PES 2016: Pro Evolution Soccer PlayStation 4 PS4 Review Round Up

Konami may not make many games anymore, but it's pumping out some real hits this holiday. Hot on the heels of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain's critical success, the publisher has deployed another high scorer in the form of PES 2016: Pro Evolution Soccer. Like an out of form striker, this series really struggled to hit its stride during the PlayStation 3 generation, but it seems like it's back to its PlayStation 2 era best, with some suggestions that this year's edition is the "greatest football game of all time". It's a shame for the Japanese publisher that it'll struggle to sell a tenth of the units that FIFA moves, then, eh?

God Is a Geek - 10/10

Sure, it doesn't have all the licenses, but on the pitch, where it actually matters, PES 2016 is phenomenal. You'll have a day off from playing it and forget, but then return and remember how truly special it feels to just play football. It's the best football game I've played in as long as I can remember (and I've just about played them all), and an utterly essential purchase. PES 2016 is the best there is, and the best there's been in a very long time. How crazy it is to think that Konami has made the two best games of 2015.

GameSpot - 9/10

Yet there'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.

Games Radar - 4.5/5

The improved Master League mode is a godsend, adding substance to the package and complementing the excellent gameplay. With the advanced collision system, Konami has done in a year what EA has been trying to perfect since FIFA 12. The added physicality and increased number of animations has done wonders for the gameplay. The introduction of an excellent edit mode (see 'edit it up' for more details) to the PS4 version even makes the usual lack of licenses a relative non-issue. Only the drop in gameplay visuals and lack of AI fouls really trouble its relentless march towards greatness.

Video Gamer - No Score

None of these problems keep PES 2016 from being the greatest football game of all time. The question is no longer whether PES can catch FIFA, and in truth hasn't been for a while. Instead, it's the other way around, and may well be for years.

Are you shocked by the reception to PES 2016, or has Konami's footy franchise always been top of the league in your eyes? Acrobatically blast it like Benteke in the comments section below.