Soccer has seen its fair share of contenders vying for the digital pitch, each promising the ultimate blend of realism and/or exhilarating gameplay. Enter REMATCH, a new challenger that steps onto the field with bold ambitions, aiming to carve out its own niche in the crowded multiplayer arena. REMATCH is serious compared to its four-wheeled contemporary, but it’s no less fun or gratifying as it looks and feels like the real thing, only with more flourish and style. Having triumphed for several wins and enduring many agonizing losses, REMATCH lives up to its name, offering a compelling reason to step back onto the pitch for just one more game.
Now, REMATCH is a 3v3, 4v4, or 5v5 multiplayer soccer game, but it quickly distinguishes itself with a design philosophy that leans heavily into accessibility without sacrificing strategic depth. Arenas are digitally walled off, and not unlike Rocket League. Controls are intuitive, and pulling off actions like passing, shooting, and tackling are achievable. However, beneath this approachable veneer lies a surprising amount of nuance. Mastering the timing of through-balls, the precise angle of a power shot, or the subtle art of a well-timed slide tackle requires dedication and practice. The physics engine, while not striving for hyper-realism, offers a satisfyingly weighty feel to the ball and player movements, ensuring that every touch and collision feels impactful.
Where REMATCH truly shines is in its emphasis on team play. This isn’t a game where one superstar can single-handedly carry a team to victory. Success hinges on effective communication through voice chat or d-pad inputs, intelligent positioning, and a shared understanding of tactics. Each player takes on unique roles like captain, goalie, or field runner. Goalies are assigned, and puts golden gloves to signify this. If the goalie leaves the box, the gloves come off and someone else inherits the role. But often people stuck to their roles and rarely deviated unless they were motivated to rotate positions.
Players sprint, dribble, and tackle slide with precision and imprecision. The game doesn’t take breaks or give out fouls, so you’re constantly on the move, having to manage your sprint meter. There’s terrifically smooth animations, and somewhat incredible movements that even some soccer players can’t always pull off, but it’s a show to see when you do it.
The longevity of a multiplayer game often hinges on its replayability, and REMATCH makes a strong case for itself in this department. The core gameplay loop is inherently addictive, constantly urging “just one more match.” The ranking system provides a clear sense of progression, motivating players to climb the competitive ladder. However, a potential area for improvement lies in the depth of its long-term content roadmap. While the current offering is solid, the game would benefit from more varied game modes, additional stadiums, and a more robust player progression system that goes beyond cosmetic unlocks. The foundation is undeniably strong, but sustained engagement will require consistent content updates and active community management to prevent the experience from becoming stale for dedicated players.
Customization is decently robust, with allowing you to create an avatar that represents you or something different. But it can’t make nightmare creatures like other character creators. There is a reliance on paid or earned cosmetics to further differentiate your character from others. There’s a wide swath of jersey designs and colorways that does the most to create a look not like anyone else.
There is a battle pass, right now the game is running Season 0. The battle pass has a free track, with a paid track if you purchase into it. It contains a lot of the things you would expect like emotes, sticks, and cosmetic options to further customize your character. Right now it’s “just there”, but I hope as real seasons roll out things become more exciting to work towards.
The netcode, a crucial component for any online multiplayer title, is now solid after a few patches and updates. Lag is now a rare occurrence in my sessions, even when matched with players across different regions, ensuring a smooth and responsive game for all. Unfortunately the game doesn’t have crossplay yet, so everyone is segmented on the system they’re playing on, and can’t play with friends from other platforms. Hopefully that changes soon.
Visually, REMATCH opts for a vibrant, slightly stylized aesthetic rather than a photorealistic one, a choice that serves it well. Character models are distinct and expressive, and the stadiums, while not numerous, are well-designed with dynamic lighting that adds to the atmosphere. Animations are fluid, particularly the transitions between different actions, which contributes significantly to the game’s responsive feel. The user interface is clean and functional, providing all necessary information without cluttering the screen. Sound design is equally competent, with satisfying thwacks of the ball, the roar of the crowd, and clear audio cues for in-game events. While the graphics won’t push the boundaries of your GPU, they are more than adequate and contribute to a cohesive and enjoyable presentation. My only minor gripe here would be the limited variety in player customization options at launch; while functional, it leaves something to be desired for those who enjoy personalizing their in-game avatar.
REMATCH supports DLSS, DLAA, and Frame Generation, and with it enabled I was able to consistently reach my 180fps cap. The game is incredibly performant on its own, but with upscaling, makes that even easier to attain,
My PC Specs:
– Microsoft Windows 11 Pro
– Intel Core i9 13900K @ 5.8GHz
– ASUS ROG RYUJIN II 360 ARGB AIO Liquid CPU Cooler
– G.SKILL TRIDENT Z5 6000MHZ 64GB (32×2) DDR5 RAM
– ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4080 16GB GDDR6X
– WD_BLACK SN850X M.2 (4 TB)
– LG UltraGear 34GP950B-G (21:9 Ultrawide @ 3440×1440)
Showing it can be more than just “Rocket League with human feet”, Sloclap understands what makes multiplayer soccer engaging. The Prologue teases what a story mode could be like, and it would be really good had there been a campaign. REMATCH can be a little dry in its presentation, but is a grounded and surprisingly strong soccer game that only a well-executed competitive sports game can provide – the last-minute goal, the perfectly executed pass, the coordinated defensive stop. Sloclap has mastered multiplayer for Absolver, and then excelled at creating fluid animations in Sifu, for this all to coalesce in REMATCH to be a wonderfully flowing soccer game that has legs.
A Steam code was provided in advance by the publisher for review purposes
