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Pro Evolution Soccer has certainly come a long way | Review - eFootball 2024
4K View2023-09-08
The Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) game series — also previously known as Winning Eleven in some regions — has certainly come a long way. From its PlayStation “Goal Storm” roots to its rebranding into the now-fledgling free-to-play game eFootball, and now with its newest yearly iteration: eFootball 2024. Whether that journey has been for better or worse, well, I'd let my review speak for itself.
While the base game is free-to-play, eFootball 2024 generates revenue through microtransactions. Players have the option to spend real money within the game to purchase various in-game items and content.
🎨 Graphics
Visually, the UI is sleek, vibrant, and easy to navigate. Largely similar to previous recent eFootball iterations, it just feels like an extension of your phone with its large icons and easy-to-read text. On the other hand, the graphics of the mobile version that I played have always taken a deep dive compared to the photorealistic console and PC counterparts, but they still look decent, especially when everything is zoomed out and the graphics are set to 'High' settings. Overall, I am satisfied with the visual quality of both the menu design and in-game graphics.
📺 Presentation
As for the presentation, the players' likenesses are adequately recreated, and their movements on the field are fluid and lifelike, with animations that dynamically react to the current situation. The way the ball moves, bounces, and interacts with players' feet feels natural and responsive. The stadium environments are visually appealing as well, contributing to the immersive experience. In fact, I find the animations in eFootball more appealing than those in EA Sports FC Mobile.
🎮 Controls
Again comparing it to its mortal rival, the also recently rebranded EA Sports FC Mobile (formerly FIFA), which feels more arcade-like in terms of gameplay, eFootball 2024 presents a more realistic gameplay experience overall. However, this realism can sometimes work to its detriment, as the gameplay proves to be very challenging to control. Controlling players feels weighty and unresponsive, and it's often difficult to direct them precisely as you want. Passes and shots often miss badly and the movement feels weighty. For the control scheme, the game offers two sets: Touch and Flick, a UI-less system based on gestures only, and Classic, a traditional virtual gamepad setup. Unfortunately, both of these control schemes suffer from responsiveness issues. I tried connecting my Xbox controller, and it was unfortunately not compatible, which is disappointing considering this game is available on PC and Consoles.
📜 Game Modes
In eFootball 2024, you have two ways to play football matches: Authentic Team and Dream Team. Authentic is the traditional football game mode where you can select any current roster and pit them against each other, play with friends, or go offline versus AI. Notably, this mode is completely separate from the free-to-play model of the game, but its not truly offline, as it still requires an online connection.
Authentic Team definitely reminded me of the good old straightforward football games devoid of microtransactions. However, it lacks extensive content. There's no Career mode, Become a Legend, or Master League (that was promised to come), and the progression is rather limited, mainly revolving around playing quick five to ten minute matches to satisfy your football cravings on-the-go.
On the other hand, the Dream Team mode is the primary focus of the game. I mostly played the Offline game mode from Authentic Team and the eFootball League from the Dream Team, which essentially serves as the ranked PvP mode of the game. The gameplay can be quite challenging, particularly due to the unresponsive controls and the shortened game length of only five to ten minutes. However, there is still some fun to be had.
The game initially matches you against bots in the starting division and gradually introduces you to other players as opponents. The matchmaking takes a while to find other players and the server performance isn’t top-notch. However, for those that could play, playing matches will earn you experience to level up your team and provide opportunities for customization. It's worth noting that certain premium teams and individual players may be locked behind paywalls.
Players can choose to purchase these teams or players to enhance their roster in the game. eFootball 2024 also includes gacha-style mechanics, where players spend in-game currency or real money to acquire randomized players or items.
eFootball 2024 also offers match passes, which provide additional content and rewards for a limited time. Players can purchase these passes to access exclusive challenges, cosmetics, and other in-game benefits. The game also has an in-game currency that can be bought with real money. This currency can be used to acquire various in-game items and speed up progress.
While the game is ultimately free, unlike older titles in the series, It's important for players to be aware of the microtransactions and the potential costs associated with eFootball's free-to-play model. I still miss the old model of a one-time purchase and a focus on singleplayer content, such as managing your Career as a player or managing a club.
⚖️Conclusion:
eFootball 2024 offers an impressive soccer simulation experience for mobile devices, with lifelike and dynamic animations providing an immersive gameplay experience. Fans of the sport can play a decent soccer game on-the-go with its pseudo-offline mode, but the free-to-play model definitely did more harm than good by removing much of the singleplayer and premium aspects of the previous titles and replacing it with an aggressive pay-to-win scheme that not everyone will appreciate.
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