The idea of Rematch is much the same as it is for soccer: group up with other players and beat the other team. This largely means kicking the ball, scoring some goals, and picking your victory pose at the end of the match. It’s not that simple, though. A match in Rematch involves more than casually kicking a ball around with friends on the weekend. It requires you to learn how to angle your balls, take advantage of the walls around the field, and master your own character.
To help, read our Rematch beginner’s tips for you to step into a match prepared to win.
Familiarize yourself with your character
Although the ball is the most important object in a soccer match, you must not forget that your body is your strongest tool. In Rematch, developer Sloclap brought all the physicality from Sifu to its soccer video game, which means that the body of your character responds in a very real (and sometimes clumsy) way.
If you’re just starting to play Rematch, become familiar with how your character moves, how long it takes for them to run or to stop running, how high they can jump to intercept the ball, and so on. In our experience, it’s interesting to always play a little bit in the Freeplay mode or run a Quick Match just to warm up and make moving the digital body of your character more natural during a match.
Look for the right match to improve your skills
If you’re new to Rematch, you want to take it slow. Every match can be split into two levels, macro and micro. While the latter is all about individual skills, the former encompasses all agents, from players to rules, involved in a game. The Quick Match formats give you space to progressively improve.
You can queue for 3 vs.3, 4 vs. 4, and 5 vs.5 quick matches. The first option is more intense but forces you to improve individual skills. In 4 vs. 4, adding an additional player to each team gives more room to breathe and think about positioning. Lastly, when there are five players on each team, you have the perfect scenario to learn more about the macro aspect of the game — and how to be more tactical.
Let your teammates know what you’re thinking
Image: Sloclap via Polygon
There’s an inherent challenge that every player must face when hoping into multiplayer matches: Communication. To work as a team, you need to let the other players know what you have in your mind and you need to know their plans as well. Rematch offers voice chat, providing a direct channel to talk to your team.
However, if you don’t feel comfortable letting your mic open and talking to random players, then the Ball Call command is going to become your best friend. With a simple click of a button (on controllers you use the right stick), you can signal to whoever has the ball that you’re open to receive it. While it only conveys one idea, the Ball Call command is probably all your team needs to know that they can count on you.
Contribute however you can
Because it takes time to master all the commands in Rematch and instinctively respond to situations, don’t worry too much about scoring goals. The best strategy for new players is to contribute however they can. The game rewards you for any useful move you make. Try to intercept the other team or make a clean pass to a teammate, for instance. Non-shooting actions still give you experience points that’ll level up your character.
Even if you haven’t scored one single goal in a match, that’s okay! You can positively impact the outcome by assisting other players to take the ball and put it inside the goal. You’re still as important as the scorers on your team.
Receiving and controlling are more important than shooting
Scoring the winning goal is the peak of a match for any player in Rematch. Even so, to reiterate the above tip, your focus should first be on mastering the art of receiving and controlling the ball. You can’t shoot a ball if you can’t keep it with you.
Because of the physicality in Rematch, you’ll often lose the ball when trying to receive it in your first matches. The secret to receiving the ball effectively every time a teammate passes it to you is to press the Push Ball command multiple times. Timing the correct moment is hard, so just keep pressing the command. Once you have the ball, use the left trigger (L2) to enter the Dribble Stance, which gives you more control over it.
The walls are on your side
Rematch offers a very realistic experience of playing soccer, with one major difference: The field is surrounded by walls. While they literally keep the ball rolling by preventing it from leaving the field, the walls also work as additional players that you can take advantage of.
You can practice tricking the opposing team with the walls. Make them believe you are missing a shot when you’re actually passing the ball to your teammate next to the goal area. Use the angles to escape the defense and make a clear cut through it. Prepare a beautiful volley shot by using the walls to put the ball in the air. Get creative, play around!
Be ready to catch the ball in moments of distress
Image: Sloclap via Polygon
Whether you’re playing 3v3 or 5v5, there are no fixed positions in Rematch. The game was designed to rotate players during a match, giving each person the chance to be right in front of the other team’s goal or defend your team from the opposing team’s attack. This might not sound like the best scenario, but it is actually extremely useful because anyone can become the goalkeeper when needed and save the day.
In Rematch, the goalkeeper is the only one capable of holding the ball with their hands, protecting the goal, and becoming invulnerable to sliding tackles. Because there are situations where the player who was the initial goalkeeper leaves their position to help the defense or force an attack, having the chance of replacing the goalkeeper is key to restructuring the defense if all goes wrong and the other team gets the ball back.
When using a controller, speed the camera up
Following up the ball around Rematch matches and keeping track of the opposing team is a sluggish endeavor if you’re using a controller. You can make your life easier by raising the camera speed for controller.
To tweak this specific setting, go to the System menu and choose Options. In the Gameplay tab, you find the option to regulate the camera speed. By increasing it, you can pivot to where you’re looking at faster. For players who are playing Rematch on consoles or prefer to use controllers, changing the speed will definitely raise your chances of winning.
Image: Sloclap via Polygon
Crossing from one side to the other of the field is a basic aspect of soccer, so you will be constantly sprinting during a match while trying to shoot the ball or reach your opponent. But because sprinting depletes your stamina, you must carefully choose when you use it. That’s why you should prioritize using Extra Effort all the time.
In Rematch, Extra Effort is a charge that you can use by double-tapping the sprinting button. You receive a boost of speed for a few seconds when you use the charge. Despite its short duration, Extra Effort is a strong mechanic — it doesn’t cost you stamina, and the charge replenishes considerably fast. You want to pop Extra Effort to quickly reposition or to gain the lead when running after the ball.
