We live in a world where a lot of the big games have started to feel a little too similar. If you only play the top titles from the top teams, I hope you enjoy open-world RPG checklist-fests or third-person, emotional action games. It’s really the land of the AA and indie that are willing to give us some creative ideas these days.
REMATCHis the type of game we don’t get extremely often from anyone, despite onecompletelyobvious comparison we’ll get to in a little bit. If you’ve jumped into this competitive multiplayer football arcade hybrid and eitheraren’t satisfied with itor simply want more, I’ve got some ideas for you.
10 Sports Game Hidden Gems
There are a variety of sports and sports-adjacent video games that could do with some extra attention.
Some of the games below may feel obvious. ‘Football Title A’ is similar to ‘Football Title B’. Still, you’ll notice I’ve omitted some big-name games that just don’t make a lot of sense despite focusing on the same sport. Yeah,EA Sports FCcovers the same topic, but the games don’t really feel similar at all.
Expect a healthy dose of curveballs you might not see coming, as well. The core of REMATCH is competitive, creative, chaotic action that can manifest itself across many other types of experiences. Here are a dozen games I think you could definitely be into if you want something else after REMATCH.
12Buck Bumble
A ’90s Fever Dream
Buck Bumble
No one ever remembersBuck Bumble, and that kind of bums me out. It’s one of those games that my parents completely randomly bought for me either for Christmas or my birthday growing up, even though I had never, ever mentioned it to them one solitary time beforehand. Turns out, that was okay for 6 or 7-year-old me.
Buck Bumble was a weird, clunky third-person shooter in which the self-titled bumblebee hero took down droves of rival insects to… I dunno, protect his honey or something? The game was kind of a mess, but I still loved it, including the super-memorable theme song that really drove home that this was a cool, edgy ’90s game through and through.
If you know the song, you know exactly what I mean. Buck to the buck to the buck to the bass.
Where Buck Bumble resembled REMATCH was in the two-player Buzz Ball mode. Here, you and a bee buddy would play football, flying headfirst into the ball or shooting it with your laser pistol to direct it to the other’s goal. It even had walls to prevent out of bounds, just like REMATCH.
11Cleansheet VR
Goalkeeper Practice Simulator
You’ll need a VR headset to check it out, but Cleansheet is for anyone who lovesplaying keeper in REMATCH. What’s here isn’t the deepest sports game in the world, but it still makes you feel like you’re on the pitch more so than any other VR game on the market.
Cleansheet is even said to be a real way to hone your goalie skills in real life, allowing you to work the angles and get used to the speed that an actual football would careen at your face with. Just, you know, without the possibility of taking a shot to the nose.
There’s a barrier of entry here with the headset requirement, but Cleansheet is absolutely worth giving a go for anyone who wants some simulation-style practice time without the inconvenience of finding an actual field with actual people to play with out in the real world.
10Splatoon
Cooperative, Colorful Chaos
Splatoonmight seem like an oddball inclusion on this list, but hear me out. REMATCH is a competitive multiplayer team-based game that’s full of colors, uses a crosshair to aim, and involves taking control of an arena to secure a victory. Sound familiar?
REMATCH: How To Play Goalkeeper
Keep those sheets clean.
I know this might sound insane on the surface, but REMATCH really does kind of feel like a third-person shooter at times. It quite literallyisa TPS, in fact—You’re just shooting a football instead of deadly weapons.
Even though it’s a big genre shift, I think Splatoon works as a post-REMATCH recommendation if you have the same squad of friends to jump into another multiplayer title with. It’s another game with a low barrier to entry that’s meant to feel a bit more arcade-y than other competitive shooters in the genre that are just too deep and hardcore to have the same vibe as REMATCH.
The Ultimate Frisbee Remix
Disc Jamis a frisbee/tennis-ish hybrid that’s every bit as frenetic and competitive as REMATCH. Sure, there’s a limited number of players on the court compared to its football counterpart, but Disc Jam is an awesome option if you’re okay shaving down your friend group in order to play with fewer people.
Aside from the easy comparison of being a multiplayer sports title that’s not really 100% beholden to any of the real-life games it’s ultimately riffing on, Disc Jam also has the same force-field-like barrier around the court to influence your playstyle.
As you learn and get better at REMATCH, it becomes obvious just how useful bouncing the football off the walls can be as you ricochet passes to open teammates or catch your opponents off balance. Disc Jam does the exact same thing. Get out those protractors and work those angles.
Is It The Shoes?
