AEW Fight Forever [PlayStation 5] | REVIEW

AEW caused a stir in the world of wrestling when it first came onto the scene back in 2019, and now, four years on, it’s making its video game debut in the form of AEW Fight Forever. It’s pretty fun too, with the old-school gameplay mechanics sure to please gamers who played through some of the classics of the N64-era, though the limited roster and features do stop it from striving towards greatness.

Check out some screenshots down below:

The core mechanics of the wrestling of AEW Fight Forever are easy to pick up, with players able to string together combos of attacks by mashing the punch or kick buttons (holding them will deliver a stronger strike) and then grappling with opponents to hit specific moves. You’ll Irish whip them across the ring, hit submissions to put them in a world of pain, deliver aerial attacks from the turnbuckle, and land finishers by building up your special meter by damaging your opponent and then flicking the right stick when you have your opponent in the appropriate position. You can block attacks by holding the L1 or R1 buttons, whilst you can reverse attacks with a well-timed button press. Everything you do in the game feels more simplified when compared to the modern WWE titles, but in an accessible way that makes it easy for casual fans to pick up and play. It reminded me a lot of No Mercy on the N64, which can only be seen as a good thing given how beloved it remains to this day.

Of course, given that this is an AEW game, you can expect plenty of weapons to beat opponents with and blood to spill in matches, with the game REALLY going over-the-top when it comes to delivering pain (and I mean that in the best possible way). The weapons feel great to use, and whilst they can be clumsy to actually pick up in the first place (a hallmark of the classic wrestling games of yesteryear), you’ll really feel like the weapon shots you deliver pack some punch.

Oh, and you can ride a skateboard around the ring and jump into opponents with it, so year, AEW Fight Forever doesn’t always take itself too seriously. It’s full of over-the-top moments that feel surreal, but it’s what makes the whole experience so damn charming.

“Besides the fact that the wrestling itself is entertaining and slick, it also has some unique game modes that you won’t find anywhere else with the Casino Battle Royale and Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match (which is as brutally satisfying as it sounds).”

I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t have some flaws though. Whilst the simplicity of AEW Fight Forever’s gameplay makes it easy to pick up and play, it doesn’t do a good job of actually explaining some of its mechanics or controls for newcomers. There’s nothing too complex, sure, but with a few different mechanics going on across the game modes, it’d be nice to have a better introduction to the controls. The AI of your opponents can be a little iffy too, whilst I lost track of the number of times I’d batter an opponent in a match, only for them to have the momentum for the last thirty seconds and defeat me by hitting their finisher. It’s something that happens in wrestling, but the lack of a build-up to defeat could feel a little jarring.

It’s a little slim on content too, with the roster missing a few key fighters at launch. In fairness, popular wrestlers such as Hook, Danhausen, FTR, Keith Lee, and Matt Hardy are coming as DLC, but it’s disappointing that they weren’t included in the base game – especially when you consider the popularity of FTR and the fact that Hook has been FTW champion for some time. Oddly, Cody Rhodes IS part of the game, showing that the roster does feel a little bit out of date. The wrestler entrances are really slimmed down too (I think they’re barely longer than ten seconds), whilst the create-a-wrestler suite is a LOT more limited when compared to its WWE2K counterpart.

Whilst flawed though, there’s plenty of fun to be had with AEW Fight Forever. Besides the fact that the wrestling itself is entertaining and slick, it also has some unique game modes that you won’t find anywhere else with the Casino Battle Royale and Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match (which is as brutally satisfying as it sounds). There are even minigames to dive into that really change up the pace of the experience – they might seem a little misplaced in a wrestling game, but completing silly challenges or partaking in a bit of AEW trivia is actually pretty cool.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Then you have Road to the Elite, which is AEW Fight Forever’s take on a story mode. You’ll either play as a created wrestler or an existing AEW star and take them on their journey through AEW, with players completing storylines that’ll flesh out their advancement through the company. Whether you win or lose in matches can ultimately affect how they move forward, with plenty of little twists for your narrative to take. It’s surprisingly engaging, with it capturing the vibe of the shows on TV perfectly. You’ll build up your stats by training or partaking in mini-games, whilst there are plenty of quirky interactions outside of the wrestling that show that the mode doesn’t take itself too seriously. It stood out as one of my favourite things about the game, and whilst it is a little short, there’s enough variety to be found in its storytelling to justify multiple playthroughs.

Developer: Yuke’s
Publisher: THQ Nordic, AEW Games
Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
Website: https://aew.thqnordic.com/