eFootball PES 2020

Comprehensive Comparison of PES and FIFA
Let me start by saying, that I have been a religious FIFA player since FIFA 09. FIFA has been my #1 most played game by far over the last decade. I, like many others, have grown tired of EA's continued b***s***, and this year I decided to actually do something about it, and give PES a chance. This is my very first PES title, and actually my first ever non-FIFA soccer title.
That being said, I am going to try to compare my experience so far in PES to FIFA, in as many detailed categories as possible, grading each game and explaining which title excels at what, in my personal opinion.
1. Graphics
Winner? PES...but barely
Let's not kid ourselves, no one is complaining about FIFA's graphics. That being said, if you take the time to get the data packages, PES's graphics are such a breath of fresh air, from the same graphics in FIFA's previous 3 or 4 titles. Celebrations, animations, and fine details are all on point. I very rarely find something out of place on screen, that takes away from the realism of the game like I do when playing FIFA. The movement of players feels realistic, compared to the feeling of players being on skates with FIFA. The only department that I could say needs work in PES, is obviously better stadiums, and stadium ambiance (backgrounds, fans,ect.)
2. Audio & Commentary
Winner? FIFA... by a landslide
I will start by saying that I do enjoy the songs that are on PES's soundtrack. That is the last good thing I will say about PES's audio. The very first match, I found the audio quality of the commentary team (Peter Drury and Jim Beglin)to be refreshing. By the second match, I had already heard one phrase three separate times. They make no remark if a ball goes off the post, will tell a random side story in the middle of a counterattack, and repeat the same phrases towards the end of nearly every match. It is tiresome. I am not advocating for FIFA's commentary, by any means. But it is marginally better than PES's, for now. FIFA's soundtrack also takes the cake here, being four times the size (104 to PES's measly 25) and also being, well just better. Looks like FIFA can keep the crown of best video game soundtrack, for now.
3. Career Mode
Winner? PES...but barely
Career mode is the main reason I play FIFA or soccer games in general. I do enjoy online play, but most of my play time comes from Career mode. So you bet, the first thing I did after finishing the data packages, was to start a career with Fulham to get to the Prem. OH BOY am I having so much fun with it. Managing finances is fun, I enjoy the way training, and skill training is done. I enjoy being able to play as Diego Maradona or Johan Cruyff. I especially enjoy the stat tracking, and the ability to take part in Europa league (assuming you have the data packs). The biggest thing for me, is that I've yet to experience a single bug. As we all know, FIFA's career mode is still bug-ridden, and has been for years with little change.
4. Ultimate Team/My Team
Winner? PES...but barely
This one was difficult for me. And at the end of the day, PES gets the edge for me, soley for being only less pay-to-win than FIFA is. There are several changes to PES's version of UT. There are several good ideas littered in, such as the way PES does chemistry (known as Team Spirit). It focuses on positions, play-styles, your managers tactics, and player's ability to match these tactics, instead of coming from nationalities or leagues played in. The scout and agent system results in a much fairer allocation of decent players (I have spent 10$, and played roughly 10 matches of ranked online, and I have packed Ronaldo, several other 85+ players, a classic Ronaldinho, ect. It is not nearly as gamble based as FIFA is, if you put in a few dollars into the game, and spend your coins the right way, you can eventually get a decent team, guaranteed. It is however, more difficult to find specific players, however this matters less with the change in chemistry systems. My biggest complaint with PES's Ultimate team, is that it feels, I don't know, incomplete? Maybe I am spoiled with FIFA's squad building challenges, tournaments, and events. But other than playing ranked online matches, there seems to be a lack of actual things to do in PES's My Team. I'm still going to give it the edge, however because it does not feel scripted, and hasn't been completely ruined by micro-transactions. Yet.
5. Online play
Winner? FIFA...but barely
I wanted to give this to PES. FIFA has become so scripted lately that it legitimately isn't fun playing online. And I would probably give this to PES; If, that is, people actually played it. I struggle finding matches at all hours of the day. The only consistent mode I've been able to get a match, is on My Team's ranked mode. Lag isn't really an issue, but having to wait so long for a match is always a pain, no matter what game you are playing. Sadly this seems like a paradox, but until FIFA players migrate to this game, FIFA will still be the go-to for playing an online match.
6. Overall Gameplay & Football Realism
Winner? PES...by a landslide
This is the category I've been waiting for. This category is the reason I cannot put PES down. It just feels so, right? Gone are the days of skating through opponents like they're ghosts. Gone are the days of being able to wack a pefectly scripted belter in to the upper 90, when your opponents back is to goal from outside the box. Tactics are actually tactics. The players actually do what you want them to. The best way I can describe this, is that in FIFA, you control 1 player at a time, and the ai controls the other 10 on your team. In PES, your tactics control the other 10 players you don't control. They hold their line where you tell them. They press if you want to press. They park the bus if you tell them to park the bus. Fouls feel real, like real, coliding bodies. My ONLY complaint with PES's realism, is that I think I have yet to see a single injury, for either side, in every game I've played. Otherwise, It is such a nice breath of fresh air to EA's "arcade soccer" as I'm now calling it. This will be enough to keep me off of FIFA 20 for the remainder of this year, I think.
FINAL VERDICT: PES...but barely
Disclaimer: I am really mad at EA. I'm tired of what they as developers have done to so many good franchises. Unfortunately, they are here to stay. So the best we as a fanbase can do, is show them that we won't put up with everything. Me purchasing PES this season, instead of FIFA, is my way of telling them that. I understand the game, and change, will not be welcome by everyone.
But if you, like me, are tired of FIFA giving you the same game every single year, I promise that this year's PES will be a nice change that will keep you entertained if you keep an open mind.
Don't forget the data package!