Pick any 2v2 iteration ofNBA Jamyou can play with a friend group, and the REMATCH-ism of the experience will be super obvious. Sure, it’s basketball instead of football, but a lot of the same principles apply here.
You need to work closely with your teammate to continually have a chance to score a bucket. Trying to do too much and only playing hero ball allows the defense to swarm and pummel you for your sins as a ball-hogger.
Instead, a premium is placed on coordinating passes to get each other open, as well as having one person hang back as a possibledefenderif you turn the ball over and are in a vulnerable position to give up a fastbreak to the other team. Lace up your Jordans and get ready for some turbo-charged, high-flying action.
7Slapshot: Rebound
Ice, Ice, Baby
Slapshot: Rebound is another online co-op sports game that brings a different flavor to the typical title based on its sport. It’s also a Free-to-Play, live-service game, which isprobablywhat REMATCH actually should’ve been, instead of trying to straddle the line between a paid game and one that wants all your micro-transactions.
All that aside, Slapshot isclearlya REMATCH replacement or supplement if you’re looking for one, and it’s genuinely a great time. Just like its football counterpart, the controls are a little wonky at first, but that’s at least by design here since Slapshot also boasts the goofy physics-based game moniker.
At the end of the day, what is football but ice hockey on grass?
I forgot about field hockey, because I’m an uncultured American. It’s also been very hard not to say soccer once in this article yet.
All The Same Frustrations
Depending on your preferred way to playNBA 2K, it can either feel nothing like REMATCH, or surprisingly similar. If you’re just jumping into a standard, league-sanctioned game in which you’re controlling every player on the court at the same time, it’s a different experience.
Jump into MyPlayer or MyPark specifically, and now we’re cooking. In these modes, you just control your one created player on the court, and you’ll need to coordinate with your teammates (real or bot) in order to have a chance at a win. Or at least, that’s the idea.
Just like REMATCH, NBA 2K online has the same issue with certain players on your team simply trying too hard to be the main character, and it can be a maddening experience. If you don’t mind that, or you’re the selfish teammate yourself, NBA 2K might be up your alley.
5FIFA Street
Freestyle Football
FIFA Street (2005)
Oh, how I miss the EA Sports BIG era. I used to besucha fan of the entireSSXseries, as well as pretty much every entry into the Street versions of basketball and both footballs. To be honest, any of the Street games work as a REMATCH comparison, since all are less-traditional, stylish takes on their respective sports.
REMATCH: How To Unlock Ronaldinho
Big Ronnie is back on the pitch, if you have some Quants to spare.
But obviously,FIFA Streetis the closest one. If you liked the rainbow kicks and dribble moves in REMATCH, FIFA Street is going to be for you. This title unlocks many more creative ways to create space and avoid defenders, all while remaining a genuinely fun and competitive sports title in its own right.
Since FIFA Street is also a licensed game, you’re treated to a huge assortment of real-world, legendary footballers to add to your rosters, too. Yeah,Ronaldinho is in REMATCH, but it’s not like unlocking his skin really brings anything new or different to the party, either.
Fantasy Sports
BeforeHadesand its sequel, Supergiant graced us withPyre, a super-weird sports game that was also heavily rooted in fantasy RPG mechanics and deep sections of lore-filled dialogue. No, this willnotbe a game for all you casual REMATCHers, but the nerdier among us will have a lot to like about this one.
From the perspective of its sports mechanics, Pyre is a weird mix of basketball, football, and handball held together with a magical, spell-casting twist. If that sounds really weird and hard to wrap your head around, I would understand. But if you take the time to give Pyre your undivided attention, this one is a gem.
Your team is a ragtag group of exiles wandering the paths of Purgatory to win their freedom during these sporting events, AKA Rites. It’s a weird setup, but it just simply works. This is unsurprising, since Supergiant has given us banger after banger dating all the way back toBastionin 2011.
3Super Mario Strikers
Mushroom Kingdom Madness
Super Mario Strikers
If you were a GameCube party gamer in the mid-2000s, I’d be shocked ifSuper Mario Strikerswasn’t part of your game rotation within your friend group. This is another arcade-style football game, but with the extra level of awesome thanks to the pedigree of the era’s stellar Mario sports games.
Between Strikers,Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, andMario Power Tennis, we were feasting in these days. If I’m being honest, Strikers might have even been the best of this bunch of classics.
If you’re looking for another football game that isn’t trying at all to be a simulation like your standard FIFA title, then Strikers is a must-play. It also works wonderfully as a multi-player title and rewards communication and teamwork with your playing partner. Every game in the Super Mario Strikers series is good, so you can’t go wrong.
