User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 366 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 68 out of 366
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  1. Sep 12, 2017
    10
    The best football simulator in the world...the best sport game in the word. PES 2018 became perfect for the new animation, play rhythm, play mode, online mode, goalkeeper, cpu IA.. The problem of license is a not real problem: with a simple file and a usb key is solved in 5 minutes. fifa fan boy is a insecure peopl. they want a game ...we want football..and we plays PES
  2. Aug 4, 2018
    5
    I am commenting on certain game points which are irritating me, or where I see the room for improvement. did not go through the entire game, only stuff/modes I find to be fun.

    **Become a legend - terrible camera options, cannot chose if you want with each camera option to follow a ball or the player **Players sliding tackles - players are aiming for the player not the ball, if you go
    I am commenting on certain game points which are irritating me, or where I see the room for improvement. did not go through the entire game, only stuff/modes I find to be fun.

    **Become a legend - terrible camera options, cannot chose if you want with each camera option to follow a ball or the player

    **Players sliding tackles - players are aiming for the player not the ball, if you go for it and your player sliding is over (no more power in it, if you know what I mean) but barely touches the opponent, they immediately go 'Neymar'

    **Skills/dribbles/tricks - too complicated and a lot of them unusable, make it simple for once. Every PS4 player uses one, two or three tricks, well make it so with the pressing of one button, let's say L2 and wanted direction of the arrows - controlled player performs one trick and so on.

    **Goalkeeping - Jesus, where do I start. Goalkeepers when facing an easy ball, they act like they are drunk and I really mean it. An opponent manages to receive a cross in 5 yard box, and then we have a goalkeeper being late when holding triangle button, or even the opponent receives the ball on chest and is about to perform a volley shot, well GK can do whatever, but he chooses to wait for the volley - happens a lot (to add players also wait for that volley as well, where the logic would be they run over this player who is receiving the ball on chest instead of head shooting or passing). Shooting, powerful shots especially from shorter distances like 10-12yards, GK defends without a problem; while on the contrary we have head shots from 5-8yards distances that are slow, too slow - this is where is drunk GKs - they can catch the ball without a problem but hey this doesn't happen, goal usually happens.

    **In-match replays - they show you a replay for every boring, unimportant stuff that happens, they also don't offer you feature which would turn those unnecessary replays off or at least a quick skip option, and yes that press OPTIONS button is too slow for me

    **Player AI - it is what it is, not to happy about it but not disappointed at the same time

    **Game updates - while those are great, whenever being in main menu and going around it, it always checks for updates and tests network environment, its completely unnecessary and it makes the game slow

    Thats all.
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  3. Nov 10, 2017
    5
    The great marks you see here are totally unrealistic. This is by far the worst PES in the last 4-5 years.
    I am not a PES hater, I actually stopped playing FIFA since 2013 Because PES was so much better
    Positives of PES 2018: - Stunning graphics - Great player faces, it feels like 2 years difference above FIFA in this aspect - Introduction of 3 vs 3 and 3 vs COM CO-OP which is a
    The great marks you see here are totally unrealistic. This is by far the worst PES in the last 4-5 years.
    I am not a PES hater, I actually stopped playing FIFA since 2013 Because PES was so much better

    Positives of PES 2018:
    - Stunning graphics
    - Great player faces, it feels like 2 years difference above FIFA in this aspect
    - Introduction of 3 vs 3 and 3 vs COM CO-OP which is a great game mode finally having some co-op
    - Slight Improvements in most of the game modes
    - Very good balancing of Player attributes
    - More contracts with clubs regarding licensing which makes more players to feel closer to real life
    - Pretty strong master league campaign
    - AI improved as more technical players do more dribbles etc.
    - The overall pace of the game has been reduced so there is more time to think rather than reaction based like before
    - The overpowered Height issue from previous version was fixed, so crossing/headers are not so overpowered like in PES 2017
    Negatives (why I give such a small mark):

