Konami celebrated 25 years of the Pro Evolution Soccer saga by making a promise to its fans: the PES 2022 edition will be the great leap in quality of its soccer proposal. A whole declaration of intentions with which he intends to regain the leadership of football in video games. And the Unreal Engine will be a centerpiece in achieving it.
With that ahead, and taking into account all that a change of engine implies, and strategically reserving the presentation of PES 2022 for next July 21 , Konami has started a testing phase on consoles with a title that leaves no margin of doubts: New Football Game Online Performance Test . A beta that, by the way, you can see in motion on Xbox Series X just below.
Although this version of the game to be announced already makes use of the Unreal Engine, Konami heals in health by advancing the sole purpose of it: to evaluate the stability and quality of the connection of the PES 2022 servers and test the performance of the matchmaking system. Because, we are not going to deny it, in terms of the online experience, FIFA has the advantage over PES.
In this case, the PES 2022 development team makes it very clear that all the elements of this version of the game are in the development phase , which includes the control system, the balance of the players and everything related to the visual section . And, as you have already seen, the latter becomes more than evident with the game running.
Perhaps it is not really fair to evaluate this version of PES 2022 , if the game ends up calling the game like that, but at least we are very clear about what already works and what needs to be improved . Not only with respect to what we have been able to prove, but what we hope this new stage of the Konami football saga will bring.
Thus, and after throwing more games than strictly necessary to reach some conclusions – for a change – we have reached a series of concrete conclusions. More than a dozen, in fact: these are the 13 things I ask of PES 2022 after thoroughly testing Konami’s Online Performance Test
Matchmaking is key, and it still needs to improve
The Master League and MyClub, as well as the improvised pachangas with two controls or more on the same console, are the great claims of PES . Online modes, one of his Achilles heels. And the matchmaking system used by the Konami saga has a lot to do with it.
Since the opening of the Online Performance Tes t, we have participated testing how matckmaking works on both PS5 and Xbox at different times, and to be honest, the problem is twofold: finding rivals and connecting with them. Something that, by the way, the FIFA saga has achieved with impressive simplicity and naturalness for years.
Currently, finding a game is not easy. In fact, we do not mean how long it takes to connect with someone, but rather that more than half of the time the process fails. We have not prepared a statistic, but in order to play online we must try to search for a game seven to ten times. We want to think that this figure will drop between now and the end of the testing period.
We have agreed from the beginning that the purpose of the Online Performance Test is precisely to offer a better experience when it comes to finding games or someone to play with. However, we also do not forget that Konami skipped last year’s installment to offer the best gaming experience. If PES 2022 will come out at the end of summer, and based on what we have been able to see, it is an aspect to be seriously reinforced.
Konami, if you make the jump to the Unreal Engine, don’t pay for hazing
The FOX Engine is a thing of the past and the Unreal Engine is the future of the PES series. And, without good, having access to the resources and assets of Epic Games is a brutal advantage when it comes to achieving a next-generation photorealism. With that said, we hope that the version currently available is quite a long way from what we will see in the finished game.
The textures of the skin and the shirts take a long time to load, as you will see in the photos the public in the stands appears and disappears in a capricious way. It is even possible to see how two people cross each other in the foreground as if one of them were a spirit. These are just a few examples.
If PES wants to return offering the true leap in quality, no matter how much an engine change has been made, it cannot be exposed to this amount of bugs and errors for the final version. Much less when it comes to a saga with more than a quarter of a century behind it.
That said, the physics of the players and the clothes themselves seem to have taken a step forward compared to the last edition. It will be very interesting to compare how Konami’s Unreal measures up to EA’s Frostbyte on next-gen systems.
Licenses should be a claim, but not the main attraction
Seeing Marcelo or Carvajal wearing the Madrid Chamartín shirt is a chore, of course, but the fan community has found solutions on consoles and PCs with which to overcome that barrier. What is non-negotiable is to put a different spin on that almost patentable gameplay of the saga.
It is no secret that Konami enters into agreements with Clubs both to attract their fans and to gain publicity impact. That FIFA cannot make use of teams like Boca Juniors and River Plate or the Chilean stars Colo-Colo is a side effect that benefits it, of course, but to be honest, the success of PES does not depend on a Star System.
In other words: we want a great football game and get away from that feeling of being the official video game of a club, even if it is FC Barcelona or Manchester United. If the Master League and MyClub modes work so well, it is for something.
The camera system is fine, but don’t limit the view
One of the interesting aspects of the New Football Game Online Performance Test is its dynamic camera system. Although the new generation versions of FIFA opt for a format very similar to television broadcasts, PES accommodates what is seen on the screen depending on what is happening.
That is to say, the camera will not only move following the trajectory of the ball, but it will also zoom in and out. Something that, in a way, translates into more intense moments and a better vision of the game when the players accumulate but with a price to pay: the number of footballers shown on the screen can sometimes play against us.
In other words, if you want to take the ball to the wings you will have to rely on the mini-map and expose yourself to someone from the opposing team jumping out to make an interception. All in all, we are pretty sure that Konami will offer new and classic settings from the option menus for which we have become too used to using the classic camera.
