Rocket League without cars. Review of the football action Rematch

Rematch is a real-time arcade football action game that offers not just playing a match, but experiencing a moment of personal triumph or defeat and taking revenge. In a world where football games either go into surrealism or slide into a sterile arcade, Rematch creates its own niche - emotional, dynamic 5-on-5 football (4-on-4, 3-on-3) with a focus on live player interaction, physics and team play. It's not so much about winning as about forcing yourself to come back and prove that you could have played better. And it works, the game has already become a phenomenon and at its peak had over 90 thousand players online on Steam alone, and that's not counting those who played on Game Pass. More details about the aspects of the game in our review.

Visual style and atmosphere

The game does not try to surprise with graphics. Instead, Rematch aptly balances between stylization and a clear visual code: the field, the ball, the players. All elements are designed for good readability and quick reaction to events. Although this system does not always work as it should. Visually, it is somewhere between futsal and the neon of a night city. The cartoon style allows you to add expressive character customization. The stadium background is more abstract than in the usual football simulators, but it is dynamic and works on the atmosphere. All the players on the field are avatars of real players with gamepads in their hands, and not the stars of world football, which all fans of collection modes, like Ultimate Team in EA FC, are chasing. This is just football, reimagined as a competition of characters, pure skill and tactics.

Mechanics and gameplay

In Rematch, each player controls only one player, which completely changes the dynamics of the game. There is no switching between players or controlling the team, and everything really depends on team interaction, coordination and the ability to "read" your partners. It is similar to the Pro Clubs mode in EA Sports FC (formerly FIFA), but without the accompanying career or management systems: just the match, the emotions, the rematch.

The ball physics in Rematch are arcade-like, but they feel realistic, with inertia and weight, with authentic bounces and ricochets. This makes the game technically demanding and increases the cost of error: one misplaced pass or a late reaction can instantly result in a missed goal. This motivates you to come back and play again, not just to win, but to correct your own mistakes.

The energy system in Rematch is interesting: you can sprint, spending the stamina bar, but there is also a separate "super effort" bar that allows you to make a dash without spending - a one-time impulse. The role of the goalkeeper here is dynamic, and the player who takes it gets gloves and special abilities. This adds chaos, but also drive. With competent rotation, you can simultaneously support the attack with all the team's forces, and at the right moment take a place in the goal to make a "save" and start a counterattack for your own team.

The rules of the game in Rematch have deliberately deviated from classic football. There are no offsides, corners, throw-ins or long pauses. Just a game without breaks and delays, like in yard football. After each goal, the ball is instantly returned to play, there are no violations, there are no fouls as such - the game allows physical contact, tackles and power struggles without a referee and colored cards. It feels like FIFA Street: matches are more like a fight for the ball than a structured positional game. Such a solution creates greater dynamics, but at the same time requires full concentration - you won't be able to rest during the game.

At the level of general rhythm and philosophy, Rematch is "Rocket League without cars". The formats are 3-on-3, 4-on-4, 5-on-5, which, by the way, differ significantly in the feeling of the game - the more players, the more important it is to play as a team, rather than to demonstrate individual skill. But in any case, these are all fast matches without pauses; where individual reaction and adaptation are of great importance. As in Rocket League, in Rematch it is not so much the strategy of the game that is important, but skill, reflexes and instant adaptation to the situation. You make a mistake - you are punished. You find your role - the magic of team play begins.

Control, camera and information delivery

In Rematch, the controls are built around full control over the actions of one player, and that's what makes the matches so lively. Passes, kicks, tackles, feints - everything is done manually, without auto-corrections and auxiliary animations. To make an accurate pass, you need to correctly orient yourself in space, choose the moment, direction and force. Mistakes are not smoothed out, a poorly directed pass does not "stick" to a partner, but is simply lost. Shots on goal work the same way: they can be directed under the crossbar, into the near corner or simply hit the opponent's body with all your strength, but the result always depends not so much on the player's parameters as on the accuracy of execution.

The lack of automated control or an AI team that will "clean up" after you creates tension: even in simple situations you need to act carefully, and each successful pass or save becomes a small victory. This also highlights the problems of such a system. After all, without a display of the ball's trajectory before a kick or pass, you have to make each kick almost blindly, and it requires considerable practice to calculate in advance how the ball will go. Everything is like in real football. But is this obviously synthetic complication necessary? A rhetorical question. But this philosophy was also applied in the studio's previous games, the fighting games Absolver and Sifu.

