Good job! We got this!
By Jonathan Garrett
21/04/25
Previewed on PC.

Rematch is a sharp pivot away from Sifu’s stylised kung fu action, but developer Slowclap have resolutely subverted expectations across the board to great effect with a confident and challenging slice of arcade action. There’s much to be done in terms of polish; server stability was on shaky ground, and the game has a tendency to throttle CPU usage at inopportune moments leading to multiple crashes during our initial playtesting. But we’re two months out from release, and quite frankly, these are exactly the kind of problems this sort of open testing is designed to expose.

What matters next is Slowclap’s ability to capitalise on the flurry of interest and put this data and feedback to good use. Over 100K players flocked to the beta, which is certainly a tangible indication of future viability. However, as a premium (albeit lower priced) release, there isn’t room for wonkiness at launch, especially as our ears are still ringing from the Concord debacle.

Thankfully the core gameplay is there, and while the controls will take multiple rounds before they become embedded, Slowclap have smartly distilled what makes football tick into a very streamlined experience. There’s no fouls, free kicks, penalties, offside or even out of bounds touchline. You control a single player throughout, and the focus is on ball handling, passing, finishes, and managing your stamina.

The use of the triggers and face buttons for cheeky footwork feels much more intuitive than other sports titles that rely too heavily on the right thumbstick for equivalent plays. The fast paced nature of the gameplay means reactions are everything, and you’ll only have seconds to orient yourself and attempt to out manoeveur an incoming slide. Passing is handled by aiming with the left stick and hitting x, but shooting requires you to aim your cursor with the right stick before pulling the trigger. This can lead to some wild misplaced balls if you’re not thinking on your feet.

Even goalkeeping requires manual input, so you can’t rely on an NPC to pick up the slack. You can dynamically switch to being a keeper if the current assigned player leaves the box and you choose to enter. While great for quick fixes if someone messes up and leaves you exposed, this did lead to some frustrating moments when defenders were right on the edge of the boundary and you unintentionally swapped roles. It might potentially work better if it was a button press request, much like the calling for the ball mechanic which provides a directional guide to the player with possession.

Some of the pre game and UI elements don’t currently behave as intended, and the camera can often fall victim to significant judder, particularly during an instant replay. However, much like the server stability and optimisation, these are all things that can be tweaked ready for launch. As of right now, Rematch is an often times exhilarating experience, especially when a skilful play comes together. The potential for jolliness with friends left us feeling very optimistic.

TARPS?

At the bottom of some of our articles, you’ll see a series of absurd looking images (with equally stupid, in joke laden names). These are the TARP badges, which represent our ‘Totally Accurate Rating Platform’. They allow us to identify specific things, recognise positive or negative aspects of a games design, and generally indulge our consistent silliness with some visual tomfoolery.