Thread by @TheVernimator

Prepare for a long thread! I think I need a blog 🤣 #PES2020

Right here goes, I’ve compiled some thoughts on what I experienced in around 5-6 games of playing #PES2020 yesterday. First up I must clarify, the experience was purely offline a& we had access to 2 teams (the new official partners @manutd & a team full of legends)

& 1 stadium (Old Trafford).

So, let’s start with the VISUALS.
Visually the game is stunning, Old Trafford looked glorious in both the day and night, daylight being quite an issue for #PES2019 in which some stadiums during the day left you requiring sunglasses to play.

This could still be the case but Old Trafford was much easier on the eye in the daylight hours.

The new ‘Stadium’ cam looked great and it will certainly take some getting used to if you want to use it on a full-time basis in PES2020 but I’m not sure how it will translate online

as playing offline, the camera struggled keeping up at times to a fast interchange of play. I think it may be something best used in ML as it gave that broadcast feel to the game.

The player models looked fantastic and the 3D scans of various United players were very lifelike with an amazing attention to detail. The Legends appeared to have had a visual upgrade too, apart from Beckham, his younger self looking nothing like his younger self.

Overall the visual enhancements were noticeable even if they weren’t a million miles away from the visual upgrade the game received last year but nonetheless the game is still looking great on the pitch.

Next up, MENUS.

There was nothing to report tbh on the day as there wasn’t anything new to be seen from what we’d already seen come out of E3 and the only menu item that we had access to was the exhibition mode, all other modes were understandably locked.

We were treated to a Man united skin on the front end though that portrayed the clubs colours as opposed to the vibrant pink and purples that have been introduced. Word on the grapevine is that you may be able to use individual partnered club themes for the home screen.

We’ll have to wait and see if that’s true or not.

GAMEPLAY

The fundamentals of the gameplay haven’t really changed too much but there’s some key changes that really make the game feel different in your hands.

PACE OF THE GAME - The pace of the game in the build we played was very slow (but in a good way) it felt like you had time on the ball, a quick scan of the field allowed you to pick out your next pass without resorting to some ping pong,

100 mile an hour football which tbh is more reserved for a basketball court.

ANIMATIONS and PLAYER MOVEMENT - This seems massively improved. The fluidity of the movements and transitions of players in and out of skill moves felt really nice.

Player positioning and movement is also crucial to the result of passing and shooting, try to attempt a pass or shot when your player appears to be off balance will result in a shank or blast into row Z. Timing will be key! Just returning to PES2019

made the game feel really rigid in comparison, I really do hope it all transfers to online because it was really responsive and fluid.

PLAYER ID - For me Konami have consistently nailed many player ID’s. I think it’s one of Pro Evolution Soccers most redeeming features and they seem to have turned it up a notch this year especially with the legends.

Batistuta being the most noticeable. Pace, power and pure aggression in his shooting. Just like in real life. He seems like he could be a real handful in PES2020. I’m really hoping that all the Legends can make a difference in My Club this year.

They should feel special and not be outdone by the featured weekly players.

PASSING - Passing felt more weighted and authentic but I’ll be honest, I played on PA levels 1,2, and 3 and there wasn’t a great distinction between the 3. PA1 obviously had more room for error but the passes did seem to be quite accurate regardless of the assist level.

SHOOTING - Shooting had one of the more notable changes, shots were often being skied and rising with great frequency. There’s definitely a learning curve to be had to generate those driven shots towards goal.

Everything was compounded by the new stadium camera too, as it often left you trying to adjust to new angles.

GOALKEEPERS - We only had De Gea and Khan to test between the sticks but there appeared to be some new GK animations and just like last year I think they’ve been

massively improved in recent years. There was still a tendency for them to parry the ball in to oncoming strikers when shooting from an angle across the keeper though.

PLAYER SWITCHING - Tbh I didn’t notice anything too glaring. Yes, there was the odd occasion where the switch didn’t go exactly to the player it was intended to but I personally use the R-Stick to player switch which seems to give you more control in player selecting.

Maybe that’s just me?

DEFENDING - Being brutally honest I didn’t see many changes here at all in terms of retrieving the ball from your opponent, you were still heavily aided by ‘teammate contain’ and while there was some lovely new animations when defending,

it all seemed contextual rather than something that was being influenced by you as a player. I can’t really comment on the defensive Ai positioning either as I simply didn’t play enough games for anything to become alarming.

DUMMY KICK - While not feeling massively too different from the dummy kick that already exists, the combination of dropping a dummy kick then sending your striker through on goal with a beautifully weighted through ball felt really rewarding. Was it too easy to execute? Maybe.

TRICK TRAP - I’m not sure I executed this at any point, what an absolute dohnut!

FINESSE DRIBBLE - Well! This for me is the game changer and I’m still not sure if it’s a good thing or bad thing. For a guy like myself who loves to dribble and skill it could put many games in my favour but with everything being so easy to execute with just a flick of the right

stick everyone is going to be at it. For example ‘Neymar’s Ball Roll’ used to require the input of 2 commands using both the left and right stick. The ball roll and other movements can now be achieved in just one flick of the right stick. Visually it looks amazing and creates a

real flow within the game but it’s just too damn easy to do! The jury is out on how game changing this new skill element could be. Time will tell. It’s making the game very accessible.

So, let’s wrap thing up, I think PES2020 is in decent shape in the build that we had access to and there’s lots to be optimistic about on the pitch even if I have a few reservations about some new game mechanics BUT as I’ve said for the past few years all these lovely new

additions will mean nothing if it doesn’t translate online. Especially in My Club!

Thanks for reading if you made it this far. We’ll all get the chance to sample PES2020 on the 30.07.2019. See you on the pitch!✌️