I paid $40 for Rocket League without the cars: REMATCH launches early, but some players are unhappy with the game

by

REMATCH (all caps for noticeable standout in your Steam library) is a soccer game similar to FIFA Street or Volta Football, focusing on fast-paced, skillful play. It’s essentially Rocket League minus the cars, with you controlling just one player within a vast pitch enclosed by a sturdy ceiling and walls for bouncing the ball around aiming to achieve an impressive goal illuminating the arena.

“Rocket League without cars IS just soccer, though”.

Indeed, I understand your point, and I appreciate your input. To put it simply, REMATCH, a fresh game developed by the creators of martial arts brawlers Absolver and Sifu, can be best explained as following this easy method in its gameplay. The game is set to debut on Thursday, June 19, simultaneously on PC and Xbox platforms. Notably, it’s worth mentioning that, yes, the game will be accessible through Game Pass service on both of these platforms.

In fact, I spent £29.99 (equivalent to $39.99 as I’m from Britain) for an early access to the game on Steam, which lasts for three days. What I’ve observed among its community is a consistent pattern, particularly since the developers at Sloclap started beta tests that were invite-only and followed by more open server stress tests.

What’s the right price for microtransactions?

It’s important to clarify that REMATCH isn’t a free-to-play game, which was a point of contention among many community members during the game’s beta testing phase as they frequently discussed this matter on the Steam discussion forum.

At Sloclap, our team oversees a network of servers located in various regions worldwide, including Europe, the Middle East, parts of Asia such as the northeast and southeast, Australia, Africa (specifically South Africa), South America, and multiple locations across the United States, which encompasses Central states, the East Coast, and the West Coast.

In most cases, competitive multiplayer games choose either the ‘free-to-play’ model with optional in-game purchases (microtransactions), or they sell the main game at a cost and cover additional expenses using a battle pass system that relies on sales of premium cosmetic items.

you must purchase coins to acquire cosmetics. Unfortunately, the exact number of coins required for a playable skin featuring legendary footballer Ronaldinho isn’t available. Instead, you might find yourself needing extra coins, which may tempt you to spend on additional digital items.

3.99 for a haircut are you joking?

Blink, REMATCH Steam community

I’ve already purchased the “Pro Edition” of REMATCH, which includes a Captain Pass Upgrade Ticket. This is similar to a battle pass in other games, offering additional cosmetics as I progress, but I generally resist microtransactions unless they’re exceptional. However, I acknowledge the annoyances associated with systems that might encourage excessive spending by gamers.

Crashes and server lag leads to frustration

Mainly, early users find themselves frequently frustrated due to issues like game crashes related to Unreal Engine, which is responsible for the game’s programming, as well as inconsistent performance from its worldwide servers. Frequently, upon launching the game, messages such as “Initializing” and “Waiting for game” appear along with an Easy Anti-Cheat logo, only to have the game abruptly close on my computer, and I’m far from being the sole individual experiencing this issue.

Just a quick heads-up: Crashes experienced during the beta phase of the Unreal Engine persist and are still present. Unfortunately, there’s no ‘rejoin’ option available at this time if it does crash while you’re playing.

Riggs, REMATCH Steam community

Despite some challenges, it’s not all doom and gloom. I’m enjoying myself just as much with REMATCH as I did during the beta trials. Luckily, most reviews on Steam are positive at the moment, and thankfully, I haven’t experienced any major setbacks due to mid-game glitches. As REMATCH arrives on Game Pass this Thursday, June 19th, I can only hope that server problems will be sorted out soon, so that subscribers will find themselves as captivated by this Rocket League-like game as I am.

..Maybe I’m just spending too much time in the Steam forums.

Read More

2025-06-16 19:09