Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 Review Games And Junk

Leo Migdal

-Nov 20, 2025, 2:37 AM

pro evolution soccer 2016 review games and junk

Platforms: Playstation 3, Playstation 4, PC (reviewed), Xbox 360, and Xbox One It’s the pre-season friendly fixture and the crowd is buoyant, their excitement palpable, the atmosphere electric. ‘The King is Back’, ‘Long Live the King’ they chant. Things often go well in these first few games, there’s no pressure – it’s a time for showboating, showing off new bells and whistles. Can the Winning Eleven team keep it up for a whole season filled with many more matches? Pro Evolution Soccer has floundered for years.

The series has gone from the top of the table to the depths of National League in a matter of years, and now spends its time battling to avoid relegation from the collective consciousness. For me, the last truly good iteration of PES was PES5 on the PS2. Subsequent entries in the series struggled with the leap to next generation consoles and for a while the PS2 engine outgrew its welcome on the Windows versions of the game as Konami wrestled to... In the meantime, EA’s FIFA series went back to the drawing board, reinventing itself as a game that played a lot like the older Pro Evolution Soccer games and capitalizing on Konami’s next-gen issues. EA’s franchise established itself as the new number one football game. Pro Evolution Soccer never regained its PS2 era momentum but there’s always the hope that this is the year…

Technobubble covers games, gadgets, technology and all things geek. Follow Technobubble poobah Jason Hidalgo’s shenanigans on Twitter @jasonhidalgo In the cutthroat competition of sports video games, second place often equates to being the first loser. It’s an unenviable position that Pro Evolution Soccer has found itself in for many years after being relegated to second banana behind EA’s FIFA series for most of the previous console generation. For a franchise that used to dominate during the Playstation 2 days, it’s a humbling fall from grace. Sports, however, are also defined by comebacks.

Konami’s flagship football title started making its case for promotion last year with PES 2015, an excellent title that surprised and quickly closed the gap between its more popular competitor. Since then, PES built on the previous year’s success and added some extra spit and polish, resulting in a serious title contender with PES 2016. PES 2016 might well be the best football game ever made. To explain why is something of a challenge. The improvements don't lend themselves easily to snappy back-of-the-box soundbites. I can’t point to a single change or addition that makes all the difference.

Rather, it’s a game that has been refined in dozens of small ways, all of which have a cumulatively positive effect. This year, PES has shaken off the last remnants of PS2-era rigidity, delivering a faster, more responsive and more fluid game of football. I’m always a little reluctant to make direct comparisons to FIFA – not least as I’ve only played the demo version of EA Sports’ game – because the two handle in such distinctly different... For my money, while FIFA more accurately recreates the look of the sport, PES is the game that most closely captures the feel. For starters, there’s a much stronger sense of physicality this year. It’s most obvious when players jostle for possession (and, indeed, for position).

Before, it often felt like outcomes were binary, but it’s no longer quite so predictable. Context is everything: whether you win or lose the ball in a challenge is dependent on a number of factors, taking into consideration the skill of the players involved and their position in relation... A clean slide tackle is particularly satisfying: contingent on player momentum, they’re among the most tangible demonstrations of your ability to read the game and your opponent. Referees are thankfully more lenient than in real life: you can barrel into a challenge at speed, cleaning out the player as well as winning the ball, but as long as you make contact,... By the same token, if you repeatedly jab X while running alongside an opponent to attempt a standing tackle, rather than waiting for the right moment to step in, then you’re bound to concede... The attacking game has been tweaked, too, and it’s here you’ll first notice the effort Konami has invested in individualising players.

Anyone with a low centre of gravity – like Alexis Sanchez, Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero – is a joy to control, as these players have the balance to skip over challenges, occasionally stumbling... There’s a clear difference between these players and someone like Raheem Sterling, who has whippet-like pace, but his slight build means he’s outmuscled much more easily. You might win the odd free-kick with a bit of trickery, but if you’re planning to use his pace, you’re better off playing the ball in behind for him to sprint onto – aim... Shooting is similarly contextual, and the type of strike noticeably varies from player to player. Tevez in particular has a Howitzer of a right foot, and while you’d ordinarily expect the ball to rise the longer you press the shot button, it’s a joy to see him thundering a... Talking of ‘keepers, they’re more alert and reactive this time around, scrambling across their goal to palm away daisy-cutters, and getting up quickly to lunge at loose balls they’ve just parried.

PES's legacy problems remain, but the football itself has never been better. PES finally finds the balance between stout sim and accessible arcade, but a poor port cast shadow on an otherwise great game. A few minor issues aside, once again, Konami has delivered when it comes to the gameplay. Not only is PES 2016 a high point for the series, it's the best football game I've ever played. If you like soccer, football, or whatever you want to call it, you need to get this game [T]here's little worth in assessing soccer sims by the weight of their game modes, or indeed, the breadth of their official licences.

All that truly matters is what unfolds in those virtual ninety minutes, either against a friend, an online stranger, or the computer. On that test alone, PES 2016 represents the best game in the series since the PlayStation 2 era. As FIFA errs ever more towards arcade thrills, PES delivers realism in spades. Developer: PES Productions Publisher: Konami Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360 (PS4 reviewed) Rating: E for Everyone Release Date: September 18, 2015 (UK), September 17 (Europe), September 15 (US) Price: £54.99 (Anniversary... Some might say that Pro Evolution Soccer‘s continued inclusion of the AFC Champions League, Copa Libertadores, and Copa Sudamericana is a rather weak attempt at overcoming FIFA’s licensing stranglehold. But to read so cynically into the biggest annual club competitions held outside of Europe is to do both PES and its audience a disservice.

Perhaps more than any other single element, that these championships are included in all their official regalia highlights exactly the kind of football fan PES is pitched at. Broadly speaking, PES is a series for the more discerning follower of the beautiful game. The kind of person that’s impressed by being able to guide Colo Colo through a Copa Libertadores campaign is the same kind of person that appreciates the more technical approach PES 16 applies to... It continues the brilliant work done by its predecessor, offering up a more realistic alternative to the high-energy, kick-and-rush approach embraced by FIFA in recent years. Where players like Marco Verratti, Yohan Cabaye, and Koke are lost amongst the sea of speedsters that dominate FIFA, in PES they shine. Such players harbour skills that are subtle and, therefore, more challenging to translate into the digital space.

Verratti’s ability to perform first touches that afford him space to deliver the perfect pass, Cabaye’s never ending search for gaps between the opposition’s midfield and defensive lines, Koke’s near superhuman ability to weight... Platforms: Playstation 3, Playstation 4, PC (reviewed), Xbox 360, and Xbox One It’s the pre-season friendly fixture and the crowd is buoyant, their excitement palpable, the atmosphere electric. ‘The King is Back’, ‘Long Live the King’ they chant. Things often go well in these first few games, there’s no pressure – it’s a time for […]

Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 Review Games And Junk

People Also Search

Platforms: Playstation 3, Playstation 4, PC (reviewed), Xbox 360, And

The Series Has Gone From The Top Of The Table

Technobubble Covers Games, Gadgets, Technology And All Things Geek. Follow

Konami’s Flagship Football Title Started Making Its Case For Promotion

Rather, It’s A Game That Has Been Refined In Dozens