Rematch is the newest sports game on the market, and it’s a unique blend of classic soccer and Rocket League-type arcade mechanics that make it an entirely new experience for the community. As many players have already figured out, though, Rematch is not a simple game that only involves passing, scoring, and defending. There are a slew of mechanics that you have to learn if you want to survive out on the pitch, and some of those mechanics aren’t even readily apparent through basic gameplay.
So, if you want to get past the learning curve of Rematch and start to become a better player, take a look at the guide below to see seven beginner tips that we’ve come up with during our initial playtime with the game.
Play with a controller (if possible)
Rematch is available on console and PC and you can play the game with either a controller or a keyboard and mouse. While both inputs can be effective depending on your practice and skill level, it’s clear that the developers of Rematch, Sloclap, intended the game to be played with a controller.
Keyboard and mouse players are unable to change their default keybinds, and overall, movement is significantly more difficult with a keyboard than it is with a controller. While you can be a little more precise with shooting and passing on a mouse, controller players will eventually be able to achieve the same accuracy with some practice. So, especially if you’re playing on PC, if you have the choice between a controller or a keyboard and mouse, it’s recommended you pick up the controller as long as it’s not going to completely hinder your ability to play.
Utilize your mini-map
One of the more jarring things that you might first encounter in Rematch is the mini-map. While other soccer games, such as EA FC, do utilize a mini-map, Rematch’s looks more like something out of an FPS game. If you’re coming from Rocket League, then you might find the mini-map even more surprising.
While it might take some getting used to, the mini-map is one of the best tools you have at your disposal in Rematch. Given how chaotic full 5v5 matches can get, knowing where your teammates and the opposing players are is a significant boost to your overall awareness.
This lets you know when to push downfield, when to retreat and play defense, and how the other team might try to attack your net. Utilizing the mini-map correctly makes you a better and more informed teammate as well, which is quite important if you’re playing on a squad with random teammates due to the lack of crossplay.
Communicate with teammates
Speaking of being a better teammate, one of the best ways to ensure that your team has the best chance of winning a match is to communicate effectively. Rematch does have a push-to-talk and open mic feature for every team, so you can freely speak to your teammates in any match you play. However, if you don’t have a mic or you like to stay silent during matches, then you need to utilize the Ball Call feature. This signals to every member of your team that you’re open and would like to be passed the ball.
While this feature has already gotten toxic, similar to Rocket League’s quick chats, it’s still the best communication tool for players without a mic and who are playing with random teammates. The Ball Call feature only allows for one command, but hopefully, Sloclap will add more commands so you can communicate better with your team.
Learn how your character moves
In Rematch, the ball is always going to be the center of attention at any point throughout a match. However, it’s not what you should be focused on as a beginner. Instead, you want to focus on your character themself, as learning your character’s mechanics will be far more beneficial in the long run.
The characters in Rematch are like the cars in Rocket League, and your character can perform a number of different tricks and combos to get the ball from point A to point B. While your first instinct will likely be to W-key or left joystick straight to the ball wherever it goes, that’s not the best way to go about moving with your character.
You want to learn the ins and outs of your character’s movement potential; knowing how they jump, how high they jump, how long it takes to stop, and when they speed up are all different mechanics that will affect your ability to play effectively with the ball and in general. Head into a practice match in Rematch and just learn how your character moves before you really try to start scoring some goals.
Use the walls to your advantage
With Rematch’s unique movement mechanics, you can make a variety of different plays using the walls on any side of the pitch. The walls can be effectively used to dribble the ball without it ever touching the ground, or even send the ball downfield to a teammate or right in the net. Like in Rocket League, think of the walls as an extra teammate, and if you use them properly, you’ll be able to completely outwit your opponents and keep them from touching the ball.
Once you start to master the mechanics in Rematch, you can begin to abuse the walls by continually passing the ball between yourself and the wall all the way down the field and eventually set up an unblockable shot into the net. However, in the early stages of your career, test the walls, see what they can do and how they interact with the ball, and try to get your character in sync with passing the ball over the walls.
Don’t be a ball chaser all the time
As with any soccer game, your initial main goal will be to score as many goals as possible in Rematch. Everyone wants to be the hero, scoring all of the goals and winning matches for their team. While that’s all fine and good, “ball-chasing” and playing a little selfishly can often lead to you hurting your team rather than helping it.
So, if you want the best chance at a winning outcome, you need to be a team player. This involves passing the ball to open teammates instead of possibly taking a low-chance shot or even passing the ball upfield and then staying back to play goalkeeper. It’s most players’ least favorite job, but the goalkeeper is extremely important in Rematch.
No one expects a player to goalkeep for an entire match, as Rematch works best when players are continually swapping positions, but you should take your turn at defense to get a solid positional rotation going.
Keep the goalkeeper on their toes
Our final tip is one of the best pieces of advice that any experienced player will give you. As players have found out during the early stages of Rematch, scoring goals can be extremely difficult. Goalkeepers are seemingly always in position to dive and stop a shot attempt before it reaches the back of the net, especially in beginner matches when no one knows how to shoot from different angles yet. When it comes to scoring, you want to always try to shoot from off angles and when a goalkeeper might least expect it.
However, if you want to stay ahead of the pack, you can utilize a little trick that involves intentionally shooting the ball at the wall above the net. The idea with this is that you trick the goalkeeper into thinking you shot the ball with the intention of scoring, making them dive in one direction. What you’re really doing, though, is passing the ball back to yourself. If the goalkeeper did dive off your fake attempt, then you should have a free shot when the ball comes back to you from the wall.
As you progress, this trick works less and less, as more experienced keepers know the signs of an actual shot. When you’re playing fellow beginners, though, you can usually score several goals using this sneaky method.