Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 Reviews
PES finally finds the balance between stout sim and accessible arcade, but a poor port cast shadow on an otherwise great game.
Far from the distilled purity of the sport it seeks to celebrate, PES 2016 comes across as an over-engineered appliance—an unfortunate reality, given the craftsmanship being smothered underneath as a result. For all of PES 2016's inching improvements in the way players interact on the field, the game seems more intent on bombarding you with the number of licensed leagues, kitschy diversions, and other doohickeys vaguely associated with soccer at its disposal.
An open, responsive football title with a lot of individual player freedom, but one that also has dodgy keepers, absent fouls, and the usual iffy online environment. The PC community may bring it up to scratch, but at release it's an ugly port that does a disservice to the game within.
I wanted to like Pro Evolution Soccer 2016, I really did. Sports games are a specialty of mine, and I'm always excited to try the latest versions of the big time franchises. My disappointment with the game rests solely on how recycled everything feels. I want some innovation in my sports games, some new ideas that will challenge me and test my limits, but here I get the video game equivalent of a uninspired shrug. Konami, if you read this, please try something new with PES 2017, as I really don't want to be disappointed as soon as I press start next year too.
PES's legacy problems remain, but the football itself has never been better.
It's become a cliche to herald each edition of the Fifa rival as a return to form – but with added skill and aggression and a Euro 2016 tie-in, it's hard not to this time
None of these problems keep PES 2016 from being the greatest football game of all time. The question is no longer whether PES can catch FIFA, and in truth hasn't been for a while. Instead, it's the other way around, and may well be for years.
PES 16 is very close to the game long-term fans have needed and demanded. It inexplicably manages to match terrific, absorbing gameplay with awful presentation everywhere but on the pitch.