AEW: Fight Forever

At the core of AEW Fight Forever is the No Mercy Successor wrestling fans have been waiting for. The question is whether you want that. I know I do.

It's clear that a lot of love has been put into making AEW: Fight Forever fun and feel good to play. It's just a shame it falls short in certain areas related to story, features and creation. Despite this, there's a lot for AEW fans to like here and we definitely recommend it, because much like All Elite Wrestling is an alternative to WWE, it's nice to have an alternative in the wrestling game space too.

AEW Fight Forever's excellent wrestling and robust customization options are unfortunately hampered by a distinct lack of meaningful modes or features to give the game a long lifespan.

An encouraging debut for the big new rival to WWE, with loads of welcome throwback nods to No Mercy and Fire Pro, and a career mode you won’t be able to resist playing through multiple times.

There’s room for improvement, and it’ll be interesting to see how that takes shape, given that they’ve said the plan is not for annual sports game style releases, but instead iterative development over many years. Maybe adding in a cage match, smoothing out some of the games’ slightly rougher animations, even if they are hand-drawn, and adding commentary would be good for a start. Yes, I know, I’m asking for them to add in even more DLC, but it seems like that’s what they actively want to do here, and it might just be the right approach for the challenger brand.

It would be a mistake to judge AEW Fight Forever purely on its looks. Sure, this game is basic in a lot of ways, but it’s all about taking it back to the basics and ultimately having fun, and isn't that what playing video games is all about? AEW Fight Forever probably won’t be winning any end-of-year awards, but whether you’re a pro wrestling fan or an arcade brawler, AEW Fight Forever will be one of the most fun video games that you’ll play this year.

Despite its lack of content and underwhelming career mode and creation suite, AEW: Fight Forever is a fun arcade wrestling title that harkens back to the golden age of the genre.

Matches in AEW: Fight Forever are a ton of fun to play, with a career mode that takes inspiration from Yakuza in the best kind of way.

At its heart, AEW: Fight Forever feels like a celebration of the AEW brand and a culmination of the promotion’s achievements. While it may be hindered by its graphics and sparse career mode, AEW: Fight Forever shines when it is paying homage to the history of the company. It may not be the game changer like the wrestling promotion it is based on, but it is certainly fun and feels like the classic wrestling games from a bygone era.

AEW Fight Forever title is a solid debut for the rapidly rising wrestling company, offering a healthy mix of gaming nostalgia and outright chaos. But whilst their debut title is a fun pickup for wrestling fans, unless Yuke’s keep on top of their updates, there are doubts as to whether this title will stand the test of time.

Hampered by a limited selection of wrestlers, customisation options and a career mode that falls on the short side, it is another one of those games that could be great if given more time and development.

AEW Fight Forever is a really chaotic blast. Exciting gameplay and ease of play guarantees continued replayability, especially with any of my friends who aren’t familiar with the more complicated 2K series. Would I like more out of the series going forward? Of course. But on top of my gripes in the review the roster is kinda limited, but DLC could help that. That being said, for the very first entry into the market Fight Forever does a surprisingly good job. Patching and building off the foundation established here will be key in how this game is received by the fans, old and new. I’m along for the ride. If you’re an AEW fan, I think you’ll enjoy this release. It does enough to stand out from the WWE series of games and gives a great alternative that AEW the actual wrestling product was supposed to be (but hasn’t really delivered in my opinion… had to leave one last dig in there after being so complementary).

A decent first outing for All Elite Wrestling, but lacks the game modes and customization options to really hang with the heavyweights.

No Mercy this is not. It's got good intentions and the right idea, but the game is not there just yet. I understand this is their first game, but there is just not enough meat on the bone to justify paying full price for this. The story mode is short, repetitive, and nothing you do matters. Matches are way too short, the creation modes are ridiculously limited, and we don't even have basic match options like turning on and off DQs or elimination rules in multiman matches to keep exhibition mode interesting. Maybe after a year or so of updates, this will feel more like a complete package, but I would recommend waiting for a sale or some major updates before picking this one up.

AEW: Fight Forever is a good callback to some of the more arcade-styled wrestling games of the past, but it lacks much of the gameplay and content improvements added over the years by the same developers to their previous games.

If nothing else, AEW: Fight Forever has potential. I’m happy to have a more arcade-style wrestling game, especially one based on a major promotion. The gameplay has a strong foundation, and when it's firing on all cylinders, the action channels the simple fun of the ‘90s and early 2000s. The rest of the package just needs to catch up. Until it does, even the most passionate AEW fans may have a hard time sticking around for this main event.

For what it is, AEW: Fight Forever is a simple, fun brawler. If you like simplicity and prefer your wrestling without the bells and whistles, pick this up. What lets it down is the lack of presentation and features. WWE does not own the monopoly on these things, and it’s a shame that after such a long wait, a lot is missing. The dedication to additions is commendable and bodes well for the future. Until then, this reviewer isn’t quite "All Out", but is definitely holding onto the turnbuckle.

Its gameplay it's largely recognizable, we are talking about the studio that created the classic Smackdown vs Raw. It could be some worthy, but it's lack of content makes it difficult to recommend.

Inspired by classics but with very modern limitations, AEW Fight Forever is a fun game, but a series of small problems end up limiting at all times how much a wrestling fan can enjoy it. While far from exceptional, the foundation is here for a true elite gaming in the future.

“Unrealized potential” feels like the story of AEW: Fight Forever as a whole. So much of it feels like a very good start, going full gear with bouncy animations, the quick pace of the action, and fun and effective character design. But almost all of its good ideas are hampered by bugs and opaque or outright useless systems. Its big single-player mode is poorly written and, though it's a relative breeze to complete and full of branching options, it’s all out of good ways to point you to them. There’s a strong foundation to bet double or nothing on in a sequel down the road, and I think there's still fun to be had here with like-minded friends who are content with casually beating each other up, but this is no wrestling game revolution.

This is not the WