PlayStation 4
Released in 2015 by Konami
Grade: A-
PES 2016 is more sophisticated than any previous entry in the series, but it’s not necessarily more balanced.
Where it falls in the series
This is the second installment of Pro Evo on PS4 and Xbox One.
Praises and gripes
I’ve come to expect a lot from the Pro Evo series. On PS2, it’s a little mechanical, but still deep and fun. (See Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007.) On PS3, it became more realistic and organic. (See Pro Evolution Soccer 2015.) This is an excellent game, but given the standard set, it’s also a little disappointing.
Right off the bat, the game feels great to play. It moves well, it’s easy to control, and there’s a lot of action. The well-engineered control scheme from earlier versions is back, mostly untouched. It feels like there’s the right amount of open space on the field, with a balance between the skills of attackers and defenders.
This installment made some subtle AI enhancements. Players have more unique tendencies and strengths. When combined with deep tactical options, this makes every matchup unique. It’s fun to explore how the action varies from team to team, league to league. To really appreciate those tiny AI wrinkles, though, it’s best to choose a team and stick with it.
My issue with this game is that it’s too easy to score. That’s not a complaint you hear much about modern soccer games — most people would like scoring to be easier — but it causes the game to feel a little out of whack.
Getting into scoring position is a deep, nuanced challenge. Once you’re in scoring position, though, strikers have no trouble finding the back of the net. Their scoring ability doesn’t match the rest of the action.
This became exceedingly clear on the higher difficulty levels. The action comes alive more, defenders are tenacious, the CPU opponent is savvy. And still, after long struggles to get near the goal, strikers fire the ball with pinpoint precision past the goalies.
Have you ever watched videos of the greatest goals in soccer history? They’re either very long, hard, accurate shots, or remarkably improbable adjustments to the ball, in traffic, with a magical touch that sneaks the ball into the tiniest gap. In Pro Evo 2016, these types of goals happen all the time.
Like I’ve mentioned before, the risk of creating a hardcore simulation of a sport is that the little flaws stick out. This game is a deeper simulation than every previous edition, but the scoring logic is out of balance. And unlike many other sports games of this era, there aren’t any sliders that let you customize the game’s logic.
It does have plenty of other options, though. There are six difficulty levels, expansive tactics, and helpful game management options. (Auto substitutions, yay!) There’s good variance in stadiums, and I like how the weather and grass length affect the action on the field. There are plenty of different league and tournament formats to go along with the long list of teams. Most of the teams are bland knockoff versions of the real things, so you may resort to the easy-to-use but limited uniform editor.
It is worth noting that while the graphics look great from a distance, Pro Evo is clearly behind other modern games with the visual details. Players have a wax museum look with a far away look in their eyes.
I had a lot of fun with this game. It’s good, almost great. But I couldn’t escape the feeling that it’s “almost there,” and that I better go pick up the next couple installments and hope that it’s matured into a more perfect soccer experience.
Published August 7, 2022