Pro Evolution Soccer has had somewhat of a revival over the past few years, making huge strides forward in gameplay, rather than presentation and game modes. In comparison, its only other rival in FIFA, seems to be focusing on the exact opposite. What does 2019’s rendition have in store for us?

Gameplay

Whilst it can sometimes seem silly to casual football fans to continue paying £40 for a game year on year that generally offers a very similar core experience, PES 2019 is absolutely worth the asking price. Never before has a football game managed to capture that infamous spectacle, drama and detail of the sport so accurately.

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This year PES is a slower, more thoughtful game – mainly due to the more varied and realistic first touch of individual players. When playing Ozil for example  you can quickly turn from a first touch and accelerate away from the defender. Time it well and you can create the necessary space to carve open a killer pass and produce a great goal scoring opportunity. On the other hand, Dejan Lovren (…the self confessed world’s greatest centre back) might take a heavier touch, so dawdling with the ball will only invite further pressure on your back line. You really have to think about the individual you’re controlling.

That’s not to say attacking is OP, it’s not. With the player ID and individuality shining through better than ever in PES 2019, you’ll notice that each individual position on the pitch will rely on the player being prevalent in that particular attribute. Overall ratings could almost be thrown out again, like back in the PES 6 hay day, as they’re of little significance. Instead it’s the individual stats combined that really shape each player. Toni Kroos has Low Pass and Lofted Pass in the high 90s, allowing him to control the game from a deep position. Pique’s Heading, Defensive Prowess and Ball Winning however are all around 90 making him a real rock, especially in situations with over-the-top balls thanks to his tall height and brilliant ability at heading the ball. Salah combines an Explosive Power of 95 and Unwavering Balance of 90 to create a real torpedo effect that can help to penetrate through those tight defenses to produce brilliant end product.  Finally for example Ronaldo is obviously his usual true-to-life freak of nature, with the ability to bulldoze defenses single handedly.

Player individuality is something that has always set PES apart in recent years over FIFA. But it’s never been so immersive and important as seen in 2019. The combination of individual statistics and player speciality traits such as Chip Shot Control, Acrobatic Finishing and Heel Tricks all make each individual player feel different on the pitch. Not to mention that the newly added “Playing Styles” each player adopts when being controlled by the AI, result in one of the most true-to-life football AI experiences I’ve witnessed.

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The passing game has been made more challenging this year, with more passes going astray when backed into a corner, under pressure or not given the right direction or power. This may seem frustrating at times for those used to ping-ponging the ball about from one end of the pitch to the other, but this adds so much sense of achievement and satisfaction, especially when you time that perfect through-ball opening a huge gap in the opposition’s defence. This is why I cannot understand the option to change the Passing Assistance, or PA, to make things easier. When playing on PA2 or PA3 this completely removes the intricacy and challenge of the passing game. With PES 2019 it’s the finer things in football that you can replicate from its real life counterpart and master to an absolute tee. In my opinion, Konami should drop this option – it can really affect the experience online when you get a mismatch.

Shooting is even more satisfying this year, with new “dipping” and “rising shot” player specialities, combined with improved net and ball physics – the feeling of scoring a goal has never felt better. Snap shots seem quicker to execute whilst long shots take slightly more time to wind up but fly off the boot with real force when timed well.

Lastly, the AI is far more varied and challenging on PES’ coveted “Superstar” difficulty – offering a real challenge when teams are mismatched in ability or tactically. For example I played a game with Manchester United Vs PSG, starting off well with an early goal I was thinking “this is easy”. Mbappe, Neymar and Cavani then proceeded to make life hell for the United defence, smashing in 4 subsequent goals with Luke Shaw found wanting for 3 of them. Even when being beaten on PES, it feels balanced, realistic and match day-like – goals are generally conceded due to user error and costly misuse of player abilities.

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PES quite simply offers the best game of football I’ve ever played. Every match is as exciting and unpredictable as the last. Konami really have nailed the gameplay side of things this year.

Graphics & Presentation

PES 2019 is gorgeous to look at, especially during the day time matches set in the beautifully replicated licensed stadiums. The pitches are improved which makes a huge difference, no longer looking like a fluorescent carpet like in 2018, they really do have the appearance of match day turf. Ball physics and nets have also improved in PES 2019, giving each goal a genuine feeling of achievement and satisfaction. 

