eFootball 2023 is getting better, little by little | Review

eFootball 2023 is getting better

The football season gets underway and, like every year, along with the autumn comes the usual pairing of titles that fans from all over the world like so much. In short, the "battle" between eFootball and FIFA is renewed, although this year it does so with a slightly more particular and different flavor than usual. If on the one hand we find Konami with a product in continuous work in progress, the other side of the coin shows Electronic Arts intent on greeting the series after having had it in hand for almost three decades.

We are facing two big revolutions, on the one hand and on the other, of which we will really notice only in the next few years: the future is still to be written, and as gamers we are certainly curious to read all the new pages of this story. Even on the present in any case there is a lot to say, and today we want to do it with a first review of eFootball 2023: Konami's football simulation has recently been updated, how are the works progressing?

eFootball 2023: good, but not (yet) very well

Before starting, a due clarification must be made. The following is a preliminary review of eFootball 2023, dictated by the current state of the game and which will therefore take into account the current nature of the project. In short, since this is a constantly evolving title, we will not fail to update it in the coming months based on how and how much the game will transform itself.| ); }



La Serie For its part, it still does not have an official license, and you feel that lack of choice that (yet) eFootball cannot offer. The 26 selectable teams, while representing a further step forward, in fact greatly limit the gaming experience: we will talk about the game modes later, another very sore point of the game.

A positive aspect is the care of the faces of the players, with an increasingly marked photorealism: the appearance of many top players is almost impressive, and the general level of detail is absolutely top-notch. On the technical side, there is also an evident improvement in terms of gameplay, with the game phases appearing more fluid and pleasing both to the eye and from a point of view of pure and simple involvement.


Building a maneuver and putting tactics into practice, in short, is now possible in an easier way: forget what we saw in previous versions, the level has (finally) risen for real. The defensive phase is also much better, which we will be able to control more carefully even without an AI that is not yet excellent but still enhanced. In countering the offensive action of the opponents we will therefore find ourselves with greater room for maneuver, being able to properly exploit the most basic containment schemes.

When is the real eFootball?

As anticipated, Let's now go into the discussion related to game modes, with the eFootball experience appearing on the whole perhaps all too essential. Konami wanted to make the Dream Team mode the real heart of the game, which to be honest is fun and capable of giving a few hours of pure entertainment.

The dynamics are very simple: we start with a team of our own choice, always choosing among the 26 available, relying at the beginning on a shortlist of fictitious players. It will be up to us to train them, gradually making them a real team by supporting our team with the purchase of real world football champions. The management of the "budget" - represented here by credits, obtainable by overcoming various challenges within eFootball - will be fundamental: buying the right player in the right role can change the fate of our team, and give us a big hand in carrying out our own football adventure.



In Dream Team we will have the opportunity to overcome weekly and daily challenges, challenging players from all over the world or challenging ourselves against the CPU, and even being able to buy players from the past : the latest package of updates, for example, allows you to enrich your team by hiring Clarence Seedorf or Wesley Sneijder.

Then we find two other modes: Training, where you can get carried away with simple but numerous commands, and the classic Exhibition. And the latter is the one where, unfortunately, the thousands of limitations of eFootball appear evident. In fact, the game has just three levels of difficulty, and the higher one does not in fact constitute too demanding a challenge: too much general imbalance, for an aspect that would undoubtedly deserve greater attention.

What is really missing. in eFootball? A solid Career mode, well structured and capable of entertaining for an entire season. In two words: the Master League, which has amused the players of the past generations so much. This is what made PES such a famous and loved title all over the world, and the hope is that Konami will be able to make up for such a deficiency as soon as possible: it is true that it is a constantly evolving project, but it is It is also true that a clear change of direction is at this fundamental point. And, if we can say so, perhaps even urgent.



As mentioned at the beginning, only time will tell us if and how eFootball 2023 will be able to transform itself into the complete experience that Konami aims to achieve. It is still a long way to go but the feeling is that, even in light of EA's farewell to the FIFA series, next year may give us some unexpected surprises. In the meantime, what we invite you to do is give this eFootball 2023 a chance: a title that is still a bit immature but which, one step at a time, can really do justice to a historic brand like Pro Evolution Soccer. Or at least that's what we hope for.