Pro Evolution Soccer 2017

With smarter AI opposition and an altogether smoother online experience, PES 2017 is close to the complete package. FIFA’s new story mode might be the most headline-grabbing feature of either game this year, but it’s clear Konami is in no mood to relinquish its title as king of the virtual pitch.

If PES 2016 was the best entry in around a decade, then PES 2017 is arguably among the greatest in the series full stop. With extra care and attention paid to improving on many of its predecessor’s strengths, as well as tweaking and fixing adhered to its issues, PES 2017 comes out of it as a fantastic football game.

The title is not perfect, but its gameplay is so natural that it feels like there's little between you and what happens onscreen. It's modes aren't complete, but they are absorbing. Like anything that is loved, the answers may be incomplete but the feeling is total.

PES 2017 keeps doing what PES has been doing really well in the latest years: it's a joy to play and to watch, but it needs some new features.

Strange refereeing aside, none of those issues are more than oddities and PES 2017 is a wonderful football game that just begs to be played. Give me another 200 hours and I'll tell you definitively how PES 2017 ranks against the series' best, but right now I'm enjoying it an awful lot. Fun yet unfair, thrilling yet at times borderline broken, but it just wouldn't be PES if it was perfect.

When PES 2017 gets things right – and there’s a lot of times when it gets things right – there’s simply no other sports game like it. The glory days are back. [December 2016, p72]

It’s a hat-trick for Konami, as Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 continues the successful streak made by the two previous titles in the series. It manages to represent the essence of the "beautiful game", with fluid, top-notch gameplay, while introducing some new elements to the franchise. A truly great title, Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 is a must have for hardcore and casual football fans alike.

PES 2017 is without a doubt the best on-the-pitch football you will play, and perhaps the best in recent memory.

The rejuvination you've waited a decade for: PES gets everything right on the park, and only off-field gripes prevent this top, top player from earning the top, top score. [Nov 2016, p.83]

PES 2017 is rewarding, intriguing and exhilarating. Quite simply, the beautiful game has never been more beautiful.

If on pitch action is what you value over everything else, then you can’t go wrong with PES 2017.

Some say that Pro Evolution Soccer shouldn't be forgiven the lack of basic licenses. But in case of PES 2017 you could be tempted to forget about it because the gameplay is superb. Many different plays, competent AI, realistic movement and tons of fun after every successful action create a sense of wonder. There are some issues but overall the new PES is definitely better than the previous one.

This year's iterations has the same sharp gameplay as last year and has gotten closer to the mass appeal of FIFA. It's going to be exciting to see what the playing field looks like next year.

an excellent football game in which fun and realism are balanced. Every pass, every tackle, every goal feels like it has meaning, and Konami has done a great job of creating the ultimate matchday atmosphere. Master League, with its new improvements, is more fun than ever and oozes personality, while the myClub mode offers good competition to FIFA's behemoth Ultimate Team. The huge array of customisation and the game's excellent community prevent the lack of licensing from being a problem.

Pro Evolution Soccer is one step closer to perfection. Gameplay in PES 2017 is fantastic and engaging, but many of the elements not directly related to kicking the ball need more attention, especially licenses and interface. Fortunately, Konami is on the right path.

Konami shoots, Konami scores. As long as you mute the commentary track, that is.

This is the beautiful game in its greatest digital form, oozing gameplay from every sweaty pore. If someone wants to pass on the experience because the names aren’t right, more fool them, I say.

What Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 manages to do is make last year’s excellent effort feel out of step. The improved AI gives the matches a more dynamic and tactical edge and offers you a real challenge. The presentation still feels like something stuck in the past and the motion blur feels like an odd aesthetic choice but the gameplay on display is second to none. It’s the best the series has ever been and that’s a seriously high bar to surpass.

If PES 2017 can't overcome licensing shortcomings, then no sports video game can. It delivers a fantastic gameplay experience that is well-balanced and exceedingly rewarding.

