Best PS4 PES (2015-2021)?

[SerieALegends]

I only play on PC (with and without mods), so I can only speak about the PC versions, but here's my rundown..

For a long time, PES 2017 has been my favorite of the entire generation. It's the PES where I played my longest Master League (Reggina) in both Top Player and Superstar, and I really enjoyed it.. I played with Smoke Patch, some face packs, and other stuff, and in my view, it is the one that has the best Superstar level, the most balanced, and the best "vanilla" experience out of the entire bunch. I used to play with these gameplay mods, but I have since reverted to Vanilla gameplay, as I believe it is the most balanced in Superstar. I can't quite put my finger on it, but games seem very dynamic, with great CPU intelligence, varied attacks, and it just gives me that "next match feeling".. Just an overall brilliant, balanced game in my opinion that always leaves me wanting to continue my campaigns.

PES 2021 is a solid title for me out of the box, but what gives it that extra bonus is the sheer variety of mods it has. Not only gameplay, but everything from boots, banners, commentary files, and other add-ons. The only good thing about Konami going the sad "efootball" route is that PES 2021 has been continually modded and the community I think will continue to be very strong for a long time. I think dribbling in general is better in PES 2019, but it is the sheer customization options of PES 2021 that gives it the edge. And I find the Vanilla .exe quite enjoyable as well (especially with Soccer Game CPK by Sensei @Holland, which doesn't change anything from the actual gameplay, but addresses momentum issues). Overall, for PC, 2021 offers the most options..

PES 2019 is a surprise. When I first played it, I was completely unaware of the gameplay modding community, and only played Vanilla.. and it was incredibly frustrating to me.. I would be, for example, playing with Estudiantes de la Plata vs a much weaker Argentinean team, winning 2-0 comfortably in the 75th minute, and then my opponent would go absolutely insane and score 3 goals in the last 15 minutes. Time after time.. I think I "rage quit" PES 2019 more times than any other game I've played..... BUT this, like @Madmac79 mentions, is BEFORE gameplay mods. Now I am using the dt18 linked above by Mac, and also have tried THIS ONE (which is an edited version of a @*Supernova* gameplay), and "Professional Gameplay Mod, again by Master Incas (the last two are designed to be played in Professional, as for the reduction of the momentum).. That being said, PES 2019 is an absolutely beautifully designed game IMO. The best looking out of the entire generation, with smooth dribbling, great lighting, and overall feeling. It is definitely moving up my list.

PES 2018 isn't enjoyable for me without gameplay mods (because I find the defenses to be very flawed and passive), but WITH gameplay mods, it's a completely different experience for me. This is one I've used which fixes the tackling issue. I wouldn't rate it as highly as PES 2017 or 21, but it's a good game with nice atmosphere.

PES 2015 and 2016 for me, are in a way, the most flawed titles. I know that @slamsoze calls PES 2016 "the people's football game" and in some ways, it is a good game (it has Copa Sudamericana, just like 14, and 15, which is a major addition), but the goalkeepers.... Oh man, the goalkeepers.. I even started a thread which tries to address this issue, changing stats, trying out different gameplay mod combinations, but I think the gk flaw is pretty much unfixable (I tried giving all goalkeepers "offensive goalkeepers" as well), unless you want to give them all 99 rating (and therefore break Master League).. And 2015, there is one flaw which I have mentioned quite a few times in the forum, and it's the inflated scores issue in Master League for any games over 10 minutes.. which is pretty much a dealbreaker for me (6-4, 5-3 scores, etc for CPU simulated games).. It's a shame because PES 2015 actually has enjoyable gameplay, but for me, who plays 90% Master League, this is a major flaw.

So anyway, my two cents.

It's a real shame with the scores inflated after playing over 10 minute games in 2015 and the other issues like AI low shots and shooting a little too OP and linear.

I think out of all the generation of these games 2015 AI was definitely the most realistic in the middle of the pitch they really work the ball around you and skillful wingers will turn you inside out which I last saw in the 2018 demo

 

[Chris Davies]

Hi Chris, no problem! The DT18 I'm using is this one @millossobek reported: https://evoweb.uk/threads/pes-2019-discussion-thread-pc.79091/page-80#post-4203685 (it's in the @incas36 gameplay collection)

With this DT18 I've had CPU using long shots and high crosses consistently (other than a very nice amount of fouls and an over aggressive AI - maybe a bit too much, but I like it). I've settled for this but I think there are a lot of other valid ones in the thread, between Incas collection and @Sany023 's zip (will probably try them too at some point). Of course, it goes without saying, don't expect miracles - the AI as a base does always have that "robotic" touch that it's quite distinguishable at this point of the saga no matter the Dt18 you try, but the experience from vanilla to me it's way improved anyway.

As for the patches, I probably expressed myself poorly, I meant Konami's official updates. I remember AI wise the game was in a much worse state in the first months (as I wrote above), then somewhere in the beginning of 2019 it came out a patch that fixed at least the more blatant stuff.