    - It takes ages to find opponents online
    - the lag experienced online is unbearable - it is ridiculous sometimes, and that comes after it takes even 5 to 10 minutes to find an opponent. It has nothing to do with internet connection, but with the Konami's servers capacity
    - broken player selection - a game cannot have a mark above 7 with such an issue - this is a basic simple thing. This combined with the lag experienced online goes to the impossibility to defend or do what ever you want sometimes
    - Some referee decisions are ridiculous and there are many faults which remain unsanctioned
    - Arcade game play - it is sad to say it, but this is PES 2018 compared to all previous versions. Patient ping-pong passing is encouraged and players don't have to do anything more than that to win. Most of the goals come after a lot of 1-2 passes and tap-in goals from 5-6 meters. The game doesn't entourage people to delve more into game mechanics. In previous PES versions the more things you learned the more chances you had to win. That's not the case this year.
    - Inconsistent goalkeepers - sometimes a great GK would take silly goals even though they have up form arrow. The vice-versa is true with very weak GK on red down arrows making impossible saves
    - A lot of random silly goals after 3 - 4 rebounds, or multiple post hitting, or ball jumping from defenders like from the corner of a wall, or players that are sometimes unresponsive and don't pass/shot /tackle even if buttons are pressed desperately - these things leading a lot of people to believe in conspiracy scripting/momentum and filling forums about regarding this
    - The back defensive line decision making - it is ridiculous at times how the defenders just watch the ball going very close to them and doing nothing , or running in weird directions
    -The flagship game modes of the game (myclub and myclub co-op this year) have ridiculous rewarding system, bad matchmaking and broken player progression.
    - Advancing through divisions gives very little rewards, even advancing in top 3-4 divisions or wining top division give no significant reward. There is no offline division system.
    - The matchmaking in co-op matches players from myclub with players outside myclub which makes no sense. Rewards in myclub co-op are so low that you consistently go on a minus while players don't get experience points but lose contracts ?!? Like what is the logic in all that? Plus the possibility of the fact that some players play alone in co-op matches.- This shouldn't happen.
    -There is a broken player progression as people receive players at level 1 for wining any kind of competition while when they buy players with 10k GP for example, they get players at level 30. What is the reason to win a competition then? And some of the online competitions are hard to win... Wouldn't make more sense for a person to play 3-4 matches offline, make 10k GP and but a player at level 30? They should make it either that all players come at level 1 or all of them at level 30
    -The contracts are as every year ridiculously expensive and many people don't play myclub as they see stinginess of Konami here. Most people play don't use their best team because of contracts issue. Point is, people who want to use micro transactions will always do it and the ones who don't pay real money with micro transactions will never do it. Simple as that. So to make contracts so expensive makes no sense. People will use micro-transactions for getting new players, not for extending contracts - having expensive contracts will not bring more income to Konami , but will only annoy people.

    As a non football gamer, if few matches are tried for fun, not all these are noticeable, but for usual players they will be very frustrating. And when all these come together that is not a game which should pass the 4 mark but , yeah I like PES and I hope they fix some stuff with patches and can give a 5 for that.
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  4. Sep 19, 2017
    9
    Gameplay is almost perfect, on the football pitch the game is a masterpiece. Online servers/connection is significantly better than last year, mods unfortunately stagnate. Best football game, a real simulation!
  5. Oct 3, 2017
    8
    the gameplay is amazing and the graphics are very good. the 3v3 mode is AWESOME! PES should beat FIFA this year. i give it a 8/10. You need to BUY this game.
  6. Oct 7, 2017
    8
    Great and awesome gameplay . The new difficulty of the game is the legend. It's really amazing.

    Great animations. Perfect modeling and faces. Great ball physics. Great physical collisions. Stunning graphics. But the sound design and reporter game section is very weak. Master of the League played better than last year. But still the master of the league has a lot of work and progress.
    Great and awesome gameplay . The new difficulty of the game is the legend. It's really amazing.

    Great animations. Perfect modeling and faces. Great ball physics. Great physical collisions. Stunning graphics. But the sound design and reporter game section is very weak. Master of the League played better than last year. But still the master of the league has a lot of work and progress. Online servers have improved. You need to increase the edges of the game, and the sound design and reporter game section is really rewarding

    The lack of stadiums is still the main problem. This game requires the creation of a stadium. The biggest problem with this game is the lack of content. Master of the League must play a major change. And the sound design section of the game is quite the seventh generation. At the end of the game, there was still a big improvement over the previous year. And to summarize. This game inside the ground is a perfect winner. But not completely out of the ground .

    The creator of this game is very talented. But it suffers from a lack of funds. The main culprit of this problem is the publisher of this game, Konami. Konami does not have a good budget for this game. However, the team-maker does his best to make the game.

