AEW Fight Forever is a video game that wrestling fans have been waiting on for years.
After multiple delays and roadblocks, All Elite Wrestling‘s first console game finally saw its official release on June 29. If you pre-ordered The Elite edition, you were able to play a day earlier on June 28.
Plenty of people already have an opinion on this game. Still, as someone who has put well over 40 hours into the game in the past couple of weeks on PlayStation 5 and PC, I feel you’re not going to find a deeper or more comprehensive review than what you’re about to read here.
There will be praise, there will be critiques, and there will be nitpicks. But reviews like this are done with the genuine hope that a game like this can be improved in the months ahead to make the best title it can be.
If you’re still on the fence about this game, I hope to be able to help you make up your mind by the time you’re done reading this review.
So let’s kick things off where this game truly shines… the gameplay.
AEW FIGHT FOREVER GAMEPLAY
Between the ropes, AEW Fight Forever is easily my favorite wrestling game since WWE 2K14. The heavy dose of AKI vibes mixed in with a sprinkle of SmackDown: Here Comes The Pain really shines through to make a game that I think old-school fans will love.
While the WWE 2K game heavily focuses on simulation, Fight Forever focuses on a more fast-paced arcade control scheme. It’s one of those games that you’ll be able to pick up and understand what you’re doing in a matter of minutes. The game is easy to pick up but hard to master; I admit that almost every time I have sat down with the game, I have seen something new in the gameplay that I haven’t seen before. That’s pretty exciting to me, personally.
The two-button reversal system that hasn’t been present in wrestling games in quite some time makes its return in Fight Forever; while it takes some getting used to, it’s something you’ll pick up on after a fair amount of time with the game. Although I question how they thought implementing this feature was a good idea in a game where they want to attract a pickup and play crowd.
My only real gripe with the gameplay style is some matches can end much quicker than I would like them to. While it’s possible to have long matches, it’s really more by choice than feeling like it’s needed.
If you’ve sat on the wrestling game sideline for a while because you felt the WWE 2K control scheme is too difficult to learn or isn’t fun for you, I’d highly recommend giving this game a shot.
MATCH TYPES AND MINI-GAMES
At launch, there aren’t a lot of match types available. You have singles matches (which can also be done as lights out or pinfalls count anywhere), three-way matches, four-way matches, tag team matches, ladder matches, Casino battle royale, and of course, the Exploding Barbedwire Deathmatch.
At this time, ladder matches can only be done in a one-on-one capacity, but there is a three-way ladder match in Road to Elite. This gives me hope that it will be added to exhibition mode in a future update.
In addition to a three-way ladder match, you’ll also run into handicap matches and gauntlet matches in the Road to Elite mode; none are currently in exhibition.
Even with the limited match types, the gameplay allows for some very entertaining content. I haven’t personally run into many glitches outside of the ladder match where a wrestler can glitch into the ladder and execute a move that accidentally puts both wrestlers into the ring. That’s not great but hopefully will be taken care of in a future patch.
My favorite match, personally, is the Exploding Barbedwire Deathmatch. It has a lot of fun features and explosions, and it certainly doesn’t feel like anything else I’ve ever experienced before in a wrestling game.
Fight Forever also features 15 different mini-games (not counting DLC). You’ll start with three unlocked and unlock the others after consecutive completions of Road to Elite. While they are pretty much a novelty, they’re very fun to play couch co-op when you have a few friends over or even online…but we’ll get to that later.
ROAD TO ELITE
Road to Elite is AEW Fight Forever‘s story mode. You take one wrestler, be it someone already in the game or a creation of your imagination, and proceed to play through a condensed version of the first year of All Elite Wrestling.
The rundown of Road To Elite consists of three weeks of content, with the fourth week being the pay-per-view. You’ll start at Double or Nothing and end at Double or Nothing the following year. Nothing can take you off this path.
Between matches, you’ll be allowed to take place in repetitive tasks such as working out, eating, sightseeing, taking part in a press conference or autograph signing, or playing mini-games with The Elite for the BTE Championship (which is really just the in-game TNT title, come on guys!). While these are entertaining enough on the first playthrough, you’ll be quickly skipping over them in the future because it’s really just the same cutscenes over and over again.
