Another new feature in eFootball PES 2020 is “Matchday,” a mode that lets players choose their favorite team and synchronize games to the schedule from professional leagues. This is similar to FIFA’s Match Day Live, which is also designed to make the game feel more in-line with what’s happening out in the real world. For instance, if Manchester United and Arsenal are playing each other one week and you play with either team and win, your points will be added to the total from PES 2020 online community, particularly those who are fans of the same club as you.

The goal with Matchday is for you to help your favorite team win as much as possible in PES 2020, so that it can be at the top of the standings and, of course, give you bragging rights over your friends.

“Edgarito” in “Become a Legend.”

My favorite mode in PES 2020, though, is “Become a Legend.” It’s not new to this year’s game, but it’s still a perfect way to pass the time and enjoy playing with and against teams you wouldn’t choose on a regular basis. Become a Legend, in case you haven’t played it before, lets you create your own player and pretend to live the career of a footballer. The player I created isn’t very good (yet), and the team I ended up on is one of Italy’s worst (Cagliari), but that’s why I like it: because it makes you have to keep playing to make him and your team better, since in the early years of your career you’re far from being a star.

I do wish Become a Legend was as realistic and cinematic as FIFA’s “The Journey” mode, since it would make it more fun to have a story that forces you to make every-day life decisions. That said, you do see Ronaldo make a cameo sporadically, even if you can’t have your made-up player interact with him.

All in all, I have to give it to Konami for not giving up on Pro Evolution Soccer after the disappointment of losing the Champions League rights in 2018. The company could’ve easily let the game go in a downward spiral back then but, instead, it has kept working to make the game better for fans who have loved it despite its shortcomings over the years. eFootball PES 2020, isn’t perfect by any means, but at the very least, it’s a sign that the franchise is alive and well. Now we wait to see if FIFA 20 is really as great as it promising to be.