Rematch is rapidly changing into considered one of my favourite video games of 2025, regardless of it nonetheless feeling a smidge prefer it’s in early entry. The alternative to remodel the fantasy of enjoying soccer (soccer for the American of us!) from the historically tactical expertise seen in most different soccer video games into extra of a high-action, mechanically complicated throwdown with an emphasis on pulling off acrobatic performs and heroic saves may be very cool. It is led to extremely rewarding moments and crushing defeats, and driving the wave of these two extremes is an enormous motive why I take pleasure in video games like Rocket League or Apex Legends. It is also why I like Blue Lock, a manga/anime typically cited compared to Rematch.
“We did see A LOT of gamers referencing Blue Lock, greater than we anticipated, really!” Rematch inventive director Pierre Tarno informed me by way of electronic mail. “We did not actually comprehend it was so popular–it wasn’t a significant inspiration for the sport, although internally a few of us do take pleasure in each manga and anime!”
For the unfamiliar, Blue Lock is about 300 Japanese highschool soccer gamers getting locked away in a black web site coaching facility overseen by the mysterious mastermind Jinpachi Ego. Ego tells the group they will be put by means of a collection of trials, all in hopes of honing considered one of them into the world’s finest striker–someone so egotistical that they’d sacrifice Japan’s irresponsible emphasis on teamwork to selfishly rating targets it doesn’t matter what and lead the Japan nationwide staff to victory. The different 299 failures won’t ever be allowed to play on any Japan staff once more, ending their soccer careers within the nation.
Quite a bit (and I do imply, rather a lot) of what you are able to do in Rematch is much like what characters do in Blue Lock (who themselves are written to emulate the flashiest, most well-remembered traits of well-known soccer gamers, turned as much as 11). Like Meguru Bachira, you may grasp dribbling and quick step-overs to chop by means of the protection single-handed, solely passing the ball to teammates who problem your creativeness of what you are able to do. Like Seishirō Nagi, you may pull off skillful ball takedowns and make the most of misdirection, ball management, and acrobatic aptitude to develop into a goal-scoring genius. And like Shōei Barō, you may intercept passes meant for teammates (or outright take the ball from them whereas they’re making an attempt to dribble), scoring the purpose your self to steal the present because the match’s heel. The opening cinematic of Rematch would possibly spotlight the alternative values, however the mechanics of the sport let you play with ego.
Even the foundations and setting of Rematch emulate Blue Lock–one of the earliest (and fan-favorite) arcs focuses on 3v3, 4v4, and 5v5 match-ups the place each participant is making an attempt to attain, there aren’t any off-sides, and the high-tech facility that each one the gamers are contained in verges on futuristic.
A fast seek for “Rematch Blue Lock” will reveal a ton of clips on TikTok and YouTube of individuals emulating the manga/anime by doing one thing actually cool solo and never passing the ball to their teammates, even when the whole protection collapses upon them. And I can not depend the variety of instances I have been up in opposition to or enjoying alongside somebody who has used the character creator to make their participant extremely pale-skinned with brief, stark-white hair and a black uniform sporting quantity 11 (like Nagi), or to provide their tan-skinned participant darkish, medium-length hair with dyed yellow ideas and a blue uniform with quantity 8 (like Bachira).
Clearly, not each individual enjoying Rematch is doing so as a result of they like Blue Lock. I’m positive most of them are like Richard Wakeling, who reviewed Rematch for GameSpot, and got here to Rematch as a result of they beloved enjoying the game in actual life (or are simply followers of Sloclap’s work!). However there’s clearly a not-insignificant portion of the playerbase that’s leaping into Rematch to embrace their egotistical Blue Lock fantasies and play the hero of the match who scores all of the cool targets or pulls off clip-worthy dribbling.
And but, regardless of all these clear parallels, Rematch is just not developer Sloclap’s try and emulate Blue Lock. It is not the staff’s try and emulate actually any singular story centered round soccer.
“The setting and artwork route actually got here from the pillars of the sport, reasonably than from particular items of media,” Tarno stated. “Rematch is a recreation concerning the pleasure of enjoying soccer with your mates, about how particular person expertise is critical however by no means ample, and on the finish of the day, it’s the collective that issues. The deal with teamplay and optimistic sportsmanship is what drove our selections on setting and artwork route: a colourful, optimistic imaginative and prescient of the longer term.”
Sloclap is hoping Rematch has a optimistic future itself, and the staff is already engaged on updates to the sport past the soon-to-come cross-play.
“Emergent methods and mechanics began showing [during the beta], however they consolidated throughout launch week,” Tarno stated. “Most of them are legitimate and shouldn’t be eliminated, however one exploit we’ll be eradicating is the ‘dolphin bounce,’ wherein gamers exploit the outfield dive to maneuver sooner even after they’ve run out of stamina. We’re contemplating superior ways in which might be used to optimize motion pace and stamina utilization, however this one appears to be like actually bizarre and will probably be eliminated!”
Very like different on-line multiplayer video games that got here earlier than it, Rematch is evolving as extra gamers bounce in, and Sloclap has famous that its imaginative and prescient of Rematch could change to match gamers’ expectations. That in all probability does not imply a Blue Lock crossover is coming (however we dwell in a post-Fortnite world, so who is aware of), however different facets of the sport are altering to replicate a shift in focus–such as the way in which 5v5 has ceased to be the “customary” mode, regardless of Sloclap setting it as much as be the default solution to play ranked matches.
“The preliminary imaginative and prescient we had for the sport was a 5v5 expertise, which options extra tactical configurations, extra problem in making exact passes, and [more development of] your imaginative and prescient of the sport dynamics,” Tarno stated. “The 3v3 recreation mode may be very common, nevertheless, and we’re seeing plenty of gamers requesting a 3v3 ranked queue, so it is actually a matter of style for gamers.”
On that, I agree with the herd. I do know Sloclap desires 5v5 to be the expertise for Rematch, however the recreation feels much more tactical and strategic when performed on the tighter 3v3 and 4v4 fields, and it is simpler for the participant who’s keeper/sweeper to name out the motion, keep engaged, and really feel helpful on the smaller subject.
Perhaps simply give the keeper the power to tug off a last-ditch shachihoko fish kick to avoid wasting the ball like Blue Lock’s Gin Gagamaru? That will be cool!