REMATCH is shaping up to revitalize the long-lost genre of arcade sports games. Read on to learn more about the genre’s progression, how it’s similar to the sport it takes inspiration from, its in-depth mechanics, and more.
REMATCH Is Unrealistic and That’s Why It’s Better
Every year, we are treated to innovations in the video game sports genre. Each subsequent release of NBA 2K, Madden, and FC (also known as FIFA back then) upgrades visual fidelity and brings the game closer to reality. Or so it seems. These days, the genre has been dominated more by simulation than by its arcade counterparts.
Where are the games like the Street series with NBA, FIFA, and NFL? How about Blitz: The League, NBA Ballers, or NHL Hitz? There just aren’t any of these games left. That is, until I tried REMATCH. Sure, it’s unrealistic, arcade-y,
and pretty much less of what the actual sport is, but it reminded me of the nostalgic memories I had with these types of games and why they’re better than most sports games nowadays.
More Management, More Money, Less Fun
Let’s dial it back a bit first and talk about the genre itself. As mentioned previously, modern sports games have changed. They’ve focused more on other things rather than making it a more fun
game. A more concrete example of this is their trading card game modes, or specifically, 2K’s MyTeam and EA’s Ultimate Team. Other than being able to play the game with the players of the cards you own, it has become more of an auction house than anything. Not only that, but the same games have also offered battle passes to be able to pull more cards in the hopes of hooking people into buying more packs.
With the games themselves turning over a profit from opening booster packs and loot boxes, it makes sense from a business standpoint that they would focus on them instead. To add to this, the same games have also been improving their management game modes more, where you can even make your team, monitor seat sales, check up on players, and even transfer the team to a different state. To their credit, it’s engaging in a different way, especially if you’re into that particular sport where you’re familiar with its inner workings.
But how about the gameplay? Well, for the past few years of playing NBA 2K and FC casually with friends, I haven’t had much fun playing them, if I were to be honest. The mechanics have become so stale that they have reached the point where they have been reintroducing old mechanics and packaging them as a return.
One example is Madden’s Hit Stick system being constantly changed back and forth to past iterations. NBA 2K’s new dribble engine, while impressive at accommodating new animations, is still at the mercy of the dribble move animations. It’s not because of a lack of being faithful to the sport, but maybe because it’s way too much like the sport already. Make no mistake, there’s nothing wrong with making games realistic, especially when they’re based on a real sport. But it doesn’t look or even play cool,
if you know what I mean.
Let me give you an example: in NBA Ballers, there’s a system called the House
gauge—a meter you fill throughout the match by performing successful dribble moves and racking up a high score by adding tricks. It’s not the primary objective for winning in the game, with a few exceptions, but it can be used to end the game prematurely or as a comeback tool. That is, when the House gauge is full, the player can use the gauge to throw themselves a self alley-oop, and when successful, they bring the house down,
or, more specifically, destroy the basketball hoop and backboard and end the game, most of the time.
There are other games that have over-the-top and unrealistic scenarios that will most likely never happen in real life. However, there’s objectively a lack of them in sports games in recent years. There aren’t any more ring-breaking dunks, passing to the audience, off-the-wall volleys, wall-running, and even bone-crushing tackles that are being done. If anything, the only successful non-simulation sports game has been Rocket League, which is as close as it could get.
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REMATCH is a Wide Open Goal
Imagine the surprise that I got when I saw that the developers of SIFU and Absolver, Sloclap, will be releasing an actual competitive arcade soccer game in the name of REMATCH. I thought more about their choice to release a game of a completely different genre; it was definitely a curveball, but it was a logical choice.
From a business standpoint, there are several factors that could lead to a perfect storm of success for the game. Aside from soccer being a widely popular sport around the world, Muneyuki Kaneshiro’s manga, Blue Lock,
has also been gaining popularity for its anime adaptation and its influence on Japan, especially during the World Cup back in 2022.
I’ve already explained that there’s a lack of arcade sports games nowadays, especially soccer, since the disappearance of the Street series. For reference, the last FIFA Street was released back in 2012, which was already more than a decade ago. Even with the simulation soccer games, there are only really EA’s FC and Konami’s eFootball, which haven’t been doing well as of late. The market for a fun soccer video game is wide open. You can compare it to something like Rocket League, which has been successful since its release back in 2015, but you and I both know that’s not exactly soccer since Rocket League uses cars instead of people.
REMATCH is a condensed and gamified version of the sport, obviously, but a soccer game nonetheless. The focus on being able to specify movement and touches makes it more skill-based than it seems, and the animations of the dribble moves and juggles are moves that are done in real life. It’s completely inspired by the sport and maybe even the games that came before, more specifically FIFA Street, since the game is played in a box where you could use the walls to your advantage.
To support the claim that the game is more skill-based is the fact that the game has no physical stats or parameters that differentiate you from the other players. All players, other than being able to customize their appearance, play using characters with the same speed, stamina, height, vertical jump, weight, strength, and more. This means that while everyone is of equal physical capabilities, tactics, positioning, and overall understanding of the game’s mechanics are what separate players from each other.
The rules are also different, as the game only consists of 3v3, 4v4, and 5v5 matches. There are no fouls, no offsides, and, more importantly, anyone can become a goalkeeper at any point in the match. With regard to the goalkeeper rule, any player who enters the penalty box becomes the goalkeeper if their team doesn’t have one. Goalkeepers can choose to stop being a goalkeeper if they exit the penalty box. There are certain benefits to becoming the goalkeeper aside from being able to hold and catch the ball in defense, like having unlimited stamina and the ability to dive sideways.
Let’s go deeper into the game’s main mechanics; dueling for the ball functions similarly to a dynamic rock-paper-scissors game. Offensive players have a multitude of options to choose from. They can choose to push the ball to run quicker, flick the ball upwards to avoid tackles, pass the ball to a teammate, use the Dribble Mode to use dribble moves to juke opponents, and more. Those in defense will have to utilize their defensive stance, tackling, and jumping to take the ball away from the attacking team.
This isn’t even taking into account the significance of momentum and the second stamina bar that players can use to give themselves an even bigger speed boost on the field. There are a lot more nuances to the mechanics involved, like curving and aiming the ball, being able to control the ball from a lob pass, using off-the-wall passes for volleys, and more. Yet, it’s a game that allows anyone to understand it without having to spend too much time on it.
Inspiration From Reality Creates the Perfect Football Fantasy
While I can go on and on about REMATCH being a game to be released at a perfect time, the reality is that it’s still a live-service model game that will need a lot of support to stay afloat. One that I’m sure the game will have, at least until the hype dies down. I have no doubts that Sloclap will be successful with this release, and honestly, they’re the perfect developers for a sport like soccer. They’re primarily known for using real-life examples as an inspiration, especially from their previous endeavors in martial arts, for their last two games.
Honestly, we need more games like REMATCH that aren’t afraid to bend the rules and go all-out just for the fun of it. We’re starting to forget just how fun games can be, even without being so true to life, especially in the sports genre. Sure, you can hate REMATCH for not being hyperrealistic with its animated art style and alteration of the sport, but you can’t say that the game isn’t fun until you’ve tried giving yourself a self-pass off-the-wall into a bicycle kick goal.
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