My take on Rematch...

[cursive light]

When I first played the early betas of Rematch, I was really blown away. For a beta game, I had rarely had that much fun — the possibilities were amazing, whether it was with shooting, dribbling, or passing and even the stamina.

Shooting: The ball effects were absolutely INSANE — whether it was curl shots, dipping strikes, or others, shooting felt incredibly satisfying and super fun. Unfortunately, the effects have been nerfed, making shots feel more direct and less capable of producing those curves.

Dribbling: How can I explain it — in the older betas, dribbling was truly exceptional. I used to spend a lot of time in freeplay, and I was rarely as impressed by the sheer number of possible combos and the speed of execution in a football simulation. On top of that, the game had a level of fluidity that was almost unheard of. From freestyle moves to basic mechanics, I felt like there was something for everyone. Unfortunately, a lot of mechanics got nerfed — like juggling with the head, or the rainbow flick, which was legitimately nerfed but maybe a bit too much. Some other mechanics also got removed that, in my opinion, deserved to stay (except for the Superman shot). Dribbling really made a difference in this game — I felt it was actually important to dribble during matches. Today, dribbling feels much slower, and stamina is a lot more limited, which makes it harder to really express yourself. I guess some players may have abused it back then, but still — it’s such a waste of potential.

1/2

Passing: passes were really satisfying, partly because you could pass the ball to anyone, in any way you wanted. No one had any excuses. The passing system just needed some adjustments (in my case, on controller), and they actually made those changes(in controller). I now find passes to be more precise and even more satisfying imo. W

Defense, challenges, 50/50s: Defense had real potential back then, but there were still a few details that needed fine-tuning — especially in some very specific situations. Today, though, it’s almost a disaster (no offense). There are way too many defensive duels where the ball ends up going anywhere except where it logically should. It’s crazy how much things have regressed in this area. I’ve seen way too many examples of this in my recent matches, and it’s just not like it was in the earlier betas — which is honestly pretty worrying.

Stamina: This is one of my biggest questions about the current state of the game. Nerfing stamina has had a huge impact on the overall gameplay. Back then, stamina was something you had to manage, but it felt just right — even if you didn’t always notice it. In my opinion, it was perfectly balanced. Now, I feel really limited, especially when I have the ball. I used to love dribbling and passing to create combinations — it felt AMAZING. But now, after just a few dribbles and one pass, you’re already out of stamina, which basically discourages you from trying anything creative because it’s too punishing.

Graphics: They actually looked better in the older betas — how is that even possible ?

Obviously, this is just my opinion, but I feel qualified to share it since I play every position in the field and every betas and have played a TON.