PES 2019 is a surprise. When I first played it, I was completely unaware of the gameplay modding community, and only played Vanilla.. and it was incredibly frustrating to me.. I would be, for example, playing with Estudiantes de la Plata vs a much weaker Argentinean team, winning 2-0 comfortably in the 75th minute, and then my opponent would go absolutely insane and score 3 goals in the last 15 minutes. Time after time.. I think I "rage quit" PES 2019 more times than any other game I've played..... BUT this, like @Madmac79 mentions, is BEFORE gameplay mods. Now I am using the dt18 linked above by Mac, and also have tried THIS ONE (which is an edited version of a @*Supernova* gameplay), and "Professional Gameplay Mod, again by Master Incas (the last two are designed to be played in Professional, as for the reduction of the momentum).. That being said, PES 2019 is an absolutely beautifully designed game IMO. The best looking out of the entire generation, with smooth dribbling, great lighting, and overall feeling. It is definitely moving up my list.

Thanks so much for these replies re: PES 2019.

I managed a few games over the weekend with the DT18 you pointed to @Madmac79, and it's the most I've enjoyed a modern PES title in a while (since replaying the PES 2019 demo the other day and finding it really fun anyway)!

It feels like a fairly balanced challenge, and the weight is really nice as well. It was a lot of fun, but one Champions League tournament was enough to remind me why I stopped playing:

• Tiki-taka: Half the AI's passes are first-touch, which makes the game into a tiki-taka fest. I wouldn't mind if it was only elite teams, but the AI does it with every team, and it exposes a balancing issue IMO (i.e. you may as well never take a touch and just first-time-pass your way around the pitch). Pass accuracy percentages aren't too high weirdly, but that seems to be mostly because of the AI clearing the ball so often.
  
  
• Catch-up: Prime Mo Salah can't blast past anybody. I feel like it has to be this way to keep scorelines from being silly - in an identical fashion to FC right now (where the "Authentic" gameplay mode restricts scorelines simply because everybody is restricted to walking) - but it makes every match a pass-fest, and dribbling opportunities are limited.
  
  
• Lack of responsiveness: I'd much rather this was the case than FC's floatiness, but it's undeniably frustrating when your player has BAGS of time to move in the direction you've inputted but instead is "locked up" and just walks into the opponent. It's almost like there's a "tick rate" of the game linked to animations, and occasionally you're just stuck in a "bad time" to be dribbling and you just have to watch helplessly as you give it away.
  
  
• Poor foul detection: I'd totally forgotten about this! The AI's fouls were actually fantastic, really realistic and plenty of them. But several times per game, players will have a natural coming-together (e.g. legs touching as a player dribbles) and a foul will be given for absolutely no reason.

There is no perfect football game and I am happier to live with the above foibles than FC's, because everything feels much more grounded and whenever you score, you've earned it. But there's always that nagging part of me that thinks "if I could just fix those things"...

 

[rockstrongo]

Thanks so much for these replies re: PES 2019.

I managed a few games over the weekend with the DT18 you pointed to @Madmac79, and it's the most I've enjoyed a modern PES title in a while (since replaying the PES 2019 demo the other day and finding it really fun anyway)!

It feels like a fairly balanced challenge, and the weight is really nice as well. It was a lot of fun, but one Champions League tournament was enough to remind me why I stopped playing:

• Tiki-taka: Half the AI's passes are first-touch, which makes the game into a tiki-taka fest. I wouldn't mind if it was only elite teams, but the AI does it with every team, and it exposes a balancing issue IMO (i.e. you may as well never take a touch and just first-time-pass your way around the pitch). Pass accuracy percentages aren't too high weirdly, but that seems to be mostly because of the AI clearing the ball so often.
  
  
• Catch-up: Prime Mo Salah can't blast past anybody. I feel like it has to be this way to keep scorelines from being silly - in an identical fashion to FC right now (where the "Authentic" gameplay mode restricts scorelines simply because everybody is restricted to walking) - but it makes every match a pass-fest, and dribbling opportunities are limited.
  
  
• Lack of responsiveness: I'd much rather this was the case than FC's floatiness, but it's undeniably frustrating when your player has BAGS of time to move in the direction you've inputted but instead is "locked up" and just walks into the opponent. It's almost like there's a "tick rate" of the game linked to animations, and occasionally you're just stuck in a "bad time" to be dribbling and you just have to watch helplessly as you give it away.
  
  
• Poor foul detection: I'd totally forgotten about this! The AI's fouls were actually fantastic, really realistic and plenty of them. But several times per game, players will have a natural coming-together (e.g. legs touching as a player dribbles) and a foul will be given for absolutely no reason.

There is no perfect football game and I am happier to live with the above foibles than FC's, because everything feels much more grounded and whenever you score, you've earned it. But there's always that nagging part of me that thinks "if I could just fix those things"...

How does it stack up vs console version?
have you tried both recently, and or just vanilla pc version?
Havent played 19 on pc but i remember my 17 vs console 17 is two different games

 

[Chris Davies]

How does it stack up vs console version?
have you tried both recently, and or just vanilla pc version?
Havent played 19 on pc but i remember my 17 vs console 17 is two different games

The 19 PS4 demo (played on PS5) is what made me interested in it again, because the dribbling freedom and some of the physical battles felt so fresh.

