The game
almost ironic to see how AEW was born in 2019 starting from some former WWE wrestlers, and how now their video game is developed by the former team behind the WWE titles exactly until 2019. The meeting between AEW and Yukes seemed almost written in destiny, and despite some problems and delays especially related to the pandemic, in the end AEW: Fight Forever finally out in stores. To date, WWE is certainly the best known federation but there are still several valid realities (in addition to AEW itself), for the same cannot be said in the videogame world: in fact, fans have long been able to count only on the WWE 2K series, so the finally arrival of a competitor was seen with great interest.
MX Video – AEW: Fight Forever
Yukes however was clear from the start that with AEW: Fight Forever wanted to offer a different experience compared to the simulation of 2K titles, focusing instead on the arcade aspect and being inspired by past titles that are often referred to by the most nostalgic as SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain. So far so good, and I won’t deny that I too am very intrigued by these statements, thanks to the nostalgia effect. However memories can be deceptive, and above all there is a difference between being inspired by video games from 20 years ago and creating exactly a clone of a video game from 20 years ago, but in 2023. Because in the end AEW: Fight Forever it could be described like this, with all the merits and defects of the case.
The highlight of the experience is certainly the Road to Elite mode, or the classic Career in which to bring your own personalized fighter (or an existing one) from the very beginning to the conquest of the most prestigious belts. Already from the editor you begin to notice the first limits, and even without making comparisons with that of 2K (it would be merciless) the options are reduced to the bare minimum and do not offer a great variety in the creation of our avatar. The story sees us travel the equivalent of a year within the AEW starting from the call of Tony Khan who offers us a place in the newly formed federation, and thus retracing some of the main events that really happened. The plot therefore tries to be a tribute to the history of AEW also using archive footage, even if some plots are naturally modified to adapt to the presence of our unpublished character.
Therefore, every week we have four shifts available to manage in various ways, for example training in the gym to increase statistics at the expense of energy, visiting cities to increase morale, eating in restaurants to regain strength, attending press conferences or fighting in minor shows AEW Dark and Rampage, making it to the end of the week main show Dynamite or the end of the month PPV.
Managing energy and morale therefore becomes essential to get charged up at the events, but if we feel confident, we can use the shifts to have fun with one of the many mini-games present. On these occasions AEW: Fight Forever it shows all its more arcade and crazy side by transforming itself into a real party-game with various totally no-sense challenges. For example, you can play baseball by literally throwing a wrestler disguised as a ball, a rhythm game where you perform embarrassing timed dances, a quiz on the history of AEW, collect more casino chips that rain down on the ring while dodging explosive barrels and so on, in a delirium as absurd as necessary to break the routine a little before the matches.
We then come to the gameplay, which as anticipated takes up the one seen in the old wrestling video games in an all too faithful way. The controls are extremely simple, with keys dedicated respectively to punches, kicks, grappling, running and defenses (one for normal attacks, one for grappling). To these are added the Signature and Finisher moves that can be activated simply by pressing a directional arrow or the analog stick, provided you have filled the Momentum bar. Everything revolves around this bar which indicates the excitement of the public, so by continuing to attack we will see the indicator fill up, on the contrary, taking blows will empty it, as well as not immediately exploiting the available finishing moves. In fact, even if we manage to load the bar we will only have a few seconds to be able to connect it, otherwise the public loses momentum and we have the opportunity to close the match with a devastating move. A mechanic that encourages unbridled action, which goes well with the simplicity of execution of the moves and the arcade soul of the game.
The matches are fast and with few dead moments, as well as a healthy dose of non-indifferent violence with plenty of blood and slow motion shots that make us show in detail the impact and damage of the most powerful moves. A violence pushed to the extreme so as to become almost parody, a feeling that is also increased by the particular graphic style of the game. AEW: Fight Forever he never takes himself too seriously, and the wrestlers’ models themselves (almost) never look for realism, but rather look like the classic wrestling action figures we played with as children or still today. A controversial choice that on the one hand underlines even more the intention of being a game that does not seek realism, on the other the 4K resolution on both Xbox Series X and Series S is almost wasted. be at 60fps without issues, with the only exception being the ring entrance cinematics which are limited to 30fps on Series S.
Amore
Perfect with friends
– Although in recent years the WWE 2K series has also been abandoning the pursuit of simulation by finding a balance between realism and arcade, AEW: Fight Forever focuses on immediacy and retro feeling. This makes it an excellent title for those evenings with friends where you need a game suitable for everyone to have fun with without too much effort and complexity in the controls, and the addition of mini-games makes it to all intents and purposes a party game that can entertain even beyond out of pure wrestling.