While it was initially reported that multiple AEW stars recorded voiceovers for this mode, the only voiceovers present are Tony Khan (in the opening epilogue), Excalibur, and Jim Ross (whose lines were done so terribly lifeless, I question why they even left them in.)
You’ll start things off at Double or Nothing; if you choose to be a male wrestler, you’ll be placed into a Casino Battle Royale to earn the right to challenge for the AEW World Championship at All Out. Before the match, you’ll pick a card representing where you enter the match.
If you win, you’ll be placed into a storyline that leads to All Out, where you’ll battle Chris Jericho to determine the first AEW World Champion. If you lose, you’ll be placed in a “can they co-exist” storyline instead.
(NOTE: Unlike in Exhibition mode, you can only pull one card in this mode; the 2 of spades. This means you’ll always start the battle royale in the number one position. You have no choice in the matter, don’t bother restarting.)
If you choose a female wrestler, you’ll be placed in a four-way match that has no bearing on what happens to you next. You’ll always advance to compete for the AEW Women’s World Championship on the first episode of Dynamite, whether you win or not.
Following All Out, the storylines for men and women blend together; there are no female-specific storylines for your character throughout the rest of Road to Elite. There are a total of three paths to each PPV. Once you are on this path, it doesn’t matter if you win or lose; nothing will change, which is, unfortunately, a far cry from what they marketed that we would be getting out of this mode.
For those wishing to unlock Brodie Lee, you’ll do so in the “Join the Dark Order” path on the road to Full Gear. If you want to unlock Paul Wight, you’ll unlock him in the “Who’s ribbing me?” path heading into Double or Nothing.
Winning championships in this mode is also non-consequential. Different paths will give you the opportunity to win every championship in this game except for the TBS Championship which takes place in a side match on Rampage. Despite that, winning the title does not affect your path or the overall story. Most titles you win will not be worn and will likely never be mentioned again throughout the rest of your playthrough, which is definitely a bummer.
After three to five playthroughs max (depending on who you take in), you’ll have pretty much seen everything that Road to Elite has to offer. The downside to that is that you need to play the mode a total of 13 times in order to unlock every mini-game that the game features.
Oh, and Yuke’s? Why on earth is Britt Baker wearing an Atlanta t-shirt in cutscenes in Road to Elite over Pittsburgh!? What’s up with that!?
Overall, Road to Elite is a fun career mode for a few playthroughs, but it gets old relatively fast. There is nowhere near the replay value that was found in No Mercy’s career mode back in the day, and that’s quite the shame.
JUKEBOX
The jukebox in AEW Fight Forever is a breath of fresh air compared to what we’ve dealt with in other wrestling titles in recent years. The jukebox features well over 100 tracks that you can mix and match as your own unique soundtrack for the game.
Not only does it feature a lot of original music, but it also includes dozens of themes for the stars of All Elite Wrestling that aren’t currently included in the game.
The only mishap on the jukebox currently is that Chris Jericho’s entrance theme, “Judas” by Fozzy, is nowhere to be found. While Jericho comes out with this theme in the game, it doesn’t appear to be available for any other character or selectable in the jukebox. We don’t know if this was an oversight or by design, but hopefully, Judas can make its jukebox debut in a future update.
Also one small note to THQ Nordic, despite your review guidelines and FAQ stating otherwise, Orange Cassidy doesn’t currently have “Jane” by Jefferson Starship anywhere in the game. So unless that’s planned for the future, your information isn’t accurate.
CREATION MODES
The creation modes will likely be the biggest disappointment for fans when it comes to AEW Fight Forever. Wrestling gamers have been spoiled in recent years with 2K’s expansive creation suite, which allows you to create just about anything your heart desires and then share it with the world online. Not only can’t you share your creations here, but it’s also so bare-boned that you probably wouldn’t want to anyway.
The creation section of Fight Forever only includes three options:
- Create A Wrestler
- Create A Team
- Create An Arena
Create a wrestler is probably the most bare-bones wrestling fans have seen since WWE All Stars. While there is potential with what has been built, if Yuke’s and AEW don’t choose to add onto it, I can’t imagine there will be a lot of people using this mode in the future.
