AEW: Fight Forever Review (PC)

Kenny Omega is down, probably evaluating the damage his body has taken so far in this Casino Battle Royale. He takes up enough space in the ring that two other wrestlers, both ignoring our fallen hero, cannot actually reach and hit each other. As their efforts continue, the pack of cards disgorges another competitor as Bryan Danielson runs up and enters the fight, accompanied by massive cheers from the crowd.

Omega is now up, hitting people as he moves around, trying not to become a target for more than one opponent. I barely escape a grapple attempt from Brian Cage and then land a few solid punches on him. The Canadian wrestler adds more once his competitor is down, trying to get him as close to the ropes as possible for an elimination.

The meter for a Signature move is also filled. Cage’s defensive work is weak, and a few seconds later, he is on the receiving end of a V-Trigger. He does get up, and Omega has his hands full with Danielson for a while. A few heads are knocked together, and all four people in the ring miss grapples, but in the end, Omega becomes the target of all their attacks. He’s out and injured, which means it will take time and energy to become a contender again.

AEW: Fight Forever is developed by Yuke's and published by THQ Nordic and All Elite Wrestling. I played the PC version using Steam. The game is also offered on the Nintendo Switch, the PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series X and S, and older platforms from Microsoft and Sony. The title has classic arcade wrestling mechanics and uses the roster of All Elite Wrestling.

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The game’s story mode is called Road to AEW. Players can choose any athlete in the game and experience one year in the promotion, featuring all the major events as well as plenty of training and management. The experience isn’t very deep, but it incorporates the entire cast of characters that fans will be familiar with from television, with plenty of interactions with other wrestlers and staff members.

The game offers an extensive create-a-wrestler system for those who want to make their ideal athlete and sew how he or she does in the AEW. For anyone who wants to jump straight into the action, the options include single matches, tag team, three-way battles, four-way action, the before-mentioned Casino Battle Royale, Exploding Barbed Wire Death, mini-games, and Ladder. Each of them has its set of options and can be played in a variety of arenas.

Once players find their favorite type of match, they will choose their wrestler and then jump into the action. Enjoy and slightly tweak their impressive entrances and then get familiar with their unique moves and move to dominate all those who step in the ring, unless it is a tag team match and players work with their partner.

Fight Forever makes it easy to control a wrestler, offering a quick tutorial when the player first has to do something. Players choose when their character launches a punch or a kick and when it’s time to go on the defensive and block. Grappling leads to chained moves that often seem lifted right out of a TV show. Build up meter to deliver Signature strikes (a move list is always available on pause), which look and feel thrilling.

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The arcade approach is a good fit, making it easy for players to execute some impressive moves. The more people in the ring, the higher the level of fun. Still, there are moments when grapples or hits don’t connect because other wrestlers are already part of a move or when the game teleports someone a short distance to set up a finisher.

After each match, the game will reward the player with cash, which can be used in the store to get more options to customize an original character and other goodies. They don’t feel necessary to enjoy the game but might be more attractive to AEW fans. Presumably, the developers will add to the store after launch. The game also offers cooperative multiplayer matches, which can create excessive levels of chaotic fun.

The game allows any wrestling fan to create match-ups that never happened in the real world and live out their fantasies, which is one of the main reasons why video games exist. But it’s a little weird that the game doesn’t account for the fact that, for all the incredible athletic feats performed, the results of matches are predetermined, designed to serve an ongoing narrative.

AEW: Fight Forever fully draws on its license to create a spectacular presentation and mostly succeeds. There’s a lot of footage from real events showcasing wrestler entrances, their best moves, and the crowd’s reaction. Then the game recreates them in-engine. Entrances are pretty cool, but they also reveal some issues with the athlete models, especially their ability to emote. Things are better in the ring, where the camera stays farther away. But there are still problems with hits and grapples that don’t connect and animations that trigger in weird ways, mainly when it comes to group fights.

The chanting of the crowd is great, enhancing the tension of each fight without distracting players from the action. The commentary is limited. The actual fight sounds, like a punch landing, seem somehow artificial. Thankfully, gamers can turn them down and push up the soundtrack, which is varied and features songs perfectly matched to the spectacle of the AEW.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion