We were invited to the offices of Halifax, where we tried a demo of eFootball PES 2020, the next chapter in the Pro Evolution Soccer series of Konami, which from this edition is renewed in various aspects.
The demo we tried did not differ from the playable one at E3 (which you can read here to learn more about the details that we will not cover here), however we had more time than the Los Angeles fair, so we were able to play more games deepening the news that Konami has added to the title. Let's say it right away: we liked this new PES.
You can see how Konami has definitely taken some steps forward, especially with regard to the physics of the ball and the movements of the players. The action becomes more reasoned and heavy, we finally have the feeling of being able to build a slow and studied offensive, which can allow us to make more reasoned tactical schemes. The new animations of the players return a remarkable tactical feelingin fact, each player moves intelligently on the pitch to try to cover all the spaces.
This translates into an overwhelming offensive phase, unlike the defensive one, in which we found some indecision on the part of the defenders. The defense too often indulges in avoidable fouls even without any button being pressed. This is obviously an Artificial Intelligence problem that Konami should solve before the official launch.
If the defenders don't often shine with acumen, great improvements have been made with the goalkeeper, now much more responsive in shooting. We have noticed on more than one occasion how the new animations make goalkeepers much more effective (sometimes too much) and this often results in unbreakable goals and games that end without goals. In addition to simple saves, we have noticed that goalkeepers sometimes prefer the spectacular save rather than the simple one, allowing themselves to deviate with their foot when they could have simply dived. You can see how the goalkeepers have definitely improved on shots, however when they find themselves defending against an attacker they are easily skipped with a fake shot.
In the eFootball PES 2020 demo that we tested, Konami wanted to dare with the new camera that follows the action and tilts on the pitch, however we decided during our test to immediately set the Wide camera, which gave us a decidedly feedback more positive when it came to following the action on the opposite side of the pitch. With this shot we can also see the great work that has been done on the contours of the match, with an active stadium and with several official choirs, at least as regards Barcelona, which sponsors the video game.
Graphically, this new PES proves to be up to its task, with the polygonal models of the most famous footballers made in an excellent way. The question remains whether Konami has used the same precision to create even the less famous players or the less famous teams.
In addition to the friendlies, this demo did not give us the opportunity to try other modes, however the developer has assured us that Konami still has to reveal several new features for this chapter.
Konami has worked very hard to improve the Pro Evolution Soccer series. With this new eFootball PES 2020 you can see how the software house has spent hours of development regarding the physics of the ball and the animations of the players. The actions are more reasoned and this certainly makes the feeling of watching a real football match and not a video game. Graphically, PES 2020 proved to be colossal and if Konami confirms the details of the demo for all the teams, it will finally be possible to have a worthy football video game from the Japanese company again. We have tried this new eFootball PES 2020 just enough to get an idea of the improvements to the animations and promote the demo. At the moment we can say that we are definitely on the right track compared to the other chapters.
