Rematch is the soccer game I didn't know I needed after EA Sports FC 25 let me down
To date, I've played some 70 hours of EA Sports FC 25.
That might seem a pretty healthy playtime after around 10 months, but traditionally, at this stage in the season, I'd usually be well over the 120-hour mark in each year's new installment in the annual soccer simulation series.
The fact that I'm so far off my typical pace speaks to how increasingly underwhelming I've found EA's sports juggernaut franchise. I'm a massive soccer (make that football for us Brits) fan, and the series has always been a staple of my gaming diet. But lately, it seems to be just going through the motions. In steps Rematch, a new online sports game from Sloclap.
Curiously, Rematch takes a lot of cues from the new Rush mode introduced in EA Sports FC 25, which was one of the few things I really liked about the game.
But Rematch takes it further, adding an increased skill element, and thrives thanks to that same fast-paced energy that propelled Rocket League into the stratosphere. After just a little time with Rematch, I'm already totally hooked.
Rematch is a new online soccer game from developer Sloclap. You control a single player in matches of up to 10 players as you compete to score well-worked goals and make dramatic defensive interventions. With colorful visuals, fast-paced gameplay and a high skill ceiling, Rematch will appeal to football fans and newcomers alike.Additional platforms: $29 @ Steam | $29 @ Xbox Store
The simplest way to describe Rematch is that it's Rocket League but with regular people instead of zippy RC cars.
Now, stick with me, I know that sounds silly because that's just normal soccer, but Rematch takes plenty of aspects from the popular online car-based sports game. The arena is entirely enclosed, so you can bounce the ball off just about every surface, and while you can't sprint up vertical walls à la Rocket League, you can perform acrobatic actions that put a circus performer to shame.
Played entirely online, with each player controlling an individual avatar, Rematch is available in 3v3, 4v4 and 5v5 modes. While the middle option is presented as the default, I've found 3v3s to be the most engaging, as you always feel a part of the action, and can make game-defining moments regularly. But in 3v3s, you really can't carry anybody, so you need a good team.
Rematch also takes a novel approach to the goalkeeper position. Rather than having somebody stuck in nets all match, the keeper rotates after each goal scored, and you can even switch who's playing the role anytime just by quickly swapping physical positions on the field. This can also lead to a clutch scenario when you sub into the keeper role just as your opposition unleashes a shot.
Not to keep circling back to Rocket League, but Rematch shines brightest during tightly contested games. I had one recent match that finished 5-4, with my team scoring a well-worked goal in Overtime to win the match. I was practically kneesliding across my living room as the net bulged.
Unlike EA Sports FC, which takes a user-friendly pick-and-play approach, allowing most people to get reasonably comfortable before even half-time in their very first match, Rematch is instantly demanding of its players.
Frankly, I'm still getting to grips with its various mechanics — I keep forgetting you're slower when in possession, allowing defenders to muscle me off the ball all too often — but with each new game, I feel I'm gaining a greater understanding of how to play most effectively to help my team win.
Passing and shooting are really tricky to master. Sloclap has stripped away the generous auto-targeting found in EA's series, and instead asks you to deliberately aim where you're launching the ball with your foot. Has this led to me flubbing several 'should-score' chances? Of course, but the moments where I have pulled off a top-corner curler have been immensely satisfying.
The skill ceiling in Rematch seems almost limitless, and I just know that pro-level players are going to put together some incredible Messi-like passages of play, making the rest of us look like Ali Dia (kudos to you, if you got that reference). But rather than this high level of mechanical complexity being off-putting, it's a huge part of the reason I desperately want to play more.
In the final game of my most recent play session (which came about 45 minutes after I'd originally intended to log-off because I just kept saying 'one more game'), I managed to bag my first hat-trick, and it felt like a culmination of all the skills I'd picked up in my time with Rematch so far. However, I've certainly not mastered the game; I'm definitely still a lower-league player.
Like pretty much all online games released in the current era of gaming, Rematch's launch isn't the finish line; it's really just the kick-off. Sloclap is promising a string of future updates, alongside the usual live service accoutrements like a Battle Pass and various licensed collaborations. The game has even launched with a team-up with soccer icon Ronaldinho.
I'm super excited to see where Rematch goes in the future, and I'm greatly enthused by the fact that it's starting from such a strong base already.
If Slocap can keep adding to the core they've built — I would love an offline mode with AI bots to further sharpen my skills in a less high-pressure environment — then Rematch could have the staying power to stick around for several seasons to come.
So, if you're also feeling a bit underwhelmed by the latest EA Sports FC release and want a new spin on virtual soccer, don't skip Rematch. It's only just beginning its online journey, but it's got all the ingredients to be a long-reigning champion, and might just be the closest a video game has ever come to replicating the sheer thrill of scoring a match-winning goal in real life. (Or at least what I imagine it feels like, my IRL soccer skills are seriously shoddy.)
Of course, even in the world of Rematch, my shots remain more likely to miss the mark than find the back of the net, but don't worry, as soon as I'm finished here, I'm heading back to the pitch to keep practicing.
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