Rematch (PlayStation, Xbox, PC, £20.99)
Verdict: Golazzo!
Video games have conspired to make the beautiful game ugly.
They’ve reduced football to sponsorship deals, big spreadsheets and, worst of all, hundreds of additional credit card payments so that you might get a limited-edition version of Cristiano Ronaldo in a fluorescent green kit designed by a YouTube streamer.
But now comes Rematch, a game by Sloclap, the creators of the martial arts classic Sifu, which goes some way to making football beautiful again.
Some of this is down to its look.
Much like Sifu, Rematch has a pleasing animated style — part cartoon, part fashion shoot — that eschews the photorealism of other football games and is much better for it.
But mostly it’s down to the gameplay.
Rather than controlling an entire team, here you’re given control of a single player in brief, frenetic matches where other people are controlling both your teammates and the opposition.
It’s you taking the ball, weaving around tackles and aiming into the top corner… goal! Or rather, as in my case, it’s you spooning yet another shot skywards.
Rematch, a game by Sloclap, the creators of the martial arts classic Sifu, goes some way to making football beautiful again
Much like Sifu, Rematch has a pleasing animated style — part cartoon, part fashion shoot — that eschews the photorealism of other football games and is much better for it
The potential for madness, as various players do their own things, is limited by the team-sizes — from three-a-side to five-a-side
The potential for madness, as various players do their own things, is limited by the team-sizes — from three-a-side to five-a-side.
Picture a human version of Rocket League, the fantastic game of car-based football, and you’re not far off.
Unlike Rocket League, however, Rematch’s control system doesn’t quite come naturally.
After a perfunctory introduction to its various button presses for different types of shot, pass, tackle and feint, it took me a few more hours to be even acquainted with the game’s demands. Hence the spooning.
Still, when you do cross that skill threshold — and intentionally volley the ball past a flailing keeper — it’s one of the most satisfying feelings in recent sports gaming.
And, what’s more, there’s no Ronaldo in sight.
Pipistrello And The Cursed Yoyo (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, £16.75)
Verdict: Delightfully batty
Bats are small and fast-moving. They’re easy to miss. But please don’t make the mistake of missing this particular bat, as I almost did back in May.
That’s when Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo was released, just ahead of the new Nintendo Switch 2 and the brilliant Death Stranding 2 — but, even with such riches, I doubt I’ll play many more enjoyable games this year.
Much like the Legend Of Zelda games from which it borrows, the main character of Pipistrello And The Cursed Yoyo isn’t technically given top billing in the title.
You play as Pippit, an endearingly oblivious teenage bat who’s obsessed with his yoyo.
When a bunch of mutant animals attack the energy company owned by his less-than-benevolent family, it’s up to Pippit to save the day — or have his allowance rescinded.
To be clear, though, this isn’t a riff on modern Zelda games, with their vast open worlds and vaster ambitions.
No, Pipistrello harkens back to the top-down Zelda games of the later Game Boy era. Its graphics are bright and pixelated. Its gameplay involves powering-up that yoyo to progress further in its dungeons.
Except these dungeons aren’t dungeons in the medieval-fantasy sense. They’re locations such as shopping malls and football stadia.
Pipistrello’s modern urban world isn’t just unusual for the genre, it’s a joy to explore — full of weirdos, puzzles, secrets and genuinely funny gags.
There are some moments when the game’s difficulty spikes a little too vertiginously. But, otherwise, this is a wonderful throwback that also throws things forward. Pipistrello 2? A bat can dream.