I want to tell myself it's the same on PC and console to save myself from wasting £10, but they do feel different to me - but I'm telling myself that's because the PS4 demo was just a demo, and the full releases always feel different (especially when patched).

 

[rockstrongo]

The 19 PS4 demo (played on PS5) is what made me interested in it again, because the dribbling freedom and some of the physical battles felt so fresh.

I want to tell myself it's the same on PC and console to save myself from wasting £10, but they do feel different to me - but I'm telling myself that's because the PS4 demo was just a demo, and the full releases always feel different (especially when patched).

Cant speak for PES 19 on pc vs console, but like i said PES 17 XBOX ONE/PS4 version is very different from the pc version, plays a lot like the 360/ps3 version.
Better or worse? no clue,different!
But i prefer my Pes 17 on console, despite mods etc

 

[Topaz]

For someone that enjoys a balance football game for both attack and defense and where attributes and team style matters more than fancy animations or player faces, this is my order:


1) PES 2017: Best tempo, best CPU AI when it comes to team styles. It did have flaws. For example, closing down/pressing was too overpowered and i wanted player attributes to shine more defensively.
2) PES 2019: Whilst it didn't have the best AI, it did have tons of variety. Dribbling felt good, crossing felt good. The physics of this game is pretty good and the way the players position themselves. But it still had issues where team spirit was too overpowered and script would kick in where bottom league teams would have 90% pass completion ping ponging everything.
3) PES 2015: Very fun arcadey game. Easily the best attacking AI the series has ever seen. I remember Salah destroying me on this game with his dribbling. But there were issues. Shot variety lacked. Build up play wasn't as good as the other games on the series and in general, scoring goal felt a bit weightless on this game.
4) PES 2020: This is where the series took significant dive downhill. Extremely slow player reaction, huge input delay. The animation felt very caned. Ball physics felt unsatisfying and the AI was easily the worst in the series doing the same type of goal 99% of the type. You know when the defender plays a forward driven pass to the striker and they turn and shoot and goal. The only good thing I would say about this game is off the pitch stuff.
5) PES 2021: Same as PES 2020 but even more clunky. But it has the best off the pitch patches in the entire series. That's about it.
6) PES 2016: An unbalanced mess. Goalkeeper being braindead and CPU can only score a specific type of shot every goal. The physics also felt off like tackling phased through dribblers.

 

[millossobek]

Hey guys, a small parenthesis: just to add to my post above, as I didn't include these links..

Here are two packs of a lot of PES 2019's gameplay mods for your convenience.

https://evoweb.uk/threads/pes-2019-discussion-thread-pc.79091/page-80#post-4203685 (pack of Master @incas36's gameplays)
https://evoweb.uk/threads/pes-2019-discussion-thread-pc.79091/page-80#post-4203699 (pack of many different gameplays by different creators, compiled by @Sany023)

 

[Kopite1990]

Thanks so much for these replies re: PES 2019.

I managed a few games over the weekend with the DT18 you pointed to @Madmac79, and it's the most I've enjoyed a modern PES title in a while (since replaying the PES 2019 demo the other day and finding it really fun anyway)!

It feels like a fairly balanced challenge, and the weight is really nice as well. It was a lot of fun, but one Champions League tournament was enough to remind me why I stopped playing:

• Tiki-taka: Half the AI's passes are first-touch, which makes the game into a tiki-taka fest. I wouldn't mind if it was only elite teams, but the AI does it with every team, and it exposes a balancing issue IMO (i.e. you may as well never take a touch and just first-time-pass your way around the pitch). Pass accuracy percentages aren't too high weirdly, but that seems to be mostly because of the AI clearing the ball so often.
  
  
• Catch-up: Prime Mo Salah can't blast past anybody. I feel like it has to be this way to keep scorelines from being silly - in an identical fashion to FC right now (where the "Authentic" gameplay mode restricts scorelines simply because everybody is restricted to walking) - but it makes every match a pass-fest, and dribbling opportunities are limited.
  
  
• Lack of responsiveness: I'd much rather this was the case than FC's floatiness, but it's undeniably frustrating when your player has BAGS of time to move in the direction you've inputted but instead is "locked up" and just walks into the opponent. It's almost like there's a "tick rate" of the game linked to animations, and occasionally you're just stuck in a "bad time" to be dribbling and you just have to watch helplessly as you give it away.
  
  
• Poor foul detection: I'd totally forgotten about this! The AI's fouls were actually fantastic, really realistic and plenty of them. But several times per game, players will have a natural coming-together (e.g. legs touching as a player dribbles) and a foul will be given for absolutely no reason.

There is no perfect football game and I am happier to live with the above foibles than FC's, because everything feels much more grounded and whenever you score, you've earned it. But there's always that nagging part of me that thinks "if I could just fix those things"...

Weirdly, I went through the exact same thing this weekend after going through the motions with FC26.

I loaded up PES21 and PES19 - I know the recent games have their flaws but I instantly felt a connection that I hadn’t felt in over 4-5 hours of the FC26 trial.

It pretty much confirmed my thinking with FC26 and it’s back to retro PES gaming for me 👍🏻