A game about the sport itself, not about monetization
Konami ha regresado a sus raíces con eFootball Kick-Off, un exclusivo de Nintendo Switch 2 que recupera la esencia del fútbol directo y satisfactorio que definió a Pro Evolution Soccer en su mejor época. A un precio contenido de 19,99 euros, la compañía parece reconocer que no ofrece un sucesor completo, sino un recordatorio de lo que alguna vez fue capaz de construir. La mecánica del juego es su mayor virtud, pero la ausencia de modos de juego profundos revela a una empresa que aún no se atreve a apostar del todo por su propio legado.
- El fútbol en sí es una revelación: fluido, directo y cercano al PES 2020, el último título que realmente innovó antes de que la saga se estancara en actualizaciones de plantillas.
- Los porteros son una caricatura —inmóviles ante disparos que cualquier aficionado detendría— y la física del balón resulta inconsistente, saboteando una base mecánica por lo demás sólida.
- El modo para un jugador es alarmantemente escaso: solo un tour mundial con torneos de treinta minutos y una copa internacional sin licencia, sin liga tradicional ni progresión real.
- La ausencia de un editor de equipos es especialmente frustrante: con licencias parciales que dejan a Real Madrid como 'Chamartín B', el jugador no tiene forma alguna de corregirlo.
- A 19,99 euros, el juego funciona bien técnicamente —60 fps en ambos modos— y ofrece infraestructura multijugador completa, pero su futuro depende de si Konami se atreve a añadir lo que claramente falta.
Konami ha lanzado eFootball Kick-Off como exclusivo de Nintendo Switch 2 a un precio deliberadamente modesto de 19,99 euros, una señal implícita de que esto no es el sucesor definitivo que los aficionados esperaban. Sin embargo, dentro de sus límites, el juego recupera algo que llevaba años perdido: el placer sencillo de mover un balón por un campo.
El fútbol que ofrece es su mayor logro. La propuesta se acerca al PES 2020, el último título que introdujo cambios jugables reales antes de que la saga se fosilizara. Es un fútbol arcade con la contención realista que caracteriza a los desarrolladores japoneses: los equipos fluyen con propósito, las cadenas de pases se desarrollan con naturalidad y el control del balón al primer toque resulta genuinamente satisfactorio.
Pero Konami ha tomado decisiones que socavan lo construido. Los porteros permanecen inmóviles ante disparos que cualquier guardameta aficionado detendría, una elección aparentemente deliberada para fomentar partidos de alta puntuación que acaba sintiéndose como un sabotaje. La física del balón también es irregular: a veces demasiado pesado, con botes que no se corresponden con su comportamiento durante el juego.
El problema real es lo que Konami decidió no incluir. Más allá de los partidos rápidos, solo existen dos competiciones estructuradas: un tour mundial donde se dirige a un equipo ficticio a través de pequeños torneos globales, reclutando jugadores de los rivales derrotados, y una copa internacional sin licencia que replica el formato del Mundial. Ambas son aperitivos, no platos principales.
La ausencia del editor de equipos resulta especialmente llamativa. Konami posee licencias para la Primera y Segunda División española, pero solo el Barcelona tiene imagen oficial; en la Premier League, únicamente Arsenal y Manchester United. Si quieres jugar con el Real Madrid, verás 'Chamartín B' en pantalla, sin posibilidad alguna de modificarlo. Para un juego diseñado explícitamente para el juego offline, es una limitación inexplicable.
Técnicamente, el título funciona con solidez —60 fps en modo portátil y sobremesa— aunque el DLSS agresivo en modo docked resulta visible en ciertos escenarios. La infraestructura multijugador está completa. A 19,99 euros, eFootball Kick-Off es una distracción valiosa para quienes recuerdan con cariño el PES. Si logrará mantener el interés durante meses depende enteramente de si Konami encuentra el valor de añadir lo que claramente le falta.
Konami has released eFootball Kick-Off as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, and for the first time in years, the company seems willing to remember what made Pro Evolution Soccer worth playing. The game arrives at a modest price of 19.99 euros, a deliberate signal that this is not the full-featured successor fans have been waiting for. Yet within its limited scope, it captures something that has been missing from the bloated, multiplayer-obsessed eFootball platform: the simple pleasure of moving a ball around a pitch.
The football itself is the revelation. This version plays closest to PES 2020, the last entry that actually introduced meaningful gameplay changes before the series calcified into annual roster updates. The game is direct and uncluttered—no elaborate animations, no unnecessary flourishes. It is arcade football with the restrained realism that Japanese developers have always favored. Teams flow across the field with purpose. Passing chains develop naturally. Moving the ball from flank to flank feels genuinely satisfying. The control scheme mirrors what players know from other platforms, complete with defensive assists and the full suite of expected mechanics. First-touch ball control is a pleasure.
