This is probably the worst place to make this statement, but anyway: As someone who's been playing this game everyday since the 1.0 came out in April, I'm actually enjoying the 2.0 very much now and I'm actually glad I gave it some time and didn't put out a video "review" immediately. It's a good thing when a football game needs time to settle. I must say -even with its shortcomings, and even online, and even as an exclusive offline player the past 30 years, from a pure gameplay prespective (not modes etc): eFootball 2023 plays a better game of football than PES ever did. Now before you get triggered, yes, there are shortcomings like:
- Yes, the way the ball launches out of feet, whether its for passing or shooting or crossing, feels "wrong" compared to PES. And yes this is a basic thing that affects the overall feel of the game.
That said, player switching isn't ideal on manual, but in 2.0 it's much better.
The "blind" Keeper exits have been almost completely fixed
Overall, the reduced inertia placed more emphasis on the passing game, and I've found that I'm now passing more commonly to the midfield, and building attacks in a much more "realistic" way. Even when I'm playing online against Mbappe/Haaland teams, there's a lot more "probing" for attacks and open lanes happening in eFootball 2023, from both teams. Straight dribbling has been nerfed, but you can still take over a player if you have the inertia advantage.
Like how Trent runs off with this ball using his inertia:
Off ball player runs are a world of difference vs PES. They're just more lively and make runs that make sense:
I'm always delighted to see a player try the kick off glitch and fail (although I've recorded it work several times, but much less than before).
Even on manual controls, where the "script" won't affect my pass/shot power and accuracy, I find that I can still come back from a 0-2 defeat and it feels great:
Needless to say, offline, Legend AI in EF23 is leagues better to engage with than in any PES version. Should Konami release offline modes, it will be way more fun to play. Whenever they take that plunge.