eFootball PES 2020 may have gotten a reskin, but this is still true to what the other games have stood for before it - doing all its talking on the field. Where it matters. The license issues around PES will probably never go away, but eFootball makes a huge case for itself in its refined gameplay. If players were willing to look past the failures of the games that have come before, they will find a lot to enjoy in Konami’s latest football installment.

Master League makes a return to eFootball, but with a higher emphasis on cinematics and the behind the scenes action of the football world. You’re a manager in charge of your very own football club, but this isn’t just a case of assembling the world’s best players and making your way through the ranks. You have to actively communicate with the press, making promises to both the media and your investors. I often found myself making promises that looked easy to fulfill, given my team’s form, but that goal became less attainable once my star player got poached by another club. That’s what makes Master League so entertaining to play. Well, that and the fact that the manager you play as has a caffeine addiction which is prevalent in almost every cutscene.



The charm behind Master League is to make you feel like you’re part of an evergrowing industry. The rollercoaster of emotions I went through, with each win and loss, simply kept me coming back for more. Thankfully, things were made easier to understand thanks to the UI overhaul given to the game. For example, you’re able to budget much easier, with the UI clearly indicating how much money you have and what purpose it can be used for. These are things a casual player, like me, found hard to understand before.

The AI also does a great job of creating ways for you to move up the field, offering signals to show you that they're open.

The proof is always in the pudding, and that is very much the case for the gameplay in eFootball. The pacing is slowed down, and there’s a higher emphasis on tactical gameplay and greater use of dribbling to best your opponents. This makes the game feel a little more like a real football match, where you would get punished for making the incorrect pass, or being a little too selfish with the ball. The AI also does a great job of creating ways for you to move up the field, offering signals to show you that they're open. This really forces you to focus on the entire field, rather than tunneling in on the area where the ball is located. Thankfully, the new camera position gives you a great sense of what is happening around you, so tactical plays don't feel like an arduous task.



As I mentioned earlier, dribbling has taken a higher priority in the game. Konami worked with football legend, Iniesta, to introduce a new feature called “Finessed Dribbling”. The feature gives players greater ball control, allowing you to create openings for shots at goal, or simply outmaneuvering other players. That being said, it works most of the time but I feel like it’s not something that will be used often. Higher skilled players will find more use for it, but I found it easier to just have a well-timed pass create the goal opportunity. However, this is a skill that rewards you more as you take the time to learn when to use it and its best applications.

That being said, my only gripe around gameplay has to be player collisions. More often than not, I have seen the AI falling over each other for no explainable reason. It tends to get in the way of playing out certain strategies, and happens a little too often for my liking. The referee tends to be very lenient in the way of fouls, and will sometimes ignore stopping the game outright. On multiple occasions, players were injured as a result of a foul and the referee would simply let the other team off with a warning. While I understand that this is a contact sport, I feel like there should be some balance in the referee’s decision making.



However, these are minor complaints compared to the overall refinement of gameplay. eFootball has taken a huge stride forward in how it feels to play, and it’s clear that Iniesta helped mould the gameplay to feel more realistic than ever. Most of the time, mistakes were often my own doing. Timing is everything in this game, and it could mean the difference between a win or a loss. In a matter of seconds, a mistimed tackle can leave your defence wide open for the opposing team to just walk in and score a goal. However, you will notice that every charming aspect of the game is met with a flaw.

While Master League was easier to understand, My Club feels a bit confusing in comparison.

My Club - eFootball’s version of Ultimate Team - is where I felt Konami could have given the Master League treatment to. While Master League was easier to understand, My Club feels a bit confusing in comparison. You can outright get players via a paid currency, although, you can still earn the currency in-game. Or, you can earn agents that will help you scout for new players based on certain attributes. I found this method to be more tedious, and simply resorted to getting players via the packs. That being said, My Club doesn’t make it that hard to get yourself a competitive team. If you buy the Legendary Edition, you will already be halfway there. That being said, I never really got to put my team through their paces against any other players, despite trying for multiple days.

I'm just going to assume that there aren't many players using the mode yet. That being said, the game mode is only as good as long as there are other people playing it. However, I appreciated the fact that I could play against the CPU to level my players up. My Club feels like a step in the right direction for eFootball’s online gaming mode, but it just requires a few more tweaks to make it feel as good as Master League. eFootball mode will find you battling against other players relatively often. The only drawback comes in the form of using established teams from the game, but the online experience was still very smooth. Thankfully, Konami added a way for you to see your opponent's connection, so you could opt out before the match starts.



The game features a myriad of soundtracks that are sure to get your feet tapping and your head moving to the beat of the music. The game’s sound design ticks all the right boxes, and the commentators give an accurate read on what is happening on-screen. The crowd roars with the chance at a goal, and shows concern when the ball is taken from you. These slight additions make an already realistic football game, feel even more real. Konami has clearly paid a lot of attention to the finer details and the payoff is worth it.

eFootball PES2020 is more than a rebrand that goes skin deep. The game has received a level of polish and refinement that the franchise has needed for years. The immense level of ball control and in-depth team strategies give eFootball a new layer of tactically to the game, making it feel more like a true-to-life football match. That being said, player collisions look somewhat clunky and there are still some refinements to be made to finesse dribbling. However, the competition definitely has its work cut out for it this year. Konami definitely didn’t drop the ball with this one.