That the PC version is aligned with the New Generation consoles
This is the moment of truth: traditionally, when there is a generational change, versions of PC sports games are usually an adaptation of previous generation titles. Something that can be seen in FIFA 21, NFL 21 or NBA 2K21 . If Konami really wants to win over desktop gamers, this is the time to prove it.
Time to get the most out of spatial sound
I never tire of saying it: 3D spatial sound is the next video game revolution . The ability to immerse ourselves in the game by tricking our own brain gives a spectacular game for shooters and adventure games. And taking advantage of the new 3D sound technologies of the PS5 and Xbox Series X would be the next big step in making us feel that we are really inside one of the cathedrals of the King sport.
Konami: if you are going to take advantage of the DualSense, keep this in mind
The next-generation version of FIFA 21 explored the possibilities of the PS5 DualSense, and the truth is that this has its good things and its bad things: you can feel the ball, the friction or the shots on goal in your hands, but also the Wear and fatigue of the players are manifested when pressing the buttons. And that, when you play competitively, puts you at a great disadvantage.
In the PES saga, the fatigue and resistance of the footballers has an even greater presence than in FIFA , and that this is manifested through the DualSense it may surprise us the first time, but when we have several games seeing how the experience is a drag we will end up deactivating it. Konami, if you are going to make use of the haptic vibration of the controls, let it be for the better.
A better and smooth online
As we discussed above, PES having problems with matchmaking translates into something not very successful: when adjusting our pairings manually we choose to play with those who have more modest connections to speed up the process, and this results in uncomfortable jerks in the most desperate moments . Including penalties.
During our games at the New Football Game Online Performance Test we have continued to see those annoying jerks in practically every game. In some, the majority, on a few occasions and in very specific moments. But the worrying thing is in that minority that, little by little, ends up dissuading you from playing online. If offering better matchmaking is going to be a big step, fixing this should be a real top priority.
Cross-play between all systems, including those of different generation
We are firm believers that cross-play between different systems should become the norm and not the exception in this generation that has just started. In fact, offering it before EA Sports can play in Konami’s favor. Especially when FIFA 21 does n’t even let PS4 and PS5 players play together.
Better management of inter-party management
The nature of PES and its philosophy of the game means that the physical and mental state of the players has a huge impact on the game, and their inevitable fatigue ends up playing against us.
Since a couple of deliveries, Konami implemented a system of rapid substitutions similar to FIFA, so that we can take advantage of the serves to serve and put the suggested or manually established players.
Unfortunately, the importance of management in PES means that when playing online that initial choice does not correspond to the one we really want to make, and that leads to unnecessary pauses and tedious waiting times.
When we have played the New Football Game Online Performance Test we have seen with some frequency how, after scoring a goal, our rival paused to rethink his strategy. taking into account the type of game that is PES, that process must be streamlined more yes or yes.
New modes with quick matches
That PES needs new modes is not news. The ones it already has work wonders, of course, but FIFA has been able to successfully bring a key element to its proposal: variety. Well, through story modes, different types of quick matches or a Volta mode that fearlessly and successfully embraces the street football experience.
This blank canvas that Konami has before it is a golden opportunity to introduce modes that allow us fast games, different pachangas and game options that add more diversity to the meetings. And, already put, recover that point of madness that was when we played mounted on ostriches in the PS2 deliveries.
It’s definitely time for PES to debut on Switch
The Unreal Engine looks great on the Nintendo Switch . Thanks to him, we have seen spectacular conversions of games like Dragon Ball FighterZ, Fortnite, Dragon Quest or Mortal Kombat 11. And, we are not going to deny it, that PES 2022 bets on the Epic engine gives us hope of seeing it on the console of Nintendo.
The disappointing bespoke versions of FIFA for the Switch didn’t overshadow its commercial success, and that means Konami can win over Nintendo football fans relatively easily with one of those impossible conversions that occasionally loom on console two. -in one.
For the PES series to conquer Switch would not only be much more than a victory for Konami, it would also translate into a joy for fans of football games, as well as a lesson that EA Sports should take note of.
About a predictable PES 2022 Lite
Something would have to happen for Konami to convince us otherwise: based on the precedents of the last ten years, at this point in the game we are more or less clear that before the end of the year we will see a free-to-play version of PES 2022 . And that leads us to think of something clear: Konami, duly rewards Early Adopters and hardcore fans.
We are fully aware that the Lite versions of Pro Evolution Soccer are a hook to get hold of the full versions or dive right into MyClub mode. What we are referring to is that PES 2022 must hit the table so hard that it avoids giving that feeling of anticipating the launch of FIFA by taking advantage of the starting advantage and trying to re-catch players after their departure.
That said, the differences between last season’s edition and what was shown in the New Football Game Online Performance Test are already more than obvious.
Should a PES 2022 Lite appear , which is quite likely, Konami’s soccer alternative will have a second chance to shine for millions of players. A way to revalidate if PES 2022 has really managed to be the great leap in quality promised, or has remained in a transition delivery.
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