    PES in the gameplay, modeling, faces, animations, ball physics, physical collisions, graphics is really better than FIFA 18.
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  7. Oct 23, 2017
    9
    Great game . Superb Graphics, fun, real soccer simulation. If you intend to change fifa don't think do it, because this is the best simulator ever made . i change fifa for pes in 2014 and i never coming back to fifa no more..... With option files you put all the leagues in the game easy as a blink of eye.
  8. Sep 12, 2017
    10
    This is the best soccer game ever. Amazing graphics, amazing gameplay. Try if you do not believe me. Its just amazing. Option file system it gives you all licenses. So dont worry. King is back. The pitch belongs to konami and pes team.
  9. Sep 12, 2017
    10
    Simply the best football game available. Very fluid game with a tendency for the unpredictable, PES always makes you feel like you are in control, if you make a mistake you know that you made the mistake rather than the game ripping you off on the basis of some dodgy AI.
  10. Sep 12, 2017
    10
    Very good game with amazing graphics or the best graphics in soccer games goal keepers are amazin and the ai amazing and i enjoyed playing it and i will play it till next year
    Konami thanks to you i enjoyed it very much
  11. Sep 19, 2017
    9
    FIFA will be a great game this year, and the solution would be to play both Football games. But if you can't do that, and you really love Football (in its essence), you will certainly enjoy Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 a lot more.
  12. Sep 18, 2017
    8
    The gameplay is very good, it really reminds to real football (the one you play in the grass field, more than the one you watch on your TV). It's really fun both controlling an entire team or a single player in the career mode.
    However, there are some bad points that leave this game far from FIFA quality:
    - The load times are too long. Since you open the game until you can be playing
    The gameplay is very good, it really reminds to real football (the one you play in the grass field, more than the one you watch on your TV). It's really fun both controlling an entire team or a single player in the career mode.
    However, there are some bad points that leave this game far from FIFA quality:
    - The load times are too long. Since you open the game until you can be playing your first match you spend some minutes just waiting.
    - The online hall is too empty. I've tried to play online matches several times and most of them I end up cancelling the matchmaking after some minutes without results.
    - The menus and options are too archaic. Konami seems not to have the time to work on the game interface, and this transmits a neglect feeling hard to ignore.
    - The atmosphere of the stadiums is far from that achieved by FIFA. Improving this could mean a great step forward for the game.
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  13. Sep 12, 2017
    10
    just few words the KING is back ...
    amazing faces of players and graphism
    so great pleasure just to play football
    gameplay just ideal
    its so many years i didnt have so many pleasure to play a football game.
  14. Sep 12, 2017
    10
    Nice gameplay, i like that game is a bit slower and you have more time to think about next action. Licenses and commentary are two weaknesses. AI is stronger than ever.
  15. Sep 23, 2017
    9
    PES sigue creciendo, durante los últimos años Konami está haciendo un gran trabajo. Igual que PES17 son dos grandes juegos, jugablemente sobresalientes, en PES18 han mejorado los porteros enormemente, y visualmente han estilizado los jugadores.
  16. Sep 13, 2017
    9
    Il miglior Pes che non se ne vedevano cosi' dai tempi di Psx e Ps2 coloro i quali recensiscono con 0/10 o 6/10 non sanno ne di cosa parlano ne di cosa giocano. Fatta questa premessa la Konami con un colpo di coda ,un po inaspettato, si riprende cio' che per tanto tempo le e' stata sottratta quasi impropriamente ,ovvero lo scettro e la corona di miglior titolo calcistico.
  17. Sep 13, 2017
    9
    this game is pure football nice job konami amazing gameplay good keepers amazing faces of players great pleasure just to play football Great Game!! i like the slow realistic speed
  18. Sep 14, 2017
    9
    The holy grail of gameplay experience, pretty straight forward, a punch in the face with the dynamics of the matches, the players ball reception, passes, shots, and obviously the ball physics are brutal .

    I'm impressed how a formation a change in position for a player can affect the result of the match and how you need to adjust in accordance with the rival, you can't play with only
    The holy grail of gameplay experience, pretty straight forward, a punch in the face with the dynamics of the matches, the players ball reception, passes, shots, and obviously the ball physics are brutal .

    I'm impressed how a formation a change in position for a player can affect the result of the match and how you need to adjust in accordance with the rival, you can't play with only tiki taka against barcelona and the next match against borussia hoping the same result, yes for sure you can try but the IA will adjust it's formation to make you pay your insolence.

    Besides that the goalkeepers reactions this year are superb, the player likeness just amazing, and there's improvement in the ambiance atmosphere in the stadiums.

    Other than that the 3vs3 online feature is pretty good.

    I will add some of the bad points, licenses you know there'll be always this situation but you know in some way is part of the game, commentators this year as usual just good, nothing spectacular , the game presentation in general is just outdated, the fonts ,the menus , they need to improve this, is a tired UI.

