AEW: Fight Forever - Is AEW's first video game a must-buy for wrestling fans?
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AEW fans have been waiting a long time for Fight Forever. The game was first announced in November 2020, and since then we’ve had numerous teases of what to expect.
But the day AEW fans have been waiting for is finally here and it’s time to Fight Forever — so was this game worth the wait?
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You can see the gamers' perspective in our review here. But what about wrestling fans?
For an AEW fan, the ability to play as an AEW wrestler, in an AEW setting, is a huge selling point and there’s a thrill to seeing your favourite wrestlers in a game for the first time.
While the roster has a very good selection of wrestlers (yes CM Punk is there), additions will have to made quickly.
AEW originals such as Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Darby Allin, and Jungle Boy are all there but later additions to the roster such as Hook and Jamie Hayter are noticeably absent.
Chris Jericho looks like he was created in 2020 and not given an update. Everything about him, from his clothes to his body type, are from the Daily’s Place pandemic era of AEW which just makes it feel really dated.
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Another blast from the past is William Regal who pops up to help train you when you first start playing matches. His inclusion is just comical because, let's face it, who thought he’d be around for longer than a year?
On the positive side, Cody Rhodes is still in the game so you can have fun working through what could have been for the American Nightmare in AEW.
Hopefully a lot of updates and new characters will be added later, as well as gear variations for wrestlers to make them more current.
This is, of course, AEW’s first video game and WWE has been releasing theirs for decades with varying levels of success.
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The WWE game fans remember most fondly is No Mercy, which happily serves as the inspiration for Fight Forever.
In Fight Forever, you can wrestle singles matches, multi-man matches, and tags, plus there’s a ladder match, Casino Battle Royale, Lights Out and the Exploding Barb Wire Death Match.
The match play is super fun and they done a great job of honing into the best elements of No Mercy. It’s great going through the roster and learning their movesets and finding cool surprises, like Malakai Black spitting black mist.
The moves also look very realistic, though there’s not a lot of selling.
The Exploding Barb Wire Death Match is absolutely one of the coolest match types to feature in a wrestling video game. The visuals of the explosions going off and how much the wrestlers get marked and bloodied up from it is absolutely stunning.
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When it comes to 'Road To Elite', the game's career mode, this is where things are a bit lacking.
Here, you play through a year-long PPV cycle, starting with Tony Khan offering you the chance to wrestle at Double or Nothing.
There's a basic storyline running throughout, with different wrestlers confronting you to set up matches on Dynamite but it's all quite basic.
In between matches, you also go out to eat, do interviews, and go sightseeing, which can throw up some fun interactions. However, it does get pretty boring fast.
Related: AEW Collision will air live on Fite for UK fans
There are also BTE-style games you can play with the Young Bucks, which range from a basic quiz to some absolutely bizarre challenges, including one where you become a baseball.
We played through as Malakai Black and while it was fun, we were surprised at how quickly it ended. We also tried out being Jericho, to see if his initial storyline would be different since he's been in the company since day one but sadly it was the same.
The storyline is different when you play as a female wrestler, with a shot at the AEW Women's Championship coming soon after you join the company.
One of the most fun elements of wrestling games is always the Create a Wrestler mode, and sadly this is where Fight Forever is most lacking.
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Additions here are desperately needed, as there's few clothing options or customisations that can be made to your appearance.
Picking your announced name is also a chore. They have plenty of wrestlers' names who aren't in the game such as Ospreay or Devitt (which I particularly liked) but we were taken aback that they didn't have Ms, yet Mrs was an option.
Overall, AEW: Fight Forever is a great game that will undoubtedly please AEW fans.
But once the initial novelty of its arrival wears off, the test will be how much they can keep players engaged with new additions to make sure the AEW you're watching on television is also what you're seeing in the game.
AEW: Fight Forever is out on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC on June 29.
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