Viuuuuulenza!
– One of the main features of AEW is violence that is much more intense than WWE, an aspect that has also been maintained in the game. In fact, there is no shortage of extreme stipulations such as the Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch, or battles in a ring completely surrounded by electrified barbed wire and which explodes after a certain amount of time. There is even the possibility to unlock the failed explosion of the famous match between Kenny Omega and John Moxley at AEW Revolution 2021, when what was supposed to be a fireworks shower instead became a sad show of smoke and sparks due to a technical problem. In general AEW: Fight Forever pushes a lot on the rawest aspect of matches, and if you are passionate about extreme stipulations you will find bread for your teeth among blunt weapons, thumbtacks that stick into the backs of opponents, clubs with barbed wire and much more.
I hate it
Misleading memories
– It’s no secret that memory can often play tricks, and what we remembered as beautiful and perfect is actually just the result of nostalgia for the past and simpler times. AEW: Fight Forever try to leverage that rogue nostalgia, and in the early hours even the problem succeeds when the reality of the present returns brutally and breaks the magic. We therefore realize that certain mechanics in 2023 are simply no longer acceptable, and what should have been a value in the intentions of the developers backfires, becoming the main problem of the game. The formula of AEW: Fight Forever aged badly, and to suffer more the gameplay. We are not dealing with a game that is simple to learn but difficult to master, but only simple, because there is practically nothing to master. There’s no depth at all, and all fighters use pretty much the same control inputs, with only the finishing moves reminding you who you’re playing as. If the choice of having two different buttons for defense (one against normal attacks, one against grappling) may seem awkward, wait until you see how the run is managed: once started, in fact, the direction cannot be changed, thus forcing stop, change angle and resume running. A terrible mechanic that was already uncomfortable 20 years ago, let alone today.
Reduced content
– The lack of depth is not only seen in the gameplay, but also in the content. AEW: Fight Forever in fact, offers very few types of matches, and even if there are particular stipulations such as the aforementioned Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch, there are no other fundamental ones, such as the Steel Cage Match or the Wargames which is ironic given that it is a type of match brought back into vogue by the AEW and that rival WWE resumed only following its success (inserted in the last video game). The limitations are also technical, in fact it is not possible to have more than four wrestlers at the same time in the ring, which limits some types such as Ladder Matches, the Casino Battle Royal (instead of the classic timer before the entry of a new wrestler you have to wait for someone be thrown out if there are already 4 wrestlers) and totally eliminates the 3 vs 3 matches. Then there is no management mode or similar, so apart from the career with the Road to Elite, all that remains is to dedicate oneself to single matches locally or online , but still with few modalities. Then the limitation of the editor for the creation of your own wrestler and also a certain narrowness in the selection of the roster closes the circle. However, it should be specified that the stated intention of Yukes and THQ Nordic is to expand over time AEW: Fight Forever rather than making other chapters an annual cadence, for which new modes and fighters will surely arrive in the future, but at the moment the choice is still reduced to the bone.
Technical sector too old school
– As mentioned AEW: Fight Forever he adopts a particular artistic style that does not pursue realism, but rather almost creates caricatures of the wrestlers. So far there would be nothing to complain about, the problem arises when this choice does not seem to be homogeneous. With some of the most important wrestlers such as CM Punk, Chris Jericho, Sting etc it seems the team has tried to make them look as faithful as possible, with the result of creating a mixture that is neither fish nor fowl, but is only confused with different styles clashing between them. In general, the models are poor in details and with fairly woody animations, and even the arenas certainly don’t shine in terms of visual quality. AEW: Fight Forever certainly not among the titles with the greatest visual impact in circulation, on the contrary.
Localization absent
– If English is not your forte you are warned: AEW: Fight Forever it does not have any Italian localization either in the texts or in the dubbing. Not that in the original language there was much to translate, in fact the voice acting is quite limited, and for the majority of the time in Road to Elite mode the dialogues are silent with the wrestlers moving their lips without making a sound. The few dubbed parts mainly concern Jim Ross’ comments before matches, even if the historic commentator didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic during the recordings.
Let’s sum up
The debut of All Elite Wrestling in the gaming market does not start in the best way. AEW: Fight Forever an old game that tries to play on nostalgia, but once you get over the magic of memories you find yourself with a game that is insufficient in every respect by today’s standards. The only hope that over time the lack of content will be resolved with continuous updates and expansions, but on the gameplay side the only advantage is that it is simple to learn, also because there is practically nothing to master. It is a good title to play in company without too many thoughts or if you are a huge fan of AEW but more for the fact that you have no alternatives than for the actual merits of the game.