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It’s the little things in PES 2019 that truly make a difference and that football fans will really appreciate, maybe even convert some FIFA fans this year. Watching Aubameyang roll away and point straight at Monreal (pronounced Mon-rey-al) as if to say “thanks for that awesome pass” is a simple yet highly immersive touch. Unfortunately though, the commentary is once again left to rot, with no notable improvements and potentially even more annoying comments from the gruesome twosome of Peter Drury and Jim Beglin (quick tip – you can turn it off).

Menus, graphics, team sheets, even most cutscenes are as terrible as ever. I swear PES seems to get worse every year with this side of the game. The menus are drab, and the main menu is an absolute mess – making it difficult to find your desired game mode. Surely this should be an easy task? Why Konami can’t invest a small amount of time or money into the user experience side of things, is beyond me. For casual fans, this is important and may put many off from engaging with the superior football game on the pitch.PES 2019 Review 4

Obviously a huge issue for fans or potential FIFA converts has been the licensing issue. Not having real kits and team names is a massive reason why people are put off from the game. However there is a fix. On PS4 and PC, third parties such as the brilliant PES Universe, have created incredible option files to plug the gap where correct kits and teams are missing. I’ve used the PES Universe file in our review and you can see that the kits and teams are beautifully recreated almost perfectly. Bad news Xbox fans, due to unspecific restrictions on this system high quality option files don’t exist. I can imagine this being a huge turn off for the entire userbase of the platform, as the immersiveness of the gameplay is soon removed when you’re playing “Man Red vs West Glamorgan City”. It’s unfortunate Konami and Microsoft still aren’t able to work this one out.

Modes

There’s no new modes in PES 2019, which may be cause for some concern if you were looking for a new challenge. MyClub is much improved this year with “Featured Players”, very much similar to FIFA’s “In Form” Ultimate Team cards, that update every week. There’s also new tournaments and new agents that make it easier than ever to build a killer squad to pit against your mates. I almost feel like it’s “too easy” to build an awesome squad, you really don’t need to put that much time in before you’ve got a team of mid to high 80 OVR rated players in there. The mode overall is not even close to Ultimate Team’s depth, sophistication and addictiveness. It’s progressed forward, but it’s not enough to compete with FIFA’s juggernaut.

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Master League returns with minor tweaks. Player in-game injuries play a much larger part, ensuring you have to bear in mind player fatigue before the match and make substitutions at the right time. Transfers have also been improved – you can now negotiate with both club and player, making it easier to get the best deal. Plus add on clauses can now be added, so if you find the next Neymar you can get a cut of the legacy deal. A rather buried, but important feature, is the ability to decide where your club income goes – transfer or salary budget. If you’re short on either or if you want to build bigger squads with lower wages you can amend your various income brackets to ensure you’re not short. All welcome additions to the game.

Master League is a funny one for me, it’s simplicity allows you to really get into the core gameplay which is where PES shines anyway – but it still feels a bit empty on the features and curveballs of managing a real life football club. I’m not expecting Football Manager levels of detail here, but improvements to the Youth Team Player Academy, player relationships/morale, player training and more interesting cutscenes that actually affect your squad would be lovely.

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Random Selection returns from 2018, and it’s awesome. A brilliant couch co-op mode (why not online!?) where you and a bunch of mates choose a few teams/leagues and players are selected at random with squads being self assembled. You can then trade off players if you choose, or continue from there. Great for a few casual games.

Overall

This is one of the best football games a long time. Football has never been recreated in such a realistic and enjoyable fashion. For some that brilliant core gameplay will suffice, but for others the flashiness of FIFA’s game modes, menus and licensing will prevail no matter what. If you can push past this, you’ve got a game which shows plenty of character and some of the finest football gameplay to date.

REVIEW OVERVIEW
Overall Score
VIAGame provided by publisher for review
Gaming LYF's resident sports specialist, Nick can usually be found keeping up with the latest footy news. Nick has been gaming since the days of Monkey Island on MS DOS and Zool on the Amiga.
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