If you’re having trouble navigating Rematch’s steep early learning, we’ve whipped up some top tips to make Rematch a bit easier and ensure you score more goals and win more games.
Sloclap going from a brutal beat ’em up title to a fully fledged 5v5 multiplayer soccer title is not something many could have predicted. However, the Rematch beta scored a big winner for the company, and Sloclap has already metaphorically lifted the trophy as the game achieved one million players on its first day.
There are a lot of you taking to the pitch right now. So let’s share with you our best tips and tricks.
5 Top Tips to Dominate in Rematch
I could sit here for hours and give you tons of tiny tips I’ve found to improve my Rematch gameplay. However, time is limited, and I want to get you the main pointers.
Here’s every key tip to get better at Rematch in no particular order.
Communicate
On the PS5, you can click the R3 button to call for the ball. The Xbox and PC have the same function, but this lets someone know you want the ball. As you’re closed down a lot in Rematch, there’s a real emphasis on real-time decision-making. So, if I’m on the ball and you call for it, I’m more inclined to pass the ball to you.
I can still judge for myself if you’re calling for it whilst surrounded by three players. But you can alleviate some of the stress by helping me out and setting up the next pass and move.
Defend
If I had a dollar for every time my team lost the ball, I panned the camera around 180 degrees to see the ball punted to our half of the pitch, and there’s one or two of their players and none of ours, I’d be a gazillionaire at this point.
I understand scoring goals and being involved in the attacking sense of Rematch is a thrill. Should this come at the detriment of the team, though? If you’re on a team where everyone thinks they’re desperate to score a hat-trick like Haaland, or everyone’s flooding the flanks to channel their inner Yamal, take it upon yourself to anchor the midfield area.
Goalkeepers and opposition players might think twice before lumping the ball forward with an extra body shielding the defense. Scoring a goal is great, but if you constantly have no one back, you’re going to ship a lot of them yourself and lose the game.
Pass The Ball!
This segues nicely from my Haaland and Yamal speech. When we’re all 6 years old and playing the sport for the first time, we have no concept of teamwork or great build-up play. It’s a mad dash for the ball, as a group of pre-adolescent youngsters converge on the game’s one ball, and it’s mayhem.
Unfortunately, Rematch reminds me that not everyone outgrows this mindset. Rainbow Flicks over one opponent might feel good, but you’ll get away with it once or twice per game—the same with tricks. Repeatedly doing this simply doesn’t cut it in higher-level gameplay. You need to pass. Use the mini-games and learn how to gauge pass distances and directions.
This isn’t EA FC and does take some practice. But the easiest and fastest way to cut through their team is passing. Even if you have that one ally who insists on skilling and registers no passes through the whole game—don’t be like them. PASS.
Learn to be a Goalkeeper
After over 10 hours of gameplay, I’ve realized the goalkeeper is probably the most important position in Rematch. A good and competent GK wins matches.
Let’s break down why:
- You can pass back to the GK in any desperate situation, and they can pick it up and start the attack again.
- If you leave your dives until very late and don’t try to second-guess the attacker, you’ll save most shots.
- Play as a Sweeper Keeper and hover outside your box if your team is in the other half of the pitch. You can intercept long balls quicker, put pressure on attackers, and be on hand to restart your team’s next phase of play in a heartbeat.
There’s a classic proverb in soccer: “You’ve got to be mad to be a goalkeeper.” Well, being a GK is pretty much non-negotiable in Rematch, so embrace it.
Rebounds Are Broken
Our final Rematch tip concerns rebounds and using the arena. There are no throw-ins or corners in Sloclap’s title. The action keeps going, and this is helped by the arena’s walls.
If you’re by the sideline and getting closed down, pick a pass or touch off the side wall to go around someone. If you’re near your box and being hounded by defenders, bounce it off the back wall straight to your keeper. The most effective way to use rebounds is in scoring goals.
Instead of shooting at the goal, purposely aim above the goal or to the side, and put it on a plate for your teammate to bicycle kick it into the goal from close range. Goalkeepers have next to no time to react. If you’re one-on-one with the GK, don’t necessarily fire your shot at the goal, aim for the wall next to the goal, hope the keeper dives, and when the ball comes back to you, you’ve got an empty goal to smash the ball into.
What do you make of these top tips? Will you try to use them in games? Do you have your own handy pieces of advice for games of Rematch? Let us know what works best for you through the Insider Gaming forum, as we might add it to our list!
Sloclap has a surefire winner with Rematch. For more content, read about how to unlock and use Ranked Mode and how to unlock Ronaldinho.
