Rematch Beta Impressions (PS5)
The clock ticks down into the final moments in mine and Josh’s most intense match of Rematch for the night. Scores are level, skills are equally matched. So tight are the margins, they might as well have been drawn in invisible ink. We creep into overtime, locked at 0-0. I plunge into a perfectly timed tackle, sending my opponent head-first over my sliding body, before I ping the most delicious ball out to Josh on the wing. Taking the ball in stride, he blasts a toe-crunching shot into the top bins. Cue the slew of “Good job!” emotes and the ecstasy of being able to breathe again from the release of tension.
Approximately 20 matches into our evening Rematch session (I say approximately, because I lose count at two), I’ve stayed up later than I should, neglected other tasks I definitely should have done instead. Do I care in that moment? Not a jot. All of a sudden, I’m back in 2016-17 playing Rocket League in addictive fashion all over again. There were oh-so-many moments I could have referenced from the ten hours I spent with the Rematch beta, but this one truly encapsulated the tense and pulsating stakes that developer Sloclap have infused into their football sim. “The game’s gone” as the kids say. Well, Rematch has just burst onto the scene.
Hit The Ground Stumbling
Amusingly, I wasn’t all that invested in Rematch when it was first revealed. I love football, I love Rocket League and I liked Sifu, but it didn’t really grab me like the best defensive midfielders. Thankfully, I have Josh to pester me into trying games anyway – and in fairness, he’s almost always right. The beta featured Rematch’s 3v3, 4v4 and 5v5 modes. They all play identically, but as the player count increases, so does your need to master the mechanics and more importantly, know how to position yourself and use space.
The tutorial gets you up to speed with movement, passes, shooting, tackling and sweeper-keeping. It’s solid for the fundamentals, but just like Rocket League, it can only teach you so much before experience becomes the real tutor. Like a plucky youngster entering the fray of their first Premier League match, you might think you know what you’re doing, until you have a Lewis Dunk type clattering you for six.
Within just a couple hours of the beta however, I was getting it. One aspect I liked most during my hours with the game was the varying roles you can encompass. If you prefer blasting out of goal to clear your opponent like Neuer, you can. Or, like me, you may prefer to sit in center circle, pinging passes, launching into tackles and helping your team tick over. Sure, you’ll get the usual goal-hangers and terrible trick merchants, as this is a multiplayer orientated game, but for the most part, your own skills will carry you a long way.
Bale Me Out
I imagine quite a few people may be wondering how Rematch actually plays – is this like FIFA EAFC? No, is the short and long answer. I likened it to Rocket League meets football, with QWERTY (the game, not the password) thrown in for good measure. Every action is in manual, if something like PES is an automatic, for reference. Shooting for example, is aimed by the crosshair at the center of your screen. Moving your camera, therefore dictates where your shots will go.
For passing, you aim with the left analogue stick as is typical of sports games, but you have to carefully input how strong your through balls are. Skills are completed using a mix of holding L2 and R1 with other button inputs, which have differing outcomes depending on directional input. It’s a simple system on the surface, but has a cavernous level of depth lurking underneath said surface.
That’s not even mentioning using the walls a-la Rocket League for “techs”. Goalkeepers often dive at the first shot, leading to many keen-eyed players smashing first shots at the wall, then knocking the rebound into an empty net. I imagine they have a Luis Suarez-esque grin on their face while celebrating those. Once I overcame the initial learning curve (I’m still a relative novice), I was hooked. The sandbox may be small, but it is brimming with opportunity and wondrous fun.
You Got Kane’d
Even goalkeeping, often so derided in most football games, is ridiculously enjoyable. Instead of one player acting as a fixed shot-stopper, the first one entering the box is dished with the gloves. You can acrobatically dive with triangle, or slide across the ground with circle. Leave the penalty area and you’ll be insta-switched to a sweeper, with unlimited stamina and space abound. Keepers have advantage in tackles and I-frames too, which is fun. Though, bungle an easy save and those “good job!” emotes won’t feel quite so wholesome…
In a nutshell though, that’s kind of the magic that Sloclap have distilled into this wildly addictive football sim. The amusingly toxic preset messages getting spammed. That one obnoxious winger who calls for the ball all the bloody time despite apparently having a phobic aversion to the pass button themselves. I just couldn’t stop playing the beta, despite even having other things to do and plenty of other games to play. The beta pulled me in like Eden Hazard gobbling up Arsenal defenders.
We saw a little of the customisation and personalisation items that’ll be on offer in the full release, which is all neat and fine. Quite honestly, they could have packaged my avatar up in a bin bag and I’d have not cared a jot. If this beta is anything to go by, Sloclap may have just fashioned that Rocket League lightning and made it strike twice. As soon as the servers went offline, I was desperate to get back on. June 19th can’t come soon enough, and Rematch should, without a doubt, be on your team sheet for this month.
Oh, and it saved me from the cesspool of Marvel Rivals. So for that, Sloclap will have my enduring appreciation.
Rematch will be available June 19th on PlayStation 5 (preview platform), Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Developer: Sloclap
Publisher: Kepler
Disclaimer: In order to complete this preview, we played the publicly available beta. For our full review policy, please go here.
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