Reviewed on Xbox Series X|S – June 2025

“Rematch” landed on June 19, 2025, ready to flip football gaming on its head with fast, chaotic, online multiplayer action. Forget controlling a whole team, this game puts you in the boots of just one controllable player in intense online matches, channeling the inner workings of “FIFA’s Pro clubs”, minus the stat grind.

Aiming to steal “Rocket League’s” crown, it’s a thrill ride that’s got me hooked after hours of tearing up its bright, lively pitches. But with some rough spots holding it back, it’s not quite at the top of the table yet. Here’s a quick rundown of what makes Rematch a blast, where it stumbles, and why it’s got the makings of something special.

Gameplay: Skill-Driven Chaos that Takes Practice

Rematch is all about getting the hang of a soccer ball that feels alive, bouncing and rolling in ways that demand real skill to control.

Dribbling is where the fun starts; it’s all about style, control, and timing. Quick taps or ball pushes let you weave through defenders by nudging the ball just ahead of your stride, keeping it close while slipping through gaps. You can redirect passes instantly with first-touch flicks to catch opponents off guard and open space. Skill moves like rainbow flicks, feint dashes, and heel chops add flair, keep you unpredictable, and help you break down tight defenses; plus, using a skill move grants you brief invincibility frames, letting you glide through tackles if timed right. When you use your “extra effort”, your touches become heavier and less precise, trading finesse for power and speed to bomb down the pitch.

Figure 1: A player performing a rainbow flick skill move
Image Source: https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/all-rematch-skill-moves-inputs-3216130/

Passing is the real MVP (most valuable player) of Rematch, but it’s not always easy at first. You aim passes with the left stick, not where your player faces, allowing for quick short passes, charged long balls, lob passes, crosses, and even back-passes to set up teammates. Shots can also be used as powerful passes across the pitch. A super short tap pass works well in tight spaces for quick give-and-gos. Passing off the wall to yourself or teammates creates clever angles and avoids tackles. However, passing can be tricky, sometimes the ball slips through your teammates, and without a power gauge, it’s easy to misjudge passing distances.

Shooting is another highlight. You aim with the right stick to pick your spot, while the left stick lets you add spin to bend or dip the ball around defenders and the goalkeeper. It’s awesome to curl one into the top corner or blast a powerful rocket that’s nearly impossible to stop. The system feels dynamic, and pulling off a screamer in an online game gets the blood pumping. Players often shoot at the back wall to bait the keeper into diving, then score off the rebound. Aiming takes practice, and in the heat of a crowded box, you might shank it if you’re rushed. Blade shots are the meta right now, a technique where you softly lob the ball, then use Extra Effort to sprint and slice across it at an angle. The result is a powerful, curving strike that stretches the keeper and creates hard-to-predict angles.

Figure 2: The player performing a “blade shot” at the goal
Image Source: https://www.operationsports.com/how-to-lob-the-ball-to-yourself-and-perform-a-blade-shot-in-rematch/

Defending is quick, physical, and all about smart positioning. Jockeying keeps you close for a timed standing tackle, while sprinting into a slide tackle delivers a stronger challenge. You can jump to block shots, cut passing lanes, or use the wall to corner opponents and intercept plays. Coordinated defense and reading the play are just as vital as scoring

Goalkeeping is the biggest surprise, as a good goalie is a game-changer. You’ve got high dives, low dives, standing jumps, throws, and kicks, all controlled by you. It’s intense, rewarding stuff, especially when you pull off a fingertip save in a closely packed match. The sweeper-keeper role, where you step outside the box in your half with unlimited stamina, is brilliant, you can act like a defensive midfield general, starting attacks with pinpoint passes. But it’s not perfect. Sometimes the game counts goals even when you’ve clearly saved them, which is a real kick in the teeth during a close match.

Figure 3: The player as the goalkeeper making a diving save
Image Source: https://www.restart.run/articles/rematch-has-me-falling-in-love-with-being-a-goalie

Extra Effort (as mentioned earlier), not only boosts your sprinting speed, it also makes your shots and passes significantly stronger, letting you launch the ball farther and hit with more power when charging down the wing. When activated, your player crackles with a blue electricity effect, an eye-catching visual cue that shows it’s on. Activating this mode briefly drains a smaller secondary energy bar. It’s a real gamble, trading tight control for thrilling breaks and explosive strikes. Defenders can use it to close gaps quickly or dive into tackles with more impact, while goalkeepers get extra range on dives, helping them reach wider or harder shots. When timed right, it can be the game winning impact.

Figure 4: Player surrounded by electricity, showing “Extra Effort” is active.
Image Source: https://www.polygon.com/guides/607905/better-shots-goals-how-to-score

The controls, though, are where things get messy. X to pass, RT to shoot, double-tap LB to enable extra effort, it’s like they threw buttons in a blender. Stringing together dribbles, passes, and shots can feel clunky, especially when you’re trying to keep up in a fast-paced online game. Worst of all, you can’t remap controls, so you’re stuck with this awkward setup. There’s a ball lock option to help you stick to the ball, but without custom bindings, you can’t actually map it to a button. It’s a big miss for a game that demands quick reactions.