    The stadium representation also is amazing, we miss the stadium creator option.

    So to round up

    The best soccer experience to shared with friends, enemy, or whoever you want.
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  19. Oct 14, 2017
    5
    Been a PES player from 2003 to 2008, and then pes 2014. Never played any FIFA game apart from FIFA 98 and FIFA 17. That being said, this year I decided to go back to my childhood series and now I am leaving in full disappointment after 10 days. So many turnovers, bad passing, aiming for player A and cpu decides to give it to player B. In Superstar difficulty, the game instead of beingBeen a PES player from 2003 to 2008, and then pes 2014. Never played any FIFA game apart from FIFA 98 and FIFA 17. That being said, this year I decided to go back to my childhood series and now I am leaving in full disappointment after 10 days. So many turnovers, bad passing, aiming for player A and cpu decides to give it to player B. In Superstar difficulty, the game instead of being smarter, it just buffs the opponent players with +20 in speed, strength and heading. Every team plays the same, tiki-taka/first time passing in the midfield and long through balls to the centre or the sides, no matter if they have Messi or a 60 overall random player. This game is only recommended for playing couch co-op with friends that will not have super buffs on their players (that's how i got sucked into buying it. I played with a friend a demo of FIFA and PES and we decided PES is superior). Single player is awful, presentation for laughs or crying. I have not tried FIFA and most probably I will not, but PES is a huge frustration and disappointment. Expand
  20. Sep 12, 2017
    9
    I think Konami did a great job this year. The game is not perfect, we need improvements online like some punishment to players who gets the match cancelled when they're losing. Great Job Konami, good keepers (god bless us all), not the same mechanic game, the way players move without the ball is awesome. Great Game!!
  21. Sep 12, 2017
    8
    The evolution of PES 2017 is here. Despite serious problems with the goalkeepers , refs (they can both ruin an enjoyable game) and other minor technical issues, (please fix the spagheti nets for God's sake) PES 2018 is another valiant effort with excellent game value for versus games (1 v 1 is the top dog here) and a bucket load of wow! factor goals with missile-like shoots. KonamiThe evolution of PES 2017 is here. Despite serious problems with the goalkeepers , refs (they can both ruin an enjoyable game) and other minor technical issues, (please fix the spagheti nets for God's sake) PES 2018 is another valiant effort with excellent game value for versus games (1 v 1 is the top dog here) and a bucket load of wow! factor goals with missile-like shoots. Konami advanced in this one with more balanced game play and excellent graphics (but only up-close). It's PES 2017+ . That's not a bad thing. Next year Konami should innovate more and bring us something really astonishing as promised. Expand
  22. Nov 16, 2017
    10
    It may not have the look or unrealistic style of high scoring matches it's competitor has. But on the pitch, it matches what real football is played like. Not what arm chair opinions think
  23. Apr 22, 2018
    0
    Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 is nothing more than an obnoxious fruit machine. Unlike the critics I have played this game extensively.

    Setting aside the throw money at screen nature of getting better players the biggest problem is that results are totally out of your control. Your opponent's goal keeper will dave point blank bullet headers in the bottom corner, your keeper Buffon will let
    Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 is nothing more than an obnoxious fruit machine. Unlike the critics I have played this game extensively.

