The game featured several deep modes that kept fans engaged:

Winning headers required precise timing and positioning rather than just pressing the button first.

Utilizing Kojima Productions' Fox Engine, PES 2016 featured impressive player models and improved animations. Collisions were improved, and players reacted intelligently to aerial battles and physical contests.

The game is widely praised for its fluid, fast-paced gameplay and realistic physics, often drawing comparisons to the "golden era" of PES 5 and 6 on the PlayStation 2.