Multiplayer: Magic With Friends, Mayhem Without

Playing with friends is where Rematch truly shines. Coordinated passes, combo shots, and last-second saves lead to electric moments that rival Rocket League’s most iconic plays. The game’s fast pace and open-ended mechanics reward communication and chemistry, making every goal feel earned and every win unforgettable.

Solo queuing, though, is a different story. Matches can swing wildly depending on your teammates, some pass beautifully and play smart, while others hog the ball, charging from end to end like lone wolves. It’s not uncommon to see players sarcastically spamming “great job!” in the chat, or quitting the game mid-match when they make a mistake themselves.

Game Modes: Limited but Addictive

Rematch offers 3v3, 4v4, and 5v5 game modes, but only 5v5 currently has ranked play, which feels restrictive for competitive players. The 3v3 mode is the most reliable for quick matchmaking, while 4v4 and 5v5 can take much longer to find games. Each mode is played on a differently sized arena to match the number of players, changing how open or chaotic the matches feel.

Skill Games offer a fun way to sharpen your abilities, with challenges such as target shooting and dribbling courses. You can earn bronze, silver, or gold medals based on your performance, which adds a nice layer of progression. But with only a handful of challenges available and no friend/online leaderboards, the replayability feels limited. Hopefully more Skill Games are added over time, maybe even custom ones that players can create and share. One small but frustrating issue: there’s no quick retry option after finishing a challenge, forcing you back to the main menu every time. A simple retry button, even from the pause menu, would go a long way.

Figure 5: Player playing the dribbling skill game
Image Source: https://gamerant.com/rematch-new-features-updates-wishlist/

The tutorial covers the basics but misses advanced techniques like set-piece plays (such as shooting off walls for rebounds), and crucial mechanic information like gaining immunity during certain skill moves, how goalkeepers can see where the ball is going to rebound to, and much more. It also doesn’t explain other gameplay nuances and strategies that add depth and excitement. More comprehensive tutorials are needed to help players truly master the game’s rich mechanics, without them, newcomers may feel overwhelmed jumping straight into online matches.

Visuals and Customisation: Vibrant but Underwhelming

The art style pops with bright colours and fluid animations that make every match feel energetic and alive. But where things stumble for me is the battle pass. It feels thin, lacking the kind of standout rewards that motivate long-term play. One surprise addition to the game is Ronaldinho, whose motion-captured flair gives him a unique, samba-infused moveset that oozes style. It’s a great touch, but the game misses a bigger opportunity by not offering iconic player skins or legendary Premier League celebrations in the battle pass as the final unlock.

Technical Performance: Bugs That Break the Flow

For all its style and creativity, Rematch is seriously held back by technical problems that disrupt matches and test your patience. These bugs and missing features can add up fast. The bugs that I have experienced include:

● Desync bug: The ball looks frozen for most players, then suddenly teleports when someone touches it

● Control lock bug: Sometimes your inputs just stop working, forcing you to quit and restart the match.

● Ball glitches: The ball occasionally pings around randomly, or gets stuck.

● Broken saves: Goalkeepers sometimes concede goals even when they clearly make the save.

● Achievement bugs: Goals like “win 3 matches in a row” or “hit 100 goals/saves/assists” often fail to register.

● No crossplay at launch: Sloclap confirmed that there would be no crossplay on release just days before it came out.

Sloclap has promised regular updates in the future, including bringing back crossplay, but for now, these issues are a major hurdle for an otherwise promising game.

Accessibility: A Missed Shot on Goal

For an indie title with mainstream ambitions, Rematch falters noticeably on the accessibility front. The lack of control remapping is a major hurdle, especially for players with motor impairments or those who rely on personalised setups to play comfortably. However, there are options to adjust camera movement, motion blur, and sound settings.

More pressing is the absence of features like a colourblind mode, scalable text, audio cues for visual prompts, and controller vibration customisation. In a game that relies so heavily on speed and reaction time, these omissions can make the experience frustrating or outright inaccessible for many. For Rematch to reach its full potential and truly open its doors to all players, future updates need to prioritise inclusive design as much as gameplay depth.

The Verdict: An Indie Gem with Premiership Dreams

Rematch is a blast when it clicks. Its skill-based gameplay, loose ball control, and goalkeeper depth make every match a heart-racing spectacle, especially with friends. It captures the sports game niche brilliantly, offering a fresh alternative to something like FIFA’s Pro Clubs.

As Sloclap’s third game, it’s an ambitious pivot from their martial arts roots, showcasing their knack for innovative mechanics. But limited modes, technical bugs, and missing features like control remapping and advanced tutorials hold it back from being the Rocket League killer it aspires to be.

To grow a sustainable playerbase, Rematch may need to consider transitioning to a free-to-play model, just as Rocket League did. Its pick-up-and-play energy and team-based format are perfect for viral, drop-in multiplayer, but only if there’s a thriving community to match.

Rematch is like a Sunday League banger, rough, chaotic, and brimming with heart. Fix the bugs, expand the modes, and it could score a hat-trick. But for now, lace up and dive into the frenzy, it’s a wild ride worth taking.

Score: 3.5/5
Playtime: 15 Hours
Achievements: 26/37 (Although it should be 32/37 if they had registered correctly