    Setting aside the throw money at screen nature of getting better players the biggest problem is that results are totally out of your control. Your opponent's goal keeper will dave point blank bullet headers in the bottom corner, your keeper Buffon will let in a 35 yard piffed pea roller. Once you are a goal down your players may improve or you'll have wait until you are 2-0 down, don't equalise to early though because it will be your turn to have players running out of position, stuttering, mis placing passes, not creating any passing options and generally be mongs. Your ability means nothing, the players you have mean nothing and your enjoyment is totally meaningless to Konami. I certainly won't ever be buying PES ever again until it is skill based rather than luck based.
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  24. Sep 26, 2017
    10
    What a Game!
    From someone who has been playing fifa almost religiously for the past 9 years i decided to make the change as i have found little fun in the last fifa installments. I was iffy as PES doesn’t have licenses but I discovered you can install the files yourself and even play leagues lige the japanese, thai or chinese with the correct kits and players. But essentially what makes
    What a Game!
    From someone who has been playing fifa almost religiously for the past 9 years i decided to make the change as i have found little fun in the last fifa installments. I was iffy as PES doesn’t have licenses but I discovered you can install the files yourself and even play leagues lige the japanese, thai or chinese with the correct kits and players. But essentially what makes PES 2018 so incredible is the controls and the overall gaming. If you come from fifa you will love it. I have never felt so excited in dribbling, shooting from outsiders the area... its just so satisfying. The commentary is bad but not that bad. The online isnt very good but hey, neither was fifa. Actually the spanish commentary is good (Argentina). The faces are incredibly similar and im not talking about Barcelona alone, but even players from other teams like monaco, fiorentina, bayern munich, chelsea, manchester united...
    Please, make the change, you won’t regret it.
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  25. Sep 22, 2017
    9
    It may not have the look or unrealistic style of high scoring matches it's competitor has. But on the pitch, it matches what real football is played like. Not what arm chair opinions think.
  26. Sep 16, 2017
    9
    PES 2018 is simply an amazing football game, aiming at being the real football simulator. The gameplay is the closest ever seen to the real football, every action, pass, shoot and really every score is different, feels unique. Each match is unique. Playing without assisted passing and shooting, the so called full-manual, brings the game to a new level opening a game in the game, the realPES 2018 is simply an amazing football game, aiming at being the real football simulator. The gameplay is the closest ever seen to the real football, every action, pass, shoot and really every score is different, feels unique. Each match is unique. Playing without assisted passing and shooting, the so called full-manual, brings the game to a new level opening a game in the game, the real game. Like on the real pitch you need to carefully calibrate every pass and shoot and scoring gives great emotions. The graphics is superb, playing in 4K looks stunning with wonderful replays that will make you wondering if you are looking to a game or to a real match. The offline modes with Become a Legend and the Master League are historical foundations, they still offer plenty of content although a restyling would be appreciated for the future editions. Online is great, matches are super fun and the new coop mode, 2 vs 2 or 3 vs 3, is great. It feels really like playing in a team, with the option of creating clans with friends for endless fights around the world. Finally about licenses, it's known that KONAMI is weak on this side, missing many teams and entire leagues. Is this a real problem ? Only on XBOX, not on PlayStation and PC where community made option-files allow to basically edit all the game and adding all real kits and emblems. Also opening the door to amazing opportunities like making a league with all-time best classic teams. In conclusion PES 2018 is a must have for every football fan, it will fill your days and evenings with incredible moments jumping on the couch when scoring at the last minute! Expand
  27. Sep 27, 2017
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The perfect soccer game in the world✌✌. Thank you konami for this awesome game. Fifa never can beat the pro evolution soccer Expand
  28. Oct 12, 2017
    10
    Gameplay is good , graphic is perfect .. random selection match is astonished .. the is a lot of moods in the game that can make you play a lot and enjoy .. especially in the offline mode that many people like.
    Simply an awesome game you need to just download an option file and just play the beautiful game
  29. Sep 26, 2017
    4
    Same old PES issues, such as poor AI, and worst of all scripting still prevails.
    I want to be able to win or lose based on my playing skills, and not based on having script in my favor or against me.
    Gameplay in PES is inconsistent. Stats often mean nothing, not to mention that the beta and demo play differently than the actual game, and one can expect that gameplay will keep on
    Same old PES issues, such as poor AI, and worst of all scripting still prevails.
    I want to be able to win or lose based on my playing skills, and not based on having script in my favor or against me.

    Gameplay in PES is inconsistent. Stats often mean nothing, not to mention that the beta and demo play differently than the actual game, and one can expect that gameplay will keep on changing and not always for the better..

    While I prefer the gameplay in PES over FIFA, Konami seems to care very little about making a great, challenging football SIM. Year after year it's the same old story, with some minor changes and no fixes for the awful AI and idiotic scripting.
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  30. Sep 19, 2017
    9
    it takes a few games to understand the brilliance of PES 2018.Deep and utterly addictive MyClub and master league modes.Solid gameplay and passing the ball has never felt so good.
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 53 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 50 out of 53
  2. Negative: 0 out of 53
  1. Oct 25, 2017
    80
    Inside the pitch, PES 2018 simply rocks as it is one of the best football experiences ever made. But outside, same old problems with licenses and sound design issues prevent it from becoming a complete football game. If you just want to play football and have fun, PES 2018 is your choice.
  2. Oct 23, 2017
    92
    Overall, what PES 2018 lacks in authenticity, it more than makes up for in gameplay. Bettering its predecessor on the pitch, PES 2018 is another fantastic entry in the series.
  3. Oct 18, 2017
    80
    PES stays ahead of its competition... if you don't ask for too much.