PES 2019, our review

Konami hit the mark!

Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 has been available for purchase for a couple of days. No longer burdened with the obligation of having to develop a "castrated" version for old gen, Konami was able to devote himself exclusively to the development of the game on current gen (PC included). PES 2019 seems to have started a new football era at Konami. The challenge is only at the beginning, perhaps even this year the direct rival will win, who knows, but the Japanese software house is finally back on the scene that matters and this time it is really serious.

Graphically PES 2019 has received a significant upgrade, the action on the pitch has been improved and perfected and overall the gameplay is much more realistic, natural and convincing.. On the content front, there is nothing new. myClub has been improved, while the Master League, with its pros and cons, it offers players the almost authentic experience of becoming a club manager. The lack of weighty licenses, the now unchanged user interface and the commentary that hasn't received an update since time immemorial, are problems that persist, but PES 2019 convinces and we explain why in our game review.

Improved yes, but without exaggerating

That Konami had taken the right direction, it was already understood last year with PES 2018 (take a look at our review). The improvements made to the 2019 version seem initially trivial, almost as if Konami was simply limited to a mere copy and paste. The pace of play is still the same, methodical and tactical, but after a couple of games you begin to notice subtle changes in the formula offered, which added together, make PES 2019 an excellent football title.

Passing is naturally the foundation of any football game, and PES 2019 enhances that feature even more with a plethora of new animations, which magically ensure that every touch of the ball is done with amazing precision and realism. Players are smart enough to know what to do and how to move at the same time, giving us a greater sense of control over every movement and every passing trajectory. For example, if our player receives the ball and is immediately "hunted" by a defender, perhaps tall and sturdy, we can decide to unload the ball on the overlapping wing or full-back or on a midfielder, skilfully unmarked who can try the conclusion towards the door.

In every game, there is an incredible variety of passes and plays, while the fluidity of the movements of the players and the reactivity that is tangibly felt by pressing the relative buttons on the joypad lead to spectacular moments of football. The mechanics of passage (First Touch Control) of PES is truly amazing, Konami has been working hard on it for years and with PES 2019 it now seems to have reached perfection. The physics of the ball has been revised and contributes greatly to making the gaming experience even more realistic and sometimes unpredictable. You will never have the feeling, as happens in other titles of the genre, that the sphere is literally glued to the feet of our player, nor does the race still seem guided in those annoying invisible tracks.

The movement of the ball is authentic and the unpredictability in the way it moves, rolls on itself and moves in the air after being touched by the fingers of a goalkeeper, or perhaps having ended up on the feet of some champion, makes PES 2019 amazing even in the eyes of those who may find themselves passing by the TV by chance. Nobody will blame you if you decide to stop the action to review a perfectly successful play, or a partially successful finish attempt. In relation to the movement of the ball, the players are more reactive and make more intelligent and reasoned shots and movements, indicating the space they are about to slip into in order to take advantage of unique opportunities and let us know when to press the switch button at the right time. There is also more physicality in matches in PES 2019. Running with a central defender, trying hard intervention, fighting tooth and nail to win a tackle, stealing the ball and restarting on the counterattack, are all very convincing and at the same time satisfying characteristics.

Performing dribbling, feinting, or other movements entrusted to the skill controls is more intuitive. Each of them is mapped on the left and right analog sticks but do not expect pirouettes, rubber bands, double steps, bicycles or other "circus" movements, they are there and it should be so, but they represent skills that can be used from time to time. Quickly snap on the headband, with Lionel Messi, Douglas Costa or Dybala, taking advantage of their low center of gravity, allows spectacular plays, perhaps after having skipped one or two defenders, we can try a shot for a spin or a cross that the defense cannot read. Paul Pogba taking advantage of his physicality and his tactical intelligence he will wander around the midfield, finding spaces that allow him both to aim directly for the goal with an insertion and to manage ball possession and make the team run at best. Then there are players, such as for example Roberto Firmino who will occasionally make a no-look pass or Cristiano Ronaldo that in the area can really worry any defender, thanks to his explosive athletic skills.

But don't think that if you miss the defender you will be sure to score. The goalkeepers have finally been improved. They are a little useless when they leave the goal line, but between the goalposts they manage, thanks to a series of new animations, to pull incredible saves out of the hat, hitting the ball with the tips of the hands in the corner, or being very reactive when face to face, the opposing player tries the placement.

