eFootball makes some important improvements to graphics and gameplay, but the free-to-play simulator still has some way to go.
While eFootball 2021 was nothing more than a name change and a player transfer update for predecessor Pro Evolution Soccer 2020, as a consequence of the COVID pandemic, more was expected of eFootball 2022 – when Konami started using the Unreal Engine.
Those expectations quickly turned into disbelief, at just how bad the game was at launch, with our review highlighting its hauntingly bad graphics and bug-ridden state. Compared to the big budget slickness of EA Sports FC 25, which we previewed recently, it’s not even on the same planet.
Three years later and, perhaps surprisingly, eFootball is still going, having ditched the number after its name. We wanted to gauge if the free-to-play simulator has had enough time to redeem itself and after a few days of playing it we can confirm that it is now in a much, much better state.
Is eFootball 2025 better than it used to be?
The main takeaway from the newest version of eFootball is that most of the criticisms from three years ago, such as terrible graphics, bugs, slow game speed, and very few licensed clubs and leagues, are still prevalent, just to a lesser extent than before.
Graphics, for example, are still half a generation behind EA Sports FC 24, but have improved tenfold compared to eFootball 2022 (which just underlines how bad it was when it first come out).
Animations aren’t as bad as they used to be either, but while there are far fewer bugs in the game it’s still not plain sailing. A player’s walk during a cut scene, how the ball connects to their foot, when two players collide, or the occasional goalkeeper save all still look awkward and unrealistic at times.
While there are improvements, frustratingly the game speed is still far too slow. What ends up happening all too often is that a ground pass will take an agonisingly long time to travel from player A to player B, so when you do receive the ball you’re inches away from a pressing opponent and have to scramble not to lose it.
This is needlessly stressful and can limit how you play, as booting it up to your winger or turbo-passing your way through the middle of the pitch. hoping for the best, often feels like the only play. On top of this, you can’t change the game speed in settings, except for in friendly matches. You also can’t change the duration of matches, which is locked at 10 minutes, for all campaigns where you can earn rewards.
An issue eFootball has had for the longest time, even back in the Pro Evolution Soccer days, is having very few licensing agreements with teams and leagues around the world. So instead of Real Madrid you get Madrid Chamartin B, for example.
Again, there is some improvement on this, as eFootball 2022 had nine licensed clubs, while the 2025 version has 21, including Arsenal, Manchester United, Bayern München, Inter, AC Milan, and Barcelona. Although it helps, it’s still far from ideal for a simulator not to be able to simulate the real world accurately.
What new features are in eFootball 2025?
Despite the problems, there are some very welcome new features in this year’s eFootball. The biggest one is the game-changing finesse dribble option, which lets you manage the ball with a lot more control using the L2/LT button. It works just like in EA Sports FC, as you can move at a decent pace while controlling the ball with quick touches.
There’s also the positive addition of Smart Assist, which is a nice feature if you want to simplify the game, as the AI will take control over certain moves based on the situation you’re in. It will decide how powerful your pass or shot should be, for example, or which dribble you should do, and it works well.
Smart Assist is not allowed in online matches however, so even though it can work well as training wheels for beginners, you should ween yourself off it, so you don’t become dependent on it.
Another big disappointment with eFootball 2022 was that it launched without any of the traditional game modes, including Master League. This is still the case, as game modes are now split between creating your own Dream Team – eFootball’s answer to Ultimate Team – or playing with the authentic squads.
What eFootball offers today is an online ranked league system with promotion and relegation, a single-player mode where you play through a season, and single-player and online friendly matches.
There are also timed events but these are more or less the exact same competition with a little twist, like ‘play this many games to earn a reward’, or ‘win a game in three attempts to proceed to the next challenge’. As far as game modes go, there is hardly any variety or creativity, and it feels like a very minimal effort.
What Konami has put a lot of time into, however, is the rewards system, which is designed to make you come back to the game each day. There’s a lot to unpack here, so bare with us, but there are four types of rewards: experience points (used to level up players), eFootball points (buy players, coaches, and kits), nominating contracts (sign certain players), and coins (buy player packs).
These rewards are constantly thrown at you, after every game, after doing a 30-second training session, or just logging into the game. In fact, when you first start playing, for the first seven days, every day, you get one login bonus, one welcome login bonus, and a Booster Token that you can use to upgrade a player.
That’s not all, when you first log in you also get a booster pack with 10 players, with one of them guaranteed to be Lionel Messi (who’s the face of the game). You also get Trent Alexander-Arnold by doing two quick training sessions, as well as one Barcelona and one Bayern München player by simply logging in and doing a couple of challenges.
After just a few hours with the game, our Dream Team squad was full of 80+ rated players, including stars such as Messi, Alexander-Arnold, Harry Kane, Jules Koundé, Leroy Sané, and a 94-rated Ferran Torres.
While Konami is doing its best to keep you playing with these rewards, you’re really not forced to spend real money to buy packs. You can also spend your experience points upgrading your players in your Dream Team, and it doesn’t take that much to level someone up into the mid 90s – thus making spending real money redundant if you’re willing to play along.
We’ll also give a shoutout to the commentary, which is substantially better than in eFootball 2022. Avid Premier League fans will know Peter Drury’s voice well and hearing him shout ‘HARRY KANE’ when you shoot just feels great.
We gave eFootball 2022 a 2/10 rating after its disastrous launch, and three years later there is no doubt that it has improved on just about everything. That being said, it still feels and looks like a football simulator from five years ago, and so it’s still some way from rivalling EA Sports FC.
All the freebies you get are exciting, once you get your head around how it all works, and building a strong Dream Team is fun and fairly quick. But then you’re, unfortunately, left with a handful of unimaginative game modes to play.
This is a free game, and for what your getting it’s no doubt good fun, but unlike Pro Evolution Soccer at its best it cannot claim to be anywhere near as good as EA’s game.
eFootball 2025 review summary
In Short: While eFootball has made some great strides forward, it’s still held back by inferior graphics, gameplay, and game modes when compared to EA Sports FC.
Pros: Matches feel much smoother to play than before and are mostly bug free. All the free players that you get to unpack early on makes creating your Dream Team exciting.
Cons: The game is still far too slow, especially when it comes to passing the ball. There’s also not enough to sink your teeth into as far as game modes go.
Score: 6/10
Formats: Xbox Series X/S (reviewed), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, iOS, and Android
Price: Free
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Release Date: September 12 2024
Age Rating: 3
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