This sounds like a fun thread! It's nice to hear what everyone here thinks
For my tier list, i changed it up a bit, mostly because "B" was in the middle.
When i think of "B", i think of a good grade, but when i think of middle, i think of average, so a traditional star system made more sense to me.
I also added a "demo" tier and a "never played" tier, so this wouldn't look too empty.
For a PES fan, i really don't buy these games often, mostly because they're expensive to me, so i only buy them if i feel there was enough improvement and change to justify it.
So, going to the tier list itself, by order of release:
*PES 2014*
Never owned it, but played the full version at a friend's house many times.
This, to me, was a huge dissapointment, like, i was so hyped for it, the animations looked so much more real, the shirts moving reminded me of the PES 4 intro, there was camera customization finally, it felt like a real step up.
Then i played the demo, like, it looked more real, i also loved that the players felt like they had real weight, but everything else... It felt so unresponsive, like, too responsive can make a game arcady, but this was the other extreme and i didn't like the feel of it. The feel of it all in general, the game felt unfinished, it needed more time in the oven, i give it 2 stars for that reason really, there were good, even great things in it, it's just that the whole thing was subpar, and the worst part to me was that it felt like PES was over, like FIFA made the jump to nextgen and there was so much hype for it, while many called this the worst PES ever, it felt like that year Konami would lose the market completely and pull the plug on the whole thing, thankfully they didn't.
*PES 2015*
Playing the demo of this game was such a relief, like, playing PES 2014, it felt like there was a great game somewhere, they just needed more time to fully deliver, and they sure delivered with this one.
It was PES 2014, exactly like it, at least in it's core, but more ironed out, less buggy, more responsive, but not too responsive, it was everything i liked in 2014, with pretty much all of my issues solved.
Especially coming from PES 2012, the animations were something else, the freedom of movement, of where i could play the ball, the shooting, i was in love with this, it felt like this huge step forward, a true evolution.
It does have flaws tho, midfield can either be a great battle between the teams at it's best, but empty and easy to get by at it's worst.
The CPU wouldn't cross, like, ever, they'd always become Robben on the wing, and getting the ball was a pain in this specific situation.
Also, very few fouls.
Still, everything else, superb.
If those issues were ironed out, this would be a 5 star game for me, easily.
*PES 2016* and *PES 2017*
Never played, not even the demos.
Looking at the gameplay, they just looked too similar to PES 2015 to me, like, the impression i got at the time was that PES 2016 was just a more arcady 2015, while PES 2017 was a slightly more realistic and polished 2015.
I apologize to the fans of these two games, i don't mean that they are any of these things, just saying i never felt the need to upgrade, due to these initial impressions, i was fine with what i had really, tho, from reading the forums here, i feel that i should've at least given 2017 a try.
*PES 2018*
Played the demo, hated the way the CPU only played an unstoppable over the top through ball on the wings and nothing else, hated how the wings felt so ridiculously open while the middle felt impossible to play through, hated how headers were the only tactic in which i could score consistently, hated the bigger pitch, so, yeah, i didn't buy it.
Then i downloaded the Lite version, and played MyClub, it was the first time i played online since 2012, i hated this even more than playing the demo offline, it too fast, too end to end, no midfield, the online playstyle just wasn't for me, so i gave up on this game again.
Then, recently, i found it for cheap and got it.
Fully updated, the CPU felt less cheap, i was also scoring more through the middle. It helped that i gave up on my weird need to always play the highest difficulty setting, stupid pride, Professional and Top Player difficulties made the CPU much more varied and less robotic.
The final thing i did that made me love this game was switching to FUMA, to make up for the lower difficulty, finally, i actually appreciated the bigger pitch, due to having more space to pass, i could be so much more creative, it was like finding a new game, since then, i absolutely love this thing, it's on par with 2012 and 2015 to me.
The main problems really are identical to 2015, sometimes the middle feels empty, no fouls, and instead of the CPU always being Robben on the wing, the problem is that the whole thing favours the wing too much, on both sides, so it's more repetitive.
Still, great game.
*PES 2019*
Never played, not even the demo, tho i do want to buy it if i find it for cheap like i did 2018.
*PES 2020 and PES 2021*
Only played the demos, like, 2021 doesn't have a demo, but in theory that is because it's very similar to 2020, so i'm pairing them up.
Like, this felt similar to 2018, just with worse player models, and even worse grass texture.
2018 already had a somewhat cartoony look, except for the models, which were great, but the textures and lighting was subpar for the current gen.
Then 2019 came, i felt the models were a bit more chubby, 2018 got it perfect, but the lighting was better, and the grass looked wonderful.
Then they make both of these things worse, i just don't understand Konami, it baffles me.
So yeah, didn't feel the need to buy it, because gameplay improvements weren't substantial enough, and the graphics had no improvements at all, i rather buy 2019, because it'll probably be cheaper and it looks better than 2018, while these look worse, the grass in 2020 and 2021 night matches can sometimes look like toxic waste to me, idk.
That was a bit long, sorry about that, but idk, i do go on for ages when talking about stuff i like, idk.
(I only play PC):
