PES 2018 vs 2019 vs 2020 vs 2021?

Enjoyed 18 a lot, wish there were more mods for gameplay as the community would fix small things and make more realistic. Its a bit faster paced and headers are overpowered but I enjoyed it.

I think 19 was not well received but after a few mods to fix the ai it has been my most played one and the one I enjoyed the most

20 and 21 feel really on rails for me. I don't know why they never clicked for me... All the goals are same-y

All of them have scripting
 
PES 2019 in terms of overall package. PES 2018 if you want to play online or local multiplayer with friends since it's the most responsive PES to date(apart from player switching). PES 2018 has the worst AI in the PES series.
 
I play only offline, and I remember having the most fun with PES 2020, but I need to replay the game again.

Right now I am just playing PES 2021. With mods it has the most up to date roster and arguably the best mods ever for a PES game. Great patches, combined with Master League adjustments that improves injury rates, transfer prices and gives your youth players real-life academy players makes Master League more enjoyable for me.

PES 2019's AI was abysmal, they scored the exact same low-cross goal every single game. It was unbearable to play against. But I do know that it is much easier to dribble in PES 2019 than in PES 2020 and 2019.

I haven't played PES 2018, but from what I have heard it is a great responsive game to play offensively,, but the AI ref never gives any fouls and the AI constantly spams lofted passes.
 
IMO, PES 2019 had the potential to be a good installment but I thought it had the worst script I've ever seen in a football game. :LOL:

PES 2021 for PC is by far my favorite out of the bunch, due to presentation and especially due to all the great gameplay mods available, which IMO really improve the experience. :TU:
 
can we put it in some order? :)

so far everone's opionon is that pes 2021 is the overall the best game.

which one is no.2, no.3, no.4?
 
2018 was, as @el niche said, faster paced, and yeah the AI is quite dumb, so you could sometimes get quite easy goals.
The mechanics are a bit more suited for some co-op kind of match, and the game can be a bit weird at times, with a few bugs.

2019 is too heavy and also quite scripted at times, so didn't really like it, feels like almost all goals can be scored in the same 2-3 ways, and other ways to score will be blocked by the AI

2020 was just OK at best, it was also scripted but I think the earlier versions of Pes 2020 were a really solid base, and it could have been improved over time for a good PES 2022, but we don't talk about that. As @Flipper the Priest said, the different iterations make it difficult to really compare, but 2018 and 2019 had less of the differences I'd say, compared to PES 2020 early versions and final version, which I didn't like, it feels too scripted and either too heavy or too fast at times

2021 was the exact same man, I really liked the game for the first 2-3 months of the release, then after like 2nd DP update and all that, I lost interest, all that kept me going was some Master League saves, which I managed to go 2 seasons with Ajax, and 4 with Barcelona, and then I stopped
The final version of 2021 really fails to keep any interest in me

I would rather play PES 2013 , 2014 or 2015 or 2011
I think if you really want to choose between these games, you would just have to play them yourself.

But if you ask my opinion, PES 2018 and 2021 are the good ones out of them (I mean decent and playable at least and not too scripted and heavy)
 
shareq01 said:
2018 was, as @el niche said, faster paced, and yeah the AI is quite dumb, so you could sometimes get quite easy goals.
The mechanics are a bit more suited for some co-op kind of match, and the game can be a bit weird at times, with a few bugs.

2019 is too heavy and also quite scripted at times, so didn't really like it, feels like almost all goals can be scored in the same 2-3 ways, and other ways to score will be blocked by the AI

2020 was just OK at best, it was also scripted but I think the earlier versions of Pes 2020 were a really solid base, and it could have been improved over time for a good PES 2022, but we don't talk about that. As @Flipper the Priest said, the different iterations make it difficult to really compare, but 2018 and 2019 had less of the differences I'd say, compared to PES 2020 early versions and final version, which I didn't like, it feels too scripted and either too heavy or too fast at times

2021 was the exact same man, I really liked the game for the first 2-3 months of the release, then after like 2nd DP update and all that, I lost interest, all that kept me going was some Master League saves, which I managed to go 2 seasons with Ajax, and 4 with Barcelona, and then I stopped
The final version of 2021 really fails to keep any interest in me

I would rather play PES 2013 , 2014 or 2015 or 2011
I think if you really want to choose between these games, you would just have to play them yourself.

But if you ask my opinion, PES 2018 and 2021 are the good ones out of them (I mean decent and playable at least and not too scripted and heavy)
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Yes 2020 is my biggest grievance. I was really enjoying it until about the turn of the year when a patch killed my enjoyment dead. 😕
 
I don't think there objectively is one really much better than the other between this four, or at least I see less objective arguments compared with other years; it's more about your tastes and playstyle. You want a faster and more responsive experience, probably 2018 would be better. A slower and more reasoned gameplay, one of the others will do. IF I'd have to give a personal opinion, 18 would probably be my number one and 2019 my last of the list.
 
I feel like for 4 different games, there really wasn’t all that much of a difference between them at their core. All have some of the same issues in terms of huge spacing, rigidity and retreating. I think 2020 was the least responsive.
 
Well, they are all just different evolutions of the same game engine so they're inevitably all pretty similar and all have the same fundamental scripting/cheating at their core.

For me, 2018 easily had the best AI and 2019 had the worst.