PS This year they were also introduced quick replacements, which through the touchpad on PS4, allow you to quickly select the player to be replaced and to choose between three players in the same role. A feature that works perfectly, which offers the player the possibility to make the change when he wants and above all in line with the selected role and which does not affect the pace of play in any way.

Not all that glitters is gold

There are some aspects that, however, still do not convince and that the series has dragged on from several chapters. The referees, for example, are still inconsistent at times; during the same match, they may be either too lenient or too harsh. There is no uniform yardstick and this can compromise our games, perhaps finding ourselves a warning for a trivial intervention or no penalty for a very hard and broken intervention. The lack of licensed teams and official competitions negatively affects, including the presentation of the match. It is amazing to enter the pitch with Barcelona or Liverpool and hear the respective anthems, it is much less so when we find ourselves playing for the PM Black White or l 'MD, which is not the discount supermarket, White. On PS4, thanks to the deep editor system, it is possible to implement jerseys, names, clubs, competitions, through unofficial patches that solve the problem at least in local games, but we would like Konami to make more efforts in the future to obtain important licenses.

This year then the two competitions on which PES could count for a decade, the UEFA Champion's League and the UEFA Europa League, have passed to their direct rival, a hard blow for the creature of the Japanese software house. The sop was given with the addition of seven new licensed leagues: the Danish Superliga, the Portuguese Liga NOS, the Belgian Pro League, the Swiss Super League, the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership, the Argentine Superliga and, exclusively on PES 2019, the Russian Premier Liga. A drop in a huge lake that leads PES 2019 to still be far behind FIFA 19.

The user interface is another negative aspect of the game, too dated and woody and the commentary, once again entrusted to the Caressa / Marcheggiani duo, is still at mediocre levels, with phrases of circumstance, disjoint dialogues and entire periods recycled every year.

La Master League remains almost intact. The International Champions Cup debuts as a pre-season tournament and the transfer negotiations have been slightly reworked, offering more flexibility when it comes to the commissions and contracts offered to players. It is now possible to include clauses such as bonuses and sales commissions, so there is not only a lump sum that we are going to offer, what is not convincing is the logic of the AI ​​behind the negotiation which does not appear to be particularly intelligent. Budgets and taxes do not realistically replicate the transfer market, with numbers much lower than the astronomical prices seen in recent years. You can buy a player like Laporte for just 13 million euros. In addition to this, however, the modality suffers from some well-known problems, such as unlikely transfers or a higher starting budget than the real capacity of the chosen club.  

Nothing new online

The online sector has not been particularly revolutionized. The online structure, already in the past chapters, has proved convincing and stable. Regarding the present modalities we have: Quick Matches in which we will face random opponents, Ranked Divisions that have as their ultimate goal to go up in division by facing players at our same level and Co-op that allows you to play 3 vs 3 matches. Matchmaking and connection stability didn't give us any problems.

myClub growing

Il myClub, year after year it is becoming more and more important. This year the wheel has been eliminated, which essentially made the opening of the spheres random in favor of a sort of pack opening that through a different chromatic choice allow to understand if the player is rare or not. The chances of finding an important player with greater probability is one of the characteristics that differentiate myClub from FUT and this year, especially if you buy the Legend Edition, which allows you to have a Premium Agent for thirty weeks, you can be sure that you will be able to have phenomenal players. 

First-rate technical and graphic sector

One of the aspects in which Konami with PES always manages to excel is in the technical and graphic sector thanks to the optimization of the FOX Engine. As mentioned at the beginning of the review, with PES 2019, the old consoles have been definitively abandoned, focusing exclusively on Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC. This allowed Konami to implement a new dynamic lighting system (Enlighten) that goes to modify in a dynamic way, the lights and shadows during the game. New (non-dynamic) weather effects such as snow have been introduced. Even the appearance of the players has been treated in a meticulous and photorealistic way. Surprising to see Federico Bernardeschi (as well as other players not of the highest level) identical to the real counterpart. The treatment has not been reserved for all players, mind you, but Konami has had greater foresight in presenting every player to the best that will never lead us to exclaim: "who is this here?"