easier decision.
The game is also beautiful. Anyone who has played SIFU and Absolver will immediately recognise Sloclap’s signature visual flare. Characters are big, bold and animate in that quasi-janky way that allows for better control which you sort of need in a soccer game. Enviornments are breathtakingly vibrant and a couple even transform during matches or after goals. The jungle stage is a particular highlight. The player customisation options are quite plentiful and allow you to create genuinely unique custom players for you to take to the pitch. The giant in-built wall scoreboard looks very cool after you’ve scored. All in all, the game delivers in spades on both the visual and audio front. The audio levels require very little adjustment. Player call outs are clear, ball contact sounds are punchy and the crowd noise is at a fairly appropriate level. These can all be adjusted of course, but Sloclap seems to have the balance right straight out the gate.
In the end Sloclap has unintentionally put a lot of roadblocks in the way of both your ability to enjoy and desire to purchase Rematch, but behind all that is one of the best feeling soccer games ever made waiting to blossom and be discovered, as long as you can see past those roadblocks and don’t mind paying up front for the potential this game has for the future.
Rematch | Review
Played on
Xbox Series X
PROS
- Strong visual style
- Deep and rewarding mechanics
CONS
- Steep learning curve
- No bot matches
- No single player modes
- Fairly heavy monetisation despite up front cost
