Rematch Review (Xbox Series X|S)

Back in the day when Rocket League was just about to come out, I had a feeling after playing the beta that it was going to be something massive. It had that "just one more game" feel - packed with addictive qualities that meant it was very difficult to put down. Rematch, from the developer behind 2022 brawler Sifu, is a very similar beast to Rocket League. It's basically the same game without cars, and it's every bit as engrossing so far.

Rematch sees you taking the role of a single player in football (or "soccer") games of either 3v3, 4v4 or 5v5 variants. All of this takes place online, linking you up with other friends or strangers to face other teams from around the world in usually six-minute matches. The camera is reminiscent of the default view from EA Sports FC's "Player Career" mode - or if you're of a certain age, think LiberoGrande on the original PlayStation!

Games in Rematch feel really fluid thanks to the excellent player animations and responsive controls, although that's not to say you'll find it easy by any stretch. The control system actually feels at odds with anything I've ever experienced in football games before - you have to aim your shots with the camera and use the right trigger to shoot, for example, which takes time to get used to. Even something as simple as playing a short pass can be tricky because of how non-automated everything is. It's essentially like playing with "manual" settings in EA Sports FC, and then adding in a control scheme that feels foreign and takes a while to grasp.

This is the one thing that might limit Rematch's potential compared to something like Rocket League, as if you're not willing to stick with it and learn the controls across multiple hours, it's going to feel like you can't do anything against the more skilled players. Slowly but surely though, if you do stick with it, you'll start to get the hang of things - and suddenly you'll find yourself scoring goals, making great assists and pulling off some spectacular saves. The controls offer amazing potential and allow you to wield all sorts of great moves as long as you're willing to put the effort in.

You can communicate with teammates via one of a few shouts, which are actually very effective at generating some good plays, whether that's telling someone to pass, calling for a cross, or even just apoligising to someone for messing up an easy chance. What's particularly nice is that Rematch punishes players who think they're the bee's knees and can do everything on their own. Passing and crossing make goals much easier to score (and harder to save), while rigid defensive marking ensures you're best placed to make a crucial tackle, clearance or last-gasp block when necessary. As soon as you start running around like a headless chicken, you're likely going to struggle. Not to mention, your teammates will spam "Good Job!" at you when you selfishly ruin a chance for an easy goal or save.

One of the old taglines for the Pro Evolution Soccer series (R.I.P.) was centred around how they didn't want you to score "easy" goals like in FIFA at the time, but rather they wanted you to work for it - to feel that satisfaction of achieving something that wasn't being handed to you on a plate. Rematch definitely aligns with this approach - goals aren't easy to score in this game, so when you finally hit the back of the net, the feeling is incredible. It's the kind of feeling that makes you want to come back again and again for another match, and before you know it, you've spent your entire evening promising "just one more game". Believe me, I speak from experience!

Have I mentioned how cool the goalie system is yet? Basically, you switch positions after each goal is scored, meaning you'll likely play goalie at least once per-match, and again I'd liken it to the EA Sports FC 25 version of playing goalkeeper - but with more of an arcade flair and more of an intuitive feel. What's particularly cool is that if you leave your area to make a tackle or run with the ball yourself, another player can seamlessly take over the goalie role by running to the area themselves. It all happens in the blink of an eye, and I love how it's implemented.

When it comes to the actual game modes in Rematch, there's a decent number of options to choose from - unranked matches, custom matches and ranked 5v5 are what's available. All of these are fun in their own right, and the difference between 3v3 and 5v5 is pretty vast in terms of how the game plays, so I'm not really asking for anything else right now. It's a slight shame you can't play offline against the CPU in any form though (aside from the Practice mode), so here's hoping that gets added down the line at some point, but it seems it wasn't a priority for launch.

There's a whole cosmetic side to the game as well, and the player creation suite is actually more in-depth than I'd expected. Some of the cosmetics are locked behind monetisation and a free-to-play style season pass structure, which is a bit at odds considering this is a paid game, but I'm not grumbling too much as they don't affect gameplay. There are plenty of free cosmetics to equip and unlock as time goes on, so as long as you're not desperate for a certain hairstyle or to play as Ronaldinho (he's £8 in the in-game shop!), you don't need to pay anything to get the most out of Rematch.