The more I playedRematchduring its various betas, the more I realised that the game is more fun with a full team of friends than it is for a lone player. This is hardly a phenomenon unique to Rematch, but playing an intricate team sport without communication is particularly frustrating.
Although I mostly played in a five-stack, solo queue players almost always make up the bulk of players in any given multiplayer game, and Rematch is likely no exception. Unfortunately for these players, Rematch currently lacks any sort of punishment, reporting or honour system(s).
As you may imagine, it’s quite easy to grief a game of Rematch if you’re that kind of (terrible) person. You can purposefully try and score own goals, refuse to move while playing goalkeeper, pass the ball to the opponent every time you gain possession. There are many ways to crack an egg, and equally many ways to ruin your teammates' experience in Rematch.
The People Want a Punishment System
Sloclap is currently grappling with the same network and latency issues that have plagued every one of Rematch’s betas, but a punishment system has to be a priority in the near future. There are several posts on Reddit calling for the immediate implementation of a reporting system.
“What can we do Sloclap? We need a reporting system,” reads the title of a thread byDeeedy, which features a three-minute video of a player single-handedly losing a game for their team. “Reporting must be a thing. I got lots of people who [said a slur] and flame other people, a ban has to come into play for sure,” reads a post byWizart_Concepts.
When I visited Sloclap’s offices in Paris topreview Rematch, a colleague asked what the studio would be doing to prevent verbal abuse. Their reply was mostly along the lines of muting the player, which is a fair response initially, but a system to punish serial offenders also needs to be implemented when Sloclap has the time.
Plus, there needs to be a way to stop griefers from repeatedly ruining games. If I’ve learned anything from League of Legends, it’s that there are people sad enough to spend their entire day ruining other people’s playing experiences. However, Riot now has fairly robust grief detection, and most of these players are punished swiftly.
“You know the type. Japanese nickname based on cringe fking Blue Lock; dribble, dribble, dribble and then off goes the dumbest pass/straight kick you could have ever conceived; spamming “Good job!” whenever someone fks slightly up; and then, after receiving an outpour of karmic rage after their own, inevitable ‘egoisto’ filled fkup, they go and score own goals. What the fk mate, get these guys the fuck off here. Jesus,” so reads a legendary speech fromJangerows, clearly a victim of griefing.
Rematch is currently available in advanced access for players who pre-ordered special editions of the game. The full release is on June 19 for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and PC.
