E3 2019: eFootball PES 2020 prepares to take the pitch

Published , by Chris Jarrard

Despite losing licensing access to the UEFA Champions League to EA Sports and the FIFA franchise last year, Konami is still committed to bringing the best possible soccer experience to consoles and PC. Signaling a commitment to esports, the series formerly known as Pro Evolution Soccer is now known as eFootball PES 2020. Along with a new name, PES 2020 is arriving with new graphical enhancements, a UI overhaul, and animations. We got to sit down with the PES team at E3 2019 while on the show floor and learn a bit more about what football fanatics have to look forward to in this reborn version of a sports gaming classic.

The game’s official site goes into heavy detail about the graphical overhaul and gameplay improvements:

Graphics - Experience stadiums recreated in stunning fidelity using high performance 3D scanning technology. Witness spectators in the stands react with jaw-dropping realism to the highs and lows of each match.Watch as dynamic lighting systems affect the angle of shadows cast on the pitch as time elapses during play. See every step, stride, pass and shot animated seamlessly as players pound across lustrously rendered green turf. Marvel at the polish of a completely overhauled user interface as you navigate intuitively formatted menus designed from the ground up with ease-of-use in mind. If you’re going to play the beautiful game, PES 2020 is undoubtedly the most beautiful way to play it.

Gameplay - Most notably, the development team have worked closely with Andrés Iniesta to translate his innate ability to read the space around him and slip through the tiniest cracks of an otherwise impregnable defensive line into a new dynamic dribbling technique. Fans of the series will agree, authenticity has always been important in PES, and that applies just as much to your on-pitch failures as it does your triumphs. In alignment with this philosophy, PES 2020 will feature realistic portrayal of player error, creating more opportunities for you to take advantage of careless mistakes made by opponents, while also encouraging you to live and breathe every moment of competition to ensure your own play is on point. Several new first-touch techniques have also been added, empowering you to take command of the ball in a way that suits your personal playstyle.

You can check it out yourself when eFootball PES 2020 launches on PS4, Xbox One, and PC September 10.

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