When I heard that we could attend the announcement of Sloclap’s new game, I was there like the chickens. Their previous works, Absolver and Sifu, were not perfect. However, she created original and authentic experiences that captured the essence of kung fu. This third game could be anything, but based on the results already achieved, it would at least be special. Admittedly, I was quite disappointed when I was shown a football game in the first slides of the presentation. Of the entire editorial team, I probably have the least interest in sports. Yet that disappointment changed halfway through. With Rematch’s action-packed, arcade-style gameplay, Sloclap could excite even me.
So Rematch is a football game, but not like the FIFAs and PESs of the world. These are not realistic simulations with real players and their respective statistics – on the contrary. Rematch throws teams of 5 equally matched fantasy players into an arena and says, ‘play!’ Once the game starts, there’s nothing to stop the action. There are no penalties, no fouls and certainly no offside (whatever that is). There isn’t even a sideline: the arena is completely enclosed, meaning the ball just bounces back into the field.
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Own style
It is in that action that I saw Sloclap’s characteristic style. The developers already indicated that they could apply everything they learned from Absolver and Sifu here: from the realistic animations and stylized graphic style, to the hectic but precise action. The images I saw immediately confirmed this. Each player plays one character here, with a camera right behind them, so you are always close to the action. So close to the action, every action looks slick and effortless. I saw a player shoot across the goal, only for the ball to be bounced back to another player who smashed it into the goal with an overhead kick – like it was nothing. Rematch doesn’t have the craziness of Shaolin Soccer yet, but Sloclap has nevertheless managed to find kung fu in football.
Despite all the flashy moves, according to the developers, the game should rely more on tactical interplay and positioning. Although you have the option to dribble, nine times out of ten a pass would be the better choice. After all, when you have possession of the ball you are vulnerable. In Rematch, passing ensures that the ball accelerates, which should make the final shot on goal easier. So it’s not just that the action in Rematch never stops: it sounds like the action gets more and more hectic as the game progresses.
Utopian future
This focus on collaboration is also reflected in the setting. Rematch takes place in a utopian future where everyone is equal. Racism has been overcome, no one goes hungry and the stadiums and all their Augmented Reality effects run on renewable energy.
These AR effects are partly practical: players get blue fire under their feet when they sprint, and the ball is always illuminated in such a way that you never lose sight of it. But it also provides a visual spectacle. The stages we saw were already extremely colorful in themselves. With every goal, the entire sky also lights up with digital fireworks. If you get tired of the audience, you can also choose to play in digital jungles or underwater. Visually there is a lot more diversity than you see in an average football game.
Not a big story
Don’t expect that setting to be talked about with a big story, though. Sloclap indicated that the game will be purely online multiplayer. There won’t even be any bots. However, private lobbies must be set up where you can determine the rules yourself. This ‘always online’ design involves familiar phenomena, such as seasons with special modes and unlockable stages and cosmetics. However, it will be a paid game, so hopefully we will be spared the free-to-play ailments.
As mentioned, I am not a football fan. I do miss the arcade sports games from my youth. Besides Rocket League and the occasional Mario title like Strikers, we have hardly seen games like this in recent decades. At the same time, Rematch does not simply deviate from classics such as Soccer Superstars, or the clumsier titles such as Soccer Brawl. It really seems to want to create a modern take on the genre. It may sound stupid, but if Rocket League is football with cars, Rematch seems to be a Rocket League with people. And that doesn’t sound bad even to this football novice.
2024-12-13 01:29:00