Every aspect of the game has benefitted from refinement and enhancement, following feedback from PES 2015. On the pitch, the physicality of top-level matches is stressed via a significantly improved collision system that calculates how players interact and creating a unique outcome depending on the type of impact.Aerialbattles are also a completely unique experience this year as the left stick is used to unsettle a larger, more powerful player or find the best position to make the header/volley. Other on-field advances include one-on-one control adding a wider range of movements within the existing control structure. Response times have been improved, allowing players to maneuver in tight situations and benefits the upgraded feint moves that allow sudden directional change.

The individuality of players is also further demonstrated via the ongoing Player ID and Team ID projects. This ensures players in PES 2016 not only resemble, but have all the playing traits, of their real-life counterparts. Defenses will automatically be set up to play to a team’s strengths, while the special skillsets of players will be used intelligently within the game’s extensive tactical options. The ID system has also been extended to goalkeepers, in a bid to improve quality and add unique individuality in performance. New goal keeper parameters have been added spanning Catching, Clearance, Collapsing and Deflecting. This adds definition to ‘keepers’, who you can count on catching the ball rather than punching, or are better at stopping close range shots. 

PES 2016 has also received an aesthetic overhaul. The new game boasts 3x the number of animations of last year’s iteration. Goalkeepers have an abundance of save animations added, while outfield players shoot, pass, dribble and tackle with incredible variety depending on the situation. Players complain when a foul isn't given, or berate a teammate when a pass isn't made, while tricky players can wrong-foot their opponents with shimmies and feints that can result in causing the opposing player to lose his balance and fall in the wrong direction!

The advancements of Konami’s Fox Engine also benefit the game visually in other ways. Surface water during rainy match days will splash as players slide in to win possession, or the turf will kick up as you strike the ball into the top corner. New night-time lighting and real turf textures are among some of the many improvements as well. Crucially, and for the first time in the PES series, dynamic weather has been introduced. Rain can start during a match and the ever more realistic ball physics will accommodate the change in circumstances. Rain changes how the game can be played with passes speeding up, less skilled players are likely to struggle with trapping and players are more likely to slip and fall due to incorrect studs or blades. The variety in playing conditions also demonstrates PES 2016’s incredible ball physics, wherein every spin, bobble or ricochet, has been calculated using real ball physics data, helping keep every moment in every game unique and unpredictable.

With music becoming more synonymous with the big game experience, Konami has compiled a series of licensed tracks in the award-wining game. Menus, in-game elements and match days are complemented by a series of suitably upbeat tracks, perfectly mirroring the use of music as part of the match day experience in leagues across the globe.

Konami has already showcased its use of Queen’s classic, “We Will Rock You,” in trailers for PES 2016, but the rousing staple is supported by anthems from Royal Blood, Vinyl Theatre ad Saint Motel.

The full track listing is as follows:

• Queen - We Will Rock You
• Joywave - Somebody New
• Broken Bells - After the Disco
• Passion Pit - Lifted Up (1985)
• Asgeir - In Harmony
• St. Lucia - Elevate
• Royal Blood - Figure It Out
• Saint Motel - My Type (Radio Edit)
• Dillon Francis and Sultan and Ned Shepard - When We Were Young (featuring The Chain Gang of 1974)
• Clean Bandit - Rather Be
• Madeon - You’re On (featuring Kyan)
• Vinyl Theatre - Shine On
• CTS - Love the Past, Play the Future