Create a team is exactly what you think it is. You can pair tag teams together and set their entrances and special moves. It’s pretty basic, but it gets the job done.
Create an arena has the most potential of the three. Still, without the ability to have a text tool or an image designer, you won’t be able to create the arenas of other companies like you can in other wrestling games.
If you’re looking for in-depth creation features, you aren’t going to find that in Fight Forever right now. But I am optimistic that this will change with future updates.
ONLINE
The online mode on PlayStation 5 is surprisingly smooth once you get into a match. However, the process to get into one on ranked or casual leaves a lot to be desired personally.
I played several matches online and didn’t get disconnected or suffer lag once. That’s very impressive for a wrestling game, as I’m used to trying to play online and getting constant disconnections or issues that kill the excitement of playing online.
There are ranked, casual, and private matches, so you can choose the style that’s right for you. I played some of all three and found the experiences relatively the same when it comes to ranked and casual. If you don’t want the stress of a ranking, you’ll probably be happier playing casual matches.
In private matches, you invite friends into your party who can either partake or spectate the matches that happen. This is where you play the mini-games online as well. The mini-games online add a tremendous amount of fun to them as opposed to a single-player experience.
How the online operates is very promising for future modes that AEW intends to add to the game in the months ahead, but I’ll touch more on that later.
AEW FIGHT FOREVER – INITIAL DLC
On release, AEW Fight Forever offers FTR and Matt Hardy as DLC content for the game. While these wrestlers are a welcome addition to the roster, it also presented its own problems that Yuke’s and AEW should have taken care of ahead of time.
FTR are not implemented into the game as a tag team. You have to manually go into the team creation mode and put them together and assign their tag team finishing maneuvers. There is absolutely no excuse for this, and these kinds of things should be taken care of for the player automatically.
In addition to this, the addition of Matt Hardy gives the average player no idea how to utilize his “Broken” version, which the game forces you to discover on your own by adding another attire to Matt Hardy’s regular in-game character.
If that wasn’t bad enough, there is no entrance or call name for The Hardys in this game. When there are countless team names and entrances already in the game for wrestlers who aren’t currently on the roster, there is no reason for a team like The Hardys not to have these things available at launch.
If future tag teams are planned for DLC, AEW and Yuke’s need to make an effort to make sure mishaps like this don’t happen again. There was no reason for these oversights to occur; hopefully, they can be fixed in future updates.
WHAT’S TO COME
Back in February, when AEW Fight Forever achieved its Teen rating, the description of the rating spoke of a Stadium Stampede mode which is nowhere to be found at the game’s launch. Talented data miners have already uncovered the mode, and the battle passes that will be associated with it in the months ahead.
The online mode appears to be AEW’s answer to Fortnite and will take place inside a football stadium with 30 players fighting it out online until one wrestler remains. While this sounds like an ambitious mode, this is certainly something that will appeal to people who aren’t even wrestling fans. If only there was a service that was available for gamers to try out a wrestling game they would never typically buy without committing to the full price…but I digress.
Kenny Omega has promised multiple updates to the game over the next couple of years, including new wrestlers, arenas, mini-games, game modes, and more. If this also includes additional content for the currently bare-bones creation modes, this will be a big win for this game in the years ahead without forcing fans to purchase a yearly title.
FINAL VERDICT ON AEW FIGHT FOREVER
AEW Fight Forever has returned wrestling games back to the days of the AKI engine and with tremendous success. All Elite Wrestling and Yukes have created an excellent base upon which to build for the next few years as long as this title does well sales-wise.
The game is far from perfect, but it’s a ton of fun to play, and it shows great potential as a game that AEW intends to continue to update over the next few years. Hopefully, these updates will introduce upgrades to its creation modes to add additional replay value to the game.
If gameplay matters to you, and you miss the wrestling games of yesteryear, AEW Fight Forever is for you. Will the fun and addictive gameplay be enough for us to continue to fight forever? Only time will tell.
What are your thoughts on AEW Fight Forever? Are you going to pick up a copy of the game if you haven’t already? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
