Sloclap’s new online third-person PVP soccer game, Rematch, is one of the best games I’ve played this year and one of my favorite online competitive games I’ve played in a long time. I wasn’t expecting that at all.
I’m not a soccer fan. I find the sport boring to watch. I’ve never liked any soccer video games. I outright hated EA’s FIFA series any time I was forced to play it for a few minutes. I didn’t even love Rocket League. And yet, I stayed up until 2 a.m. over the weekend playing a soccer game. And I did it again the next night. That’s because Rematch, out now, is unlike any other soccer game I’ve played or seen. It captures the best parts of the sport while excising the junk. The result is amazing.
Most modern soccer games are played from a high-up perspective, and you’re asked to control the entire team all at once. In these games, you aren’t really playing soccer, but instead controlling a match from afar like a weird soccer god. For fans of the sport, like my brother, this can be fun enough. But Rematch, out now on Xbox, PS5, and PC, is very, very different. In Rematch, you control one player throughout the whole match. The camera is located directly behind you, and every other player on the pitch (I Googled that) is controlled by another player.
Those changes alone are enough to make Rematch stand out from FIFA and similar soccer games. (No, I won’t call it football.) But that alone is not why I keep playing the colorful and stylized Rematch. No, what has me hooked is how it plays.
Moving, sliding, shooting, blocking, and passing in Rematch feel wonderful. Everything is snappy and responsive. When my brother charges up the middle and I’m being attacked by two players, I can effortlessly hit one button to slip the ball behind me, maneuver past the defenders, and pass it to my bro without even looking. Other times, a long pass will be hurled to me and I can run up to it and bicycle kick it into the goal, adding a bit of bend to the shot before it goes in.
All of this feels great, and once you’ve learned the controls, it’s a blast. Thankfully, the opening tutorial gives you just enough of the basics that you’ll be set to hold your own online. As you play more, you’ll learn more ways to combine the controls and techniques you were taught into more complicated and impressive moves. For example, you can flick the ball over your head and kick it in midair, aiming not to score but to bounce it off the wall above the goal, hopefully throwing off the goalie in the process and setting up a teammate to finish the shot.
Oh, right, the wall around the field. I forgot to mention that. See, the soccer in Rematch isn’t normal soccer. There are no yellow or red cards. No penalties. Instead, the game of soccer has been distilled down into its simplest form. Two goals, a pitch, a few players, and the ability for goalies to touch the ball with their hands. That’s it. And around you is a giant clear wall that stops balls from flying out of bounds. (This wall also changes during the match via fancy AR-tech to display wild settings, like being in space or in a jungle.) You can use this wall to bounce passes off at weird angles, too.
When playing Rematch, I almost felt like a kid playing basketball on a small court in the park with my friends. We didn’t follow most of the rules. No, instead we just played a pure form of basketball that was focused on being fun and exicting, letting us do wild shit and make really dumb mistakes. Rematch recaptures that feeling of playing a sport in its purest, simplest form. And it’s exhilarating.
Rematch is also filled with smart, tiny design choices that keep matches flowing. If a team goes up four goals, the game ends due to a mercy rule. No dragged-out matches against much better teams. There are four options to communicate, and if you spam any of them, like saying “Thanks” or “Sorry” too much, you’ll be blocked from using them for a bit. Anyone can be the goalie, just drop back to the goal and if you’re alone, you become the goalie, giving you increased stamina and the ability to catch and hold the ball. Don’t want to be the goalie, walk away. Simple as that.
There are no stats to manage, perks to unlock, cards to earn, or anything like that. There’s a basic battle pass system, but it’s just cosmetics like new shirts and socks. The rest of the game is lean and focused. If Rematch’s developers set out to make a soccer game that is badass, super fast, and very fun, that is also easy to pick up play, while having a ton of depth for those who are willing to sink dozens of hours into it, well, job well done. Rematch is the best soccer game I’ve ever played. And it’s one of the best games of 2025 so far.
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