The realism has really been ramped up this year, making every pass, tackle and goal attempt feel accurate and worthwhile. The goalkeepers and graphics have vastly improved too, even if the more realistic referees might frustrate you at first – just as they do in the real game...The only let down is that there are very few genuinely new features, but with this refinement of the excellent work done in PES 2016, PES 2017 could be the new Leicester.

PES 2017 is a fantastic representation of the beautiful. You could play this game for months on end and still find new ways to beat opponents while being amazed at what you just saw. Those who are brave enough to swim against the FIFA stream will be rewarded with arguably the best football video game representation to date.

While the upgrades made outside of the match this year are barely worthy of the name, the improved action on PES 2017's pitches is more than enough to warrant the asking price. Superb stuff, indeed.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2017‘s Master League is one of the best career modes I’ve ever played in a sports game, and it’s backed up by incredibly solid gameplay. Once you look at the disappointing lack of team licenses, players will find one of the most rewarding sports games available.

More a refinement than a revolution, but this builds on the achievements of last year’s game to ensure one of the finest sports games ever created.

A long-overdue return to form that finally surpasses Pro Evo's PS2 glory days – and, assuming presentation woes are fixed, lays the foundations for an all-new footballing empire.

PES 2017 is another step in the right direction. Konami thus capitalizes further on their strong formula. While not everything is perfect, the core gameplay is really on point: a real joy for lovers of football games.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 manages to improve on the already fantastic last year's version of the game.

PES 2017 is on the right path. The team assembled a less frenetic gameplay, and peppered the game with interesting features, improving a solid structure that continues to consolidate over time. Too bad for the usual licenses issue, even if the premium partner is a good solution that will bear its fruit in the coming years.

PES 2017 is one of the best playing soccer games ever. The failing goalies and referees from the last game are gone and there are new tactical options that really improve the game. PES 2017 truly delivers a realistic soccer experience.

The lack of licensed teams is worrying, but at least they focused on bringing the best gameplay in a few years. PES 2017 is a game any football fan will appreciate and enjoy.

There's no doubt that PES 2017 is a pretty fun game. For this new episode, Konami concentrated its efforts on the playfield, introducing a lot of new stuff in terms of gameplay. Most of the flaws of the previous iteration have been corrected, making PES 2017 a robust soccer title, bound to guarantee a lot of fun, especially when played against human opponents.

Konami takes no risk at all with PES 2017 and just enhances what we saw in the last entry of the franchise in order to make just a better game. It's really enjoyable, similar to what we saw in PES 5 and PES 6. However, there aren't enough innovation when it comes to game modes, and the scarce licenses aren't enough to make Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 the ultimate soccer game of the year.

A game that feels natural and has good control, but has even fewer licenses than previous iterations.

Outside the football field, things may not be quite ideal in PES 2017 however, going back inside, we guarantee you a football experience of utmost brilliance.

Thanks to its amazing gameplay and a new AI that makes every match unique, PES 2017 is the best Pro Evolution Soccer game on the next gen consoles.

A leap forward in terms of gameplay, stagnating game modes and a clear step backwards in terms of licenses.

Though the commentary is a bit old-school, some important licenses are missing in action and the referee is an amateur, PES is an awesome soccer game. The AI and the many tactical options make the soccer feel very real.

Maybe PES 2017 isn’t a revolutionary step for the series and it still shows some flaws, but beneath its mistakes we can find a very good football game.

PES 2017 is a great football game, but it is very conservative. Gameplay is amazing, like having a great goal scorer in your team, but its lack of signings for the modes or the technical side are too obvious. It’s very similar to the game we saw last year.

PES 17 looks great, feels authentic and celebrates complex soccer with new tactical components. But the lack of progress in game modes (especially the career) is alarming.

If you can look past the usual scarcity of licenses (e.g. just two English clubs are licensed), you’ll see a great game – unpredictable, spectacular, deep, satisfying and engaging. It just needs time to show its advantages, because they might not be instantly obvious when you pick up a controller for a moment at a party. [12/2016, p.66]

On the pitch, it is an excellent football full of beautiful and unpredictable situations. But when it comes to license, game modes and especially online game, its good impression disappears faster than the morning mist. Fortunately, the dedicated fans offer a helping hand. [Issue #268]

At times it feels low budget and it’s hard to look past unlicensed teams in 2016, but then that perfect goal happens and you forget; your senses dulled by the unstoppable one-touch move that peeled a defensive line like a big sweaty banana. That’s what PES has always been about, and this is the most satisfying Pro Evolution Soccer ever.

