eFootball PES 2020

It's coming home.

Here at WayTooManyGames, I have to constantly deal with my American colleagues telling me that the sport in which we kick a ball with our feet onto a goal is called “soccer” and not “football”, as I grew up saying it both in Brazil and England. Then comes Konami with its rebranding of the PES franchise, formerly known as Winning Eleven, calling it both names at the same time. This year’s version of PES 2020 is called eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020. That’s certainly not gonna ...

I know it feels like I’ve criticised eFootball PES 2020 a lot, but ugly menus and a slight lack of ambition can be forgiven when the on-field action is this awesome. Thanks to first-class animations, incredible shooting, and brilliant build-up play, PES has arguably never been more enjoyable to play. Presentation and licensing shortcomings rear their ugly heads for another year, but in spite of the overly safe returns of Master League and MyClub, this is a generous footy package. When it comes to class-leading quality on the pitch, PES is still in a league of its own.

Konami has brought enough on paper to attract new fans to eFootball PES 2020. The players and teams stand out as it will give player the opportunity to play an amazing technological football game with players and teams they know about. The visuals are unmatched and the gameplay is beyond solid. Finesse dribbling is flat out addicting and has endless possibilities. The Master League is a great endeavor for a single player experience, but may be a bit much for players who aren't hardcore fans. There's no doubt that Konami still focuses on the hardcore fan as it still needs to work on providing a...

Coming into this review as a football newbie left me worried that I would be unable to connect with PES 2020, but am pleasantly surprised to say that there is fun to be had here.  The omissions in officially licensed leagues and clubs is a tough pill to swallow and the in-game presentation feels very lackluster, but Konami manages to accomplish the goal of offering an entertaining representation of the sport. Solid graphics, a smooth PC port, outstanding animations, and rewarding gameplay help eFootball PES 2020 stand out against its sports game competition. It is worth a look if you have even...

Soccer season is in full flow already, and as such, Konami and EA have entered into its yearly competition. Konami’s output this year is the bizarrely rebranded eFootball PES 2020. With the unneeded name change, you’d perhaps expect a game that focuses more on its esports offerings than other areas of the game. This is true to some extent, but PES 2020 will feel very familiar to longtime PES players, for better and for worse. Little has changed over the last game aside from your usual array of tweaks and minor additions. The name change hasn’t brought with it any drastic changes either on or o...

Some people say we shouldn’t compare Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Rather than pointlessly trying to work out who’s better, we should just sit back and enjoy a time when two of football’s GOATiest GOATs can spur each other on to even greater heights.

It’s halfway through my first season as manager of the club in PES 2020’s Master League franchise mode and everything is going swimmingly – we’re top of the league and leaders of our group in the European cup. At the beginning of the season I made a promise to our board that we could win both competitions, and we are well on our way.

PES 2020 carries the same flourishes and failings forward for another year.

PES 2020 is an accomplished football sim, but the same could be said for PES 2019, and the changes Konami has made this year don't amount to much. As such, if you already have last year's game, I find it a little hard to recommend getting PES 2020 as well.

Just when you thought PES was getting old and stale, it gets a new name. That’s right, for a franchise that began as International Superstar Soccer, changed to Pro Evolution Soccer, and sporadically adopted and rejected the name of Winning Eleven, Konami has decided 2020 will mark the new era of eFootball PES 2020.

eFootball PES 2020 may be a symbolic start of a new era for Konami, but it feels like not much has changed over last year's version of the game. In fact, it might even be that last year's version plays a shade better compared to this version. When PES 2020 works properly it is sublime, but issues on the pitch need addressed to really be considered worth upgrading.