2018 had the best penalty box action, goal-mouth scrambles at both ends, best aerial play, best team-mate AI.

I found 2021 at DP2 was the most playable of all but then they patched the life out of it and now the scripting is overbearing and it's too repetitive.

2021 has the best full manual play.

2020 is just a less polished version of 2021.

2020 and 21 have the worst AI in terms of ball awareness and general game awareness, eg. players ignore the ball in the box, attacking midfielders sprint away from the box towards the centre-circle when you're breaking down the wing and about to put in a cross.

My order is:
2021 (DP2)
2018
2021 (unpatched or final DP)
2020
2019
 
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It's not a question with an objective answer. We all look for different things in football games and enjoy different things. I like slow, heavy gameplay with lots of fouls and a heavy ball, featuring slow turns and cumbersome handling. Tradeoffs between gameplay and realism make for a great football game. With those values firmly in mind:

PES 2021
PES 2019
PES 2020
PES 2018

The truth is that all four are great football games. The bottom one of my list, PES 2018, would easily stand head and shoulders above many another PES game in history. It's just that out of these 4, this is my ranking.

The platform they're played on can make a hige difference. On PC, any football game can be modded to have the values you like the best. I mainly play on console for convenience's sake and the above are console rankings.
 
Worm199 said:
PES 2019's AI was abysmal, they scored the exact same low-cross goal every single game
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This was the only problem of PES19 for me. Everything else - was at the top level. Especially PvP!

PES18 had very weak defence.

PES20/21 have worse animation transition and lack of micro animations.

So PES19 is the most acceptable for me. Especially at professional level. AI is still challenging but less scripted.
 
Tough one ,if 19 had D2 leagues and the attacking/dribbling AI of 18 ,I'd go with that ,but the ball out to the wing and low cross /turn around shoot top shelf is killing that game for me.
I'd go with 18 , brilliant on the ball ,best ever on dribbling (Pes).
Can't understand why 17 isn't a choice?
Easily top 5 ever
 
rockstrongo said:
Can't understand why 17 isn't a choice?
Easily top 5 ever
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I agree with this. I think it's one of the better PES out there.
Even if the PC 2017 port didn't have the same graphics, the playability of it was really good. I always thought it was very smooth, even without gameplay mods, and I really didn't detect much (if any) script.
 
millossobek said:
I agree with this. I think it's one of the better PES out there.
Even if the PC 2017 port didn't have the same graphics, the playability of it was still really good. I always thought it was very smooth!
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I even have it on Xbox 360 (bought it a year a go) and it plays even better than Xbox one/PS4 ,i usually play on -1 game speed but it feels a bit fast ,but on Xbox 360 it's perfect.
Downside is content though ,not enough stadiums.

I played Pes 17 yesterday and it's still the best ai in a modern Pes game
 
ok guys, based on your feedback, so far i tried 2021, 2018 and 2019 (in this order). 2020 will follow soon, i guess.

among these 3, from my perspective, 2021 and 2018 are better games than 2019.

what bugs me with 2019 is me always having more ball possesion than cpu, basically it's always around 60-40% for me. plus, i've seen more variaty of goals by cpu in 2021 and 2018 than with 2019. also, at the bottom line, i find 2021 and 2018 having better graphics.

but all three games share one common thing - they were all better with initial patch/data pack than what i got playing with smoke patch (i guess it is based on last patch/data pack for each game).

few of you asked about 2017. i know too much about that game, since i played it a lot, while i was not able to play anything that was released after 2017 due my old pc. it means i skipped almost 6 years of pes titles. that's why i'm focused on next gen titles.
 
Yes, PES17 was very decent game. The only thing I didn't like - unbeatable AI defence. AI players predicted all your moves. One touch passing was almost the only way to win.

But, player's defence also was the best in the series. It was really painful to play PES18 after PES17. Maybe that's why I don't like PES18.
 
lastbreath said:
Yes, PES17 was very decent game. The only thing I didn't like - unbeatable AI defence. AI players predicted all your moves. One touch passing was almost the only way to win.

But, player's defence also was the best in the series. It was really painful to play PES18 after PES17. Maybe that's why I don't like PES18.
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I usually play Pes 17 on PA0 and top player ,and it's hard to break down ,usually takes till the 70th minute before you can score.
It's a great game ,still.
And yes ,defending ,loved it on Pes 17 ,you could keep a clean sheet even though AI kept attacking constantly ,just defend smart.
That disappeared on 18 with a cheating AI.
 
I have been playing Pes 2018 for four years because from 2019 onwards the decline started (which led to eFootball).
Last month I tried to adapt to Pes 2021, nice graphics, lots of things with the sider, but it's not fun! slow and cumbersome. Finally the updated SP patch came out and I happily returned to 2018! I started a new master I have no more thoughts.
When you reach a high Team Spirit level, fun is guaranteed. Here are some of my old actions
 
Dom82 said:
I have been playing Pes 2018 for four years because from 2019 onwards the decline started (which led to eFootball).
Last month I tried to adapt to Pes 2021, nice graphics, lots of things with the sider, but it's not fun! slow and cumbersome. Finally the updated SP patch came out and I happily returned to 2018! I started a new master I have no more thoughts.
When you reach a high Team Spirit level, fun is guaranteed. Here are some of my old actions
Click to expand...

Fully agree. PES 18 has more depth than the next 3 combined.
 
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