PES 2017 is a remarkably good soccer sim on the pitch—so good that it makes up for the bulk of its shortcomings elsewhere. There's no denying that it's a niche sim with a high barrier to entry; but if realistic gameplay is your number one priority, then PES 2017 comes highly recommended.

Pro Evolution Soccer has never looked better, and with great controls to match, Pro Evo 2017’s core gameplay is incredible. However, a lack of licenses and repetitive commentary keep the title from shining as brightly as it could have.

If this review appears overly-critical, it's born out of frustration. Pro Evolution Soccer's base gameplay has basically been nailed down, but off the pitch it still struggles compared to EA's Fifa. It's been the same story for years. Konami should be capitalising on the quality of its core play by improving other elements of its beautiful game: chiefly its presentation, style, and game modes. Whatever shortcomings it has before and after the whistle blows however, the pure footballing experience of PES remains second-to-none.

Online play suffers from serious connectivity issues. Wait times for opponents are lengthy, and most games I played suffered from a latency that left a full half-second between me pressing a button and my player releasing a pass or a shot--essentially unplayable in a game built on anticipation and timing. I had a good connection roughly the same number of times I was disconnected entirely; heavy lag was the standard.

While there are off-field problems that go beyond unavoidable licensing issues; on the pitch, PES remains peerless.

In the areas that really matter – on the pitch – this year’s model is by far the best version of PES yet, and easily matches its rival.

PES 17 is another example of Konami’s football series regaining some of the charm and style that made the series so great in the past. The game controls well, it looks good and it’s a lot of fun to play. It’s a big step forward on the path to reclaiming its crown, but it isn’t quite FIFA’s empire just yet. With a few improvements to the likes of MyClub and some parts of the game, the series could be there soon.

PES 2017 is a solid football game. The pace of the match, the adaptive I.A. and the perfection of the superstars are the best part of the game. Online performances and licenses are the downside of the best PES to date.

As FIFA 17 will take a few gambles in order to build something new, PES 2017 rather has improved and polished what Konami is trying to do for two or three years now. It will be time for the big changes next year.

PES 2017 plays the best game of football I've ever experienced, offline. Online it continues to suffer with similar issues to last year's entry, albeit there are improvements across the board but nowhere near to the level I was hoping for. I've been able to enjoy some lag-free matches, but these tend to be the exceptions which prove the rule.

A truly pleasant follow-up to PES 2016. With a few new tactical features and some refinements in terms of gameplay, PES 2017 succeeds in delivering a strong soccer experience to those who love that sport. Even without bringing truly fresh ideas to the formula it is definitely a strong entry in the series.

Some fine tweaks to on-pitch play aside, PES 2017 makes no great attempt to make up ground on FIFA. [Nov 2016, p.64]

PES 2017 is undeniably a fantastic soccer simulation, but is it any better than 2016’s title? The gameplay additions are marginal at best and if you bought last year’s game, it’s hard for me to recommend picking up 2017

On a whole, you can tell the dev team focused most of their attention on tightening gameplay. That’s understandable, but this approach has left many of the modes feeling a tad empty.

PES 2017 is a promising game but it still has a long way to go. Konami has tried to give a fresh breath to the series yet it's not enough to make it a successful product.

To this date there has never been a football sim that has handled gameplay the way PES 2017 does. The gameplay, however, isn’t enough alone to save PES from feeling a bit outdated at times. If you’re willing to overlook the lack of official licensing and entry level mode diversity, then the act of playing football in PES 2017 can’t be matched.

PES 2017’s biggest sin is that it takes the beautiful game that I love so much, sucks all and any excitement, fun and enjoyment from it, leaving a dry, dull husk.