

Months later, however, an online demo arrived - no-one actually said this was the new PES, just that it was a Konami football game - and boy, did the alarm bells begin ringing. Sparing when it came to modes, yes (and even more so when it came to licences), but with the kind of touch at the controls that had won us over several instalments back. And it must be said: it remained a fantastic game to play. In 2020, we were restricted to a PES season update, while the developers worked on a new project that would take the game firmly into the next generation.

The simple truth is that, over the past 12 months, everything about Konami’s series has been weird and worrying. Important info for #eFootball fans /Tp9RFhmXp9- eFootball October 1, 2021 A CPU that doesn’t tackle, erratic reactions that cost you goals… Within 24 hours, a statement from the developer acknowledged the game’s issues and pledged to “improve the current situation”. Bugs, ranging from those that might merely raise a chuckle to those that lead to utterly ridiculous scenes, in addition to problems such as poorly-rendered crowd shots and players whose faces suggest they’ve just got back from a particularly bruising night on the tiles (the images of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi quickly went viral). And it wasn’t long before major foul-ups became apparent. This week, we were finally able to download the game, on devices ranging from PlayStation 5 to mobile phones. What have Konami been doing for the past two years? eFootball 2022 brimming with bugs, graphics issues

And when it was published, it proved a catastrophe. But even before it was released, there were doubts about the idea of launching such a basic initial version, with major updates months away. A way of moving away from Electronic Arts’ FIFA and embracing something accessible, always available. On paper, a brave approach that sought to understand the formats that currently hold sway. A game for everyone, free of charge, with updates and cross-play. The launch of eFootball, Konami’s free-to-play replacement for the long-running football sim Pro Evolution Soccer, has been a disaster.Īfter two years without an all-new instalment of PES - what we got last time out was no more than an update - the Japanese video-game developers decided to take their football project in a new direction.