But Konami has made some puzzling compromises that undermine what they have built. The goalkeepers are statues. They stand motionless as shots sail past them that a schoolyard keeper would stop. It appears to be a deliberate design choice to encourage high-scoring, fast-paced matches, but it feels like sabotage of an otherwise well-constructed game. The ball physics are inconsistent as well—sometimes it feels too heavy, bouncing unpredictably in ways that don't match how the ball behaves when you're controlling it. At slower speeds, the game tilts toward electric, one-touch football where wall passes and through balls dominate, and while these patterns are readable, the CPU opponent can be frustratingly difficult to predict.
The real problem is what Konami chose not to include. With such engaging football mechanics in hand, the absence of meaningful single-player modes feels like a missed opportunity bordering on self-sabotage. Beyond quick matches, there are only two structured competitions. The world tour mode offers a thin substitute for a traditional league—you take control of a mythical team and progress through small tournaments around the globe, recruiting players from defeated opponents and unlocking new signings after each championship. Each tournament takes roughly thirty minutes. It is a pleasant appetizer but nothing more. The international cup mode, Konami's unlicensed version of the World Cup, lets you play with real group distributions and national teams, but it is a straightforward path to winning a trophy and nothing beyond that.
There are minor additions worth noting. A training mode exists alongside a minigames section featuring wall-bounce scoring challenges and relay dribbling races—short diversions that are entertaining without being substantial. Six-versus-six matches on reduced fields acknowledge newer, more casual forms of football, though this feels more like a nod to younger players than a serious game mode. The absence of a traditional edit mode is particularly galling. Konami holds licenses for Spanish first and second divisions, but only Barcelona has official branding; the same limitation applies to the Premier League, where only Arsenal and Manchester United carry official status. French leagues, Portugal, Turkey, and the Netherlands have full licensing. But if you want to play as Real Madrid, you will see Chamartín B on the screen instead. There is no way to customize these teams, no way to change even their names. For a game explicitly designed around offline play, this is an inexplicable constraint.
The game runs solidly, maintaining sixty frames per second in both handheld and docked modes, though the visual quality differs noticeably between them. In handheld mode, the image is crisp and detailed, with DLSS upscaling working subtly in the background. Docked, the aggressive DLSS implementation becomes visible, particularly in daytime matches on open fields, though the game remains visually acceptable. The multiplayer infrastructure is complete—local play in cooperative and competitive modes, online ranked matches, quick play, and friend lobbies are all present.
What Konami has delivered is a reminder of what Pro Evolution Soccer once was: a game about the sport itself, not about monetization or seasonal battle passes. The football is fun, direct, and rewarding to play. But the decision to starve it of single-player content—no traditional league, no meaningful career progression, no team customization—suggests a company afraid of its own success. At 19.99 euros, eFootball Kick-Off is a worthwhile diversion for those who remember PES fondly. Whether it will sustain interest over months rather than weeks depends entirely on whether Konami finds the courage to add what it is clearly missing.
Notable Quotes
The game is direct and uncluttered—no elaborate animations, no unnecessary flourishes. It is arcade football with the restrained realism that Japanese developers have always favored.— Review analysis
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would Konami release a game that plays so well but then deliberately limit what you can do with it?
That's the question that haunts the whole experience. They've clearly got the football right—better than their main eFootball platform—but then they seem afraid to commit. No edit mode, no real league, teams you can't even rename. It feels like they're testing the waters rather than diving in.
The goalkeeper problem—is that a bug or a choice?
It reads like a choice, honestly. They want fast, high-scoring matches. But it breaks the game's internal logic. You've built something that respects football, and then you undermine it with keepers who don't exist.
What's the real loss here for someone who loved the old PES games?
There's no place to live in this game. The old PES had a league where you could spend months building something. Here, you're done with the world tour in an afternoon. There's no progression that matters, no reason to keep coming back beyond the multiplayer.
So it's a good game that's been deliberately crippled?
Not crippled exactly. It's more like Konami built something beautiful and then decided to keep it small. Maybe they're worried about cannibalizing their free-to-play version. Maybe they're just being cautious. But yeah, the potential is obvious and it's not being used.
Is it worth buying at twenty euros?
If you want to remember what PES felt like, yes. If you're looking for something to sink time into, no. It's a museum piece that plays better than you'd expect, but it's still a museum piece.