Do you like football? Do you also like video games? Therefore, you are looking for a good football video game. Fortunately, there are two such titles to choose from. But which one to buy? Well, we have played a lot of games in both FIFA 20 and PES 2020, for this reason, we feel somewhat qualified to help you with your purchase decision.
Both games represent solid choices; however, they have a number of key differences. Depending on the game modes, you will prefer one game over the other. This should be a relatively short summary of the strengths and weaknesses of both.
gameplay
They both offer good gameplay. FIFA can hardly be called a football simulation as the EA Sports series is more prone to fast-paced and constant action. The midfield and the construction of the maneuver are practically non-existent; the focus is more on speed, counter-attacks and spectacular actions through skills and abilities. The game this year has a problem with ball physics which leads the latter to be practically magnetized at the feet of the players in most of the actions.
PES 2020, on the other hand, offers a more staid gameplay experience dedicated to building gameplay. PES gives greater depth to tactics and careful planning of pure rhythm, interspersed, at times, by long balls to bypass the opponent's rearguard. Honestly, net of a slight woodiness in the controls, we have never played such a beautiful football match in the videogame field. If you're just looking for the best-in-class soccer simulation, PES is probably the way to go.
You should keep in mind that both titles have a problem with AI. The defenders appear to have never touched a soccer ball before. Some people like this kind of situation, we honestly don't. While FIFA, somehow manages to slightly limit such defensive amnesia, in PES 2020, they are quite frequent and at times unrealistic. This leads us to think that a corrective patch is needed in the coming weeks (for both titles).
Having said that, in our opinion on the gameplay it has the best PES 2020. 1 to 0, ball in the center.
Graphics
FIFA 20 and PES 2020 are absolutely fantastic in terms of visual rendering. That said, the Fox engine Konami is an unstoppable juggernaut of graphic fidelity. Some screenshots from the field have practically no difference to reality. FIFA is anything but bad, but from the stylistic point of view, the presentation of the match and the detail PES 2020 is at a higher level.
However, once they leave the field, PES takes a sharp decline. The menu system is still labyrinthine and clunky, and some options are split into three or four options. In stark contrast, we find FIFA's menus to be snappy and easy to use. Of course, some of this may be due to our familiarity with FIFA; however, we think the majority would agree that PES has always struggled to adapt to EA's presentation.
The decisive factor must therefore be given by the various licenses. This is where FIFA becomes the clear winner. PES is catching up, but it's hard to compete with Ultimate Team's money. We CANNOT play like Juventus in my FIFA career mode; however, PES is missing many more teams and leagues. Sure, there are ways around this, but more on that later.
Ultimate Team vs. myClub
Ultimate Team could be one of the most profitable modes ever. Everyone wants to build their dream team and compete online to prove their skills. This year, the mode adds must-have seasonal objectives and some fun new friendly game modes. EA knows this is their money making machine and they treat it as such.
MyClub, in comparison, is lackluster. The continued lack of a true transfer market really puts a strain on the mode as it makes building your own squad a lot less fun. Instead, we're bound to sign the scouts and then look at a spreadsheet to see which scout combinations give the top players.
The one thing myClub has that we would like FIFA to add is the ability to bring your myClub players into modes such as the Master League. FIFA has no such thing, which is really a shame considering how many icons there are in the game. That said, FIFA is the obvious winner in this category.
Career mode vs. Master League
The Master League is far from perfect. As always, the menus are scary and it takes too long to find simple things like creating a side team. Dynamic cinematic scenes are fine, but they don't add much to the mode. However, for the most part, everything works as expected, from team management, to player growth, through budgets and seasonal goals. Konami's second year of the Master League update has been a great success and sets the stage for what could be a great mode next year.
FIFA, on the other hand, struggles a lot with regards to the offline career, left a little to itself in the last three years in favor of the Journey mode and especially the online ones (FUT above all). In real life, Manchester City would probably never be relegated, in FIFA, yes. New additions such as dynamic potential are mostly complicated due to poor implementation. On the other hand, we can create our own manager and little else, although we still have the possibility to choose between: manager career or player career (the latter is a separate mode in PES).
Honestly, in career mode there is no doubt, PES wins hands down.
Vault vs. customization
Finally, there are some features that both games offer to stand out from the other. For FIFA, it's the new Volta mode, while PES allows (on PC and PS4) to fully customize the entire game via option files.
Volta is closer to FIFA Street. This is a fast-paced arcade mode that we enjoyed playing. Volta has a story mode, an online game, and a mode that allows you to travel the world and collect new players. We really spent a lot of time on the Volta Tour and loved it in pretty much everything. It's also a fun way to play with friends who don't spend all their time with FIFA.
PES doesn't have any interesting new modes. It just allows you to edit and share players, leagues, tournaments and even sponsors to make the game as realistic as possible. It may not seem like much, but in FIFA we are obliged to play with Piemonte Calcio. In PES, we can add any team or league we want as long as the community creates it. It doesn't completely take away the advantage FIFA has from a licensing standpoint, but it mitigates it a bit.
Final verdict
So, now the answer you've all been waiting for. We think both games are very good. We at Soultricks.com will probably be playing FIFA more this year because we have a serious illness called FUT. That said, unless you share the same disease as us, PES is a better choice when it comes to gameplay and offline (especially career mode is nothing short of amazing). FIFA has FUT, online modes, Volta, better licenses and better menus, so the offer is more geared towards those who spend a lot of time in multiplayer.
