eFootball Kick Off! Review – Not Quite PES, But Closer Than Ever

eFootball Kick Off! Review

There was a time when Konami dominated the football market. While EA had all the official licences, connoisseurs of the game flocked to PES for its refined gameplay, which closely resembled its real-life counterpart. However, in one of the worst own goals in gaming history, Konami dropped the Pro Evolution Soccer moniker in 2021 and released eFootball as a free-to-play experience. Following a move to a new engine, the game launched, riddled with hilarious bugs that only further cemented its fate, effectively handing the premiership title to EA.

eFootball Kick Off! marks a new era for the developers. Not only is it the first release on a Nintendo platform since PES 2013 on the 3DS, but it’s also the first under the rebranding to rid itself of the aggressive monetisation and offer a self-contained experience. Will this be the return to form fans have been yearning for, or just a hopeful hoof that lacks the finesse of the PES glory days?

Football First

Over the years, football games have focused more on micro-management and navigating menus rather than being on the pitch. Kick Off! is refreshing in that it removes many of these aspects, leaning on traditional sensibilities to deliver a game that is more in line with classic titles. While it does forgo the live service aspects, it focuses its efforts in meaningful ways to make this the perfect football to play on the go.

Although a new release, the DNA of the company’s rich lineage is evident in the gameplay. One thing Pro Evolution Soccer always managed to balance was arcade action with strategic simulation. While not reaching the heights of the series at its peak, eFootball Kick Off! captures aspects of that golden era. Movement is tight and responsive, allowing you to turn sharply to bypass the opposition and progress towards the net. Although the AI is massively inferior to FC’s IQ system, players respond to your position, finding space, which encourages intricate passing exchanges.

Shooting in EA FC/FIFA lacks the oomph that is essential for the sport. While Kick Off! isn’t perfect, it does manage to capture the thrill of striking the ball. Cracking a shot from outside the box before it ripples the net is a joy. This bleeds into passing and crossing, which is fundamental to a football game. Whether you’re playing Tiki-Taka around the defence or speeding down the channels to whip in a lethal cross, each aspect feels great, rivaling, and at times, outperforming its competition.

Pick up and Play

It’s easy for newcomers to get overwhelmed with a football game due to the sheer number of mechanics and options in play. Konami aims to counter this with options to add auto-passing, slow-motion shots and much more. While this broadens its appeal, you can also alter this to be fully manual, increasing the margin for error and placing precision at the forefront. The number of options available to tailor the experience is surprisingly extensive, helping to make this a football game that genuinely welcomes every type of player. That said, the base difficulty is laughably easy; however, there are plenty of options to increase the challenge. When playing on hard and very hard, it manages to become a strong, competitive experience for veterans.

While the on-pitch action is important, modes and content are what will keep you coming back for more, and it’s here where eFootball Kick Off! is a mixed bag. Quick matches do exactly what it says in either 11v11 or 6v6 match types. The aptly timed International Cup lets you live out your World Cup fantasy against a whole host of national teams. Fun mini-games flesh this out further with Wall Ball, where you must rebound the ball off a wall to score a point and Obstacle Race, which requires you to showcase your dribbling skills by avoiding obstacles to reach your final destination.

Outside the Stadium

The main event is World Tour mode. Here, you get to compete in various tournaments around the world, stealing players from those you defeat. It’s a great idea that builds on the Ultimate Team premise for offline players. Similar to its influences, you can also earn coins by defeating teams and completing challenges, which you can spend on players to build your dream team. Although a great mode, there’s a Master League-shaped hope in the package, which could have rounded out the offering and given players a true flagship single‑player mode.

Konami can’t compete with the visual fidelity seen in EA FC. While many of the players capture their likenesses, there is a plethora of generic athletes that completely miss the mark. This dribbles into kits and club names, with many lacking official sponsorships. Although this doesn’t affect gameplay, it does undermine authenticity and presentation. To counter this, rather than striving for hyperrealism, the developers have opted for a vibrant colour palette which echoes earlier releases. Outside the stadium, the vivid colours continue with its easy-to-navigate menus, allowing you to quickly jump into the action.

Final Whistle

Although eFootball Kick Off! isn’t the complete return to the glory days of Pro Evolution Soccer, it’s a strong and confident step in the right direction. On the pitch, it translates the beautiful game in a way that echoes its past, offering a worthy alternative to EA FC. While Konami clearly wants to make this accessible and welcoming to new players, this comes at the expense of challenge, meaning you’ll need to remove assists and raise the difficulty to experience the tension and struggle longtime fans expect. Releasing at a budget price, this is an easy recommendation for anyone curious about where the series goes next, especially those looking for an alternative experience without aggressive monetisation practices.

***A Nintendo Switch 2 code was provided by the publisher***