So what can i say. Ive been playing fifa for years. Ive played every fifa game that has ever been released.
I have player hundreds of hours of fifa 17, fifa 18 and fifa 19.
The frustration level with fifa kept on going up until i could not stand it anymore.
I have played pes before (2013, 2014 and 2015) and then i played myclub in pes2019. It was soooooo much better. The gameplay is soooo much better that fifa.
myClub is so much more rewarding the fut. It does not even come close.
So if you want to be able to play soccer the way you want (not the way the scripts want you to), then play pes. Its just so much better that fifa.

FIFA has dominated the series of Football games, this game, yes with its flaws, gives you a more satisfactory career than what you would expect from FIFA. First year i have bought and invested in ePes, and my best year yet as a true football fan. Take it as you will, yes we need to mod in order to get the real feel, but trust me, the gameplay alone will get you off of FIFA. Leave EA, and support the guys that are trying to do Football in general good.

Updated review 15 September:
Now fully recommended. All good after the first big update, squads are now up to date, much faster matchmaking online, no lag problems in any recent online games.
----- Original day 1 review -----------------------------
Gives good football...but it's only just a thumbs up at the moment, there are many problems that need to be resolved. I enjoy FIFA too but yes I can see in pure gameplay terms PES, when everything is working well, is more like the real game.
First the positives, yes all the usual PES goodness in terms of realistic build up play, realistic pace and the improved dribbling and touch skills are all there. It feels like football, no question, when it works well.
However the negatives balance this:
- Online matchmaking takes forever, if you can find a match at all.
- Lag! Online matches are riddled with shocking lag, stutters can last over a second and the game has moved on. I stopped playing online football games in the past because of this issue, I hope it's not back.
- Online match balancing is awful as a result, my first match was against a team with all high level black ball players. My second online game was more fairly matched.
- 2018/19 squads, it has to be mentioned despite promises of an update soon. The squads are way out of date, a few recent transfers I could forgive but to release like this is shocking. Out of date squads prevent me from wanting to start the career elements as I want to at least start against the up to date squads.
It could be that the 'day 1' patch resolves all of this, if so I'll amend the review. At the moment i give it a cautious thumbs up with high hopes that it will improve.

After years of playing FIFA, this has been incredibly refreshing. The first few hours are torture as you try to wade through the differences and convert your playstyle, but once you get the hang of it, this game is incredible. I prefer it over FIFA at this moment. Animations are gorgeous and strategy in terms of game plan matters. You can see the difference in a match. It's very well done.
My only issue with the multiplayer is the insanely long wait times. That's my only big problem. I think in general, the game could explain itself better. I have 0 idea, even after playing for 18 hours, of how to properly manage and organize my team. It's a very counter intuitive UI, they should work on that. But the gameplay itself is fantastic. I don't even like football that much, but it's still one of the most fun I've had recently.
PES LITE is free and you should give a try.

Offline: Wowwwwwwwwww
Online: Who cares

overall is good..
BUT HOLY SHIT THE SCRIPTING IN THIS GAME....
GK RUNNING TO THE GOAL TRYING TO STOP THE BALL FROM GOING IN AND HE LITERALLY SLIDING AT FULL SPEED, CATCH THE BALL AND STOPPED AT THE GOAL LINE LIKE INSTALLY, WTF.
*it's my GK doing that, so i give it a positive review :)