The camera in Rematch is located behind the character in a third-person perspective, but does not automatically lock onto the ball. The player controls the view independently using the right stick and must constantly keep the ball in sight, otherwise it is easy to lose orientation. This fundamentally distinguishes the game from FIFA or Rocket League, where the camera often "helps" to focus on the main object.

When the ball is out of frame, for example, flying from behind towards the player, a floating indicator of the direction of the ball appears. However, it is implemented quite conditionally, it is difficult to interpret in dynamics, because it is not clear at what distance the ball is and from what height it approaches. This creates additional complexity when receiving passes "over the shoulder", especially if the player is moving at full speed or is under pressure from opponents.

Another important aspect is the blind spot behind the back. If an opponent approaches from behind, they are not visible until the player turns the camera. This adds tension and requires constant monitoring of the situation around them. However, here the game uses an interesting solution: the sound of the opponent's footsteps is heard louder than the sound of teammates' movements. This allows you to partially compensate for the lack of visual control. If someone catches up with you from behind, you will most likely hear it: the rhythm of the steps, the speed of approach, the direction, everything is presented in a volume that is large enough for those who play with headphones.

As for the presentation of information, the interface in Rematch is as simple as possible, and this is also a conscious design decision. There is only the necessary minimum on the screen: a stamina scale, an "overexertion" indicator, a score, a timer, and a small map with the location of the players. All this is compact and does not cover the field, which allows you to focus on the gameplay. However, for beginners, this can create additional complexity: there are no hints about open partners, there are no automatic indicators of the passing zone or suggestions for movement. You have to navigate yourself, notice the team's movements, see the partner who is opening up, and decide when to pass, when to run, and when to step back.

All of this makes Rematch visually clean, but it requires a higher level of attentiveness and situational awareness. Those who are used to HUD tips and navigation aids from FIFA or other simulators will initially feel a bit disorientated. But once the mechanics become familiar, its main advantage is revealed - you play not for statistics, but for the feeling of the game on the field.

Problems and technical limitations

After its release, Rematch immediately gathered over a million players – and it’s noticeable. The servers don’t always handle the load, matchmaking is slow or inappropriate for the level. Even after the first patch, the game still has technical problems. These include freezes at the start of the match, desynchronization of player positions, problems with replay playback, and periodic server crashes. In some cases, players end up on the field unable to move, or the match starts without a full team. The camera sometimes “floats,” and the UI seems ill-conceived, and the features designed to improve interaction with the game work at half-strength. We’re talking about the same uninformative visual accompaniment of a pass or other interaction with the ball.

It is worth noting the lack of bot play - so training is only possible "live", which makes the entry threshold in Rematch too high for beginners. Crossplay is also not available yet, although it is promised in future updates.

One of the most painful moments is the complete absence of training matches with bots or with a team. That is, in Rematch there is training of individual skills, passes, dribbling, ball recovery, shots, but all this is separate. All this is very important for understanding the basic mechanics, but it will not work to collect all this in a training match. In most cases, players ignore these tasks, and all training takes place "live", in a match against other people. As a result, in a real match there are often random teammates who do not understand the rules, do not pass, do not take positions or simply disappear at the start. This breaks the game for the entire team - especially in 3-on-3 mode, where each player is critically important.

This not only makes it harder for new players to get started, but it also reduces the overall quality of the game for those who have already mastered the basics. Every match becomes a risk - whether it's a real football fight or another round with four helpless phantoms next to you. And without the option to practice or play, the game is not yet able to solve this problem.

There is no progression in Rematch. But there are seasons. Although the game is paid, it has monetization and it is quite aggressive. Right from the start, the player is thrown onto the season screen, where you can buy a pass to get premium cosmetic items.

Conclusion

Rematch is a game where the goal is not the main thing. The main thing is the feeling that you have regained your dignity and corrected a mistake. It is not perfect, technically raw, but in each match there is a pulse that sports AAA projects lack (hello EA FC and eFootball). You want to play it not because of the "season" or "career", but because of the desire to beat the very player who just beat you. The word "revenge" here is not just marketing. It is mechanics. It is emotion. It is the heart of the game.