It's evidently clear that Sloclap has delivered a hit with Rematch. The arcade version of simulated third-person football has landed and satisfied so many fans of the tried, tested, and tired formula of purely simulated top-down football seen in EA Sports FC and eFootball. This title, which combines the developer's silky movement suite from Sifu with intense cooperative football action has shown that there is room for innovation in this space and that fans have been thirsting for it too. While I enjoy and appreciate Rematch in its current form, there's no denying that it hasn't quite satisfied my hunger yet, and the reason for that is because as fun as 3v3, 4v4, and 5v5 action is, football is at its best when it pits 11 against 11. So Sloclap, here's what I'd like to see happen to take Rematch to the next level.
11v11
For starters, an 11v11 mode would be great. I know what you're thinking, that's a lot of players to matchmake and people can't possibly create teams crammed with that many players, and yes, I agree, this isn't for the masses or the casuals, this is for those that want to experience football as it's be played at a professional level.
How would this work with the fluidity of the game? Let me explain. For starters, as this is a more hardcore version of the action, it should be attached to a ranked leaderboard. When queuing for a game, we'll take a page out of Overwatch 2's book and have players choosing to play in either Forward, Midfielder, Defender, or Goalkeeper, and from there, players will need to arrange themselves as sees fit. Immediately, it won't pose as much of a problem as a hero shooter because there are no defined characters in Rematch, rather players simply get in, arrange themselves as necessary for the respective roles, and then get on with the action.
But people won't stick to the positions and will ultimately cause mischief? That's likely, but that's also a multiplayer issue first and foremost, as this game mode will be built on the hope that players take pride in the position they choose to master. And what about the imbalance of positions, you ask? That should naturally figure itself out too and let me explain why.
Ranked leaderboard
There should not be separate leaderboards for the different positions. Every single player will exist on the same leaderboard, regardless of whether they are a midfielder or a goalkeeper. In real football, this would never be plausible as the physicality and creativity that goes into being a midfielder isn't nearly reflected by the goalkeeping position, but in 11v11 Rematch an impregnable keeper will be just as much of a game-winner as a skilful midfielder. So, we put everyone into the same leaderboard, a leaderboard that can be climbed and fallen from by match results and match results only. Wins give points, losses take points, and draws see no change, with adjusted pints granted depending on goal difference of each game. That's it. No time spent wasted on individual performance meaning there are no prima donnas in this mode. Eventually you might find out that the forward who scores two goals a match is just as highly ranked as the left-back who never lets a right winger get around him. Fascinating, right?
Adjusted game time and reinforced rules
To make a mode like this work, there would need to be more time on the game clock. Two halves of 15 minutes should be more than enough to get the job done, which might seem like a lot but it's actually not nearly as long as a ranked match in a MOBA or a tactical shooter, for example.
Likewise, Rematch is so much fun because of its blatant disregard for the rules. This would need to change a tad, mainly that offsides would probably need to return to ensure that formations are structured better. But as for fouling and gnarly, crunching tackles, these can continue as usual, keeping the action more arcade-focussed than hard simulated. Similarly, the enclosed arenas will remain meaning there's no worrying about the ball going out of play for throw-ins, corners, or goal kicks. The only "set pieces" that will be offered will be the goal/free kicks given for any offside infringement, meaning the pacing should remain fast and high.
This might seem like a big change to how Rematch fundamentally operates but it should be plausible for the simple reason that this game does not need to mess around with simulating different human players and teams that operate in unique manners. There's no need to sign massive deals with established giant clubs and players to have their likeness in-game, it can continue to operate solely with player-created characters preserving the great base that is already present. The only difference is that this larger and more "serious" mode would also finally give football fans a way to enjoy virtual football in a way that EA FC and eFootball simply cannot match. To me, this is a no-brainer to see become a reality.
