Rematch is shortly changing into one among my favourite video games of 2025, regardless of it nonetheless feeling a smidge prefer it’s in early entry. The selection to rework 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 advanced 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 using the wave of these two extremes is a giant purpose why I take pleasure in video games like Rocket League or Apex Legends. It is also why I like Blue Lock, a manga/anime usually cited compared to Rematch.
“We did see A LOT of gamers referencing Blue Lock, greater than we anticipated, truly!” Rematch artistic director Pierre Tarno informed me through e mail. “We did not actually realize 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 way of a sequence of trials, all in hopes of honing one among 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 workforce to victory. The opposite 299 failures won’t ever be allowed to play on any Japan workforce once more, ending their soccer careers within the nation.
Loads (and I do imply, loads) 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 possibly can grasp dribbling and quick step-overs to chop by way 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 possibly can pull off skillful ball takedowns and make the most of misdirection, ball management, and acrobatic aptitude to turn into a goal-scoring genius. And like Shōei Barō, you possibly can intercept passes meant for teammates (or outright take the ball from them whereas they’re making an attempt to dribble), scoring the aim your self to steal the present because the match’s heel. The opening cinematic of Rematch may spotlight the alternative values, however the mechanics of the sport permit you to play with ego.
Even the principles 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 are not 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 your complete protection collapses upon them. And I can not rely 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 quick, stark-white hair and a black uniform sporting quantity 11 (like Nagi), or to present 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 am certain most of them are like Richard Wakeling, who reviewed Rematch for GameSpot, and got here to Rematch as a result of they cherished 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 will not be developer Sloclap’s try to emulate Blue Lock. It is not the workforce’s try to emulate actually any singular story centered round soccer.
“The setting and artwork course actually got here from the pillars of the sport, moderately than from particular items of media,” Tarno mentioned. “Rematch is a sport concerning the pleasure of enjoying soccer with your folks, about how particular person expertise is critical however by no means adequate, and on the finish of the day, it’s the collective that issues. The give attention to teamplay and optimistic sportsmanship is what drove our decisions on setting and artwork course: a colourful, optimistic imaginative and prescient of the longer term.”
Sloclap is hoping Rematch has a optimistic future itself, and the workforce 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 mentioned. “Most of them are legitimate and shouldn’t be eliminated, however one exploit we’ll be eradicating is the ‘dolphin leap,’ through which gamers exploit the outfield dive to maneuver quicker even after they’ve run out of stamina. We’re contemplating superior ways in which might be used to optimize motion velocity and stamina utilization, however this one appears to be like actually bizarre and shall be eliminated!”
Very similar to different on-line multiplayer video games that got here earlier than it, Rematch is evolving as extra gamers leap in, and Sloclap has famous that its imaginative and prescient of Rematch could change to match gamers’ expectations. That in all probability doesn’t suggest a Blue Lock crossover is coming (however we dwell in a post-Fortnite world, so who is aware of), however different elements of the sport are altering to replicate a shift in focus–such as the best way 5v5 has ceased to be the “customary” mode, regardless of Sloclap setting it as much as be the default technique 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 mentioned. “The 3v3 sport mode may be very widespread, nonetheless, 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 needs 5v5 to be the expertise for Rematch, however the sport 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 discipline.
Possibly simply give the keeper the power to tug off a last-ditch shachihoko fish kick to save lots of the ball like Blue Lock’s Gin Gagamaru? That may be cool!