After playing for 2 hours I think it made some steps in the right direction, especially when it comes to goalkeepers, referees and dynamic gameplay, but they still need to work on some aspects. I'm definitely convinced that I will enjoy in local multiplayer but I'm waiting to play the FIFA demo before deciding on a game this year.

I played the demo for 5-6 hours orso, and although I agree with NX that there have been definite improvements when it comes to the referee (free kicks!!!) and the goalkeepers (maybe a little bit TOO good? Not sure yet...), I also feel that it has taken some major steps BACKWARDS in other areas.

I'm a HUGE fan of PES2016, probably my favourite PES -ever- (and I started out with the SNES games, and until last year PES5 was my favourite), except for the aforementioned problems with the ref and the keeper.

IMHO, that was all they needed to fix.

However, 2017's gameplay feels very VERY rushed, ALL THE TIME. It reminds me a bit of FIFA15 where there also wasn't much variety in how the games played. Everything was often always at 100% intensity. I also dislike how the AI's defence will kinda 'cheat' whenever you have a chance to break free. Either you'll somehow stumble and/or slow down, or they'll (the defensive players) recovers extremely fast and turn into Husain Bolt to catch up with you again. Basically you have a duel every 2 seconds, instead of being able to dictate the pace and flow. Oh, and it seems there's more of an input-lag when it comes to skill-moves and such. It's less responsive than last year.

So while there are some very good improvements we all asked for after 2016, I personally feel the gameplay isn't as good (nor fun) as in last year's game. That game played so smooth, so varied, you always felt in control.

Visually, I also feel it isn't as good as last year. Animations and motion seem a bit more 'choppy' and unrealistic (occasionally some very weird angles while dribling), and the game is very blurry, especially during replays, which also tend to play at a weird faster speed, instead of slow-mo...

I think I'll stick with PES2016, TBH. I still play that regularly, and though I wish the refs and keepers were better in that game, everything else is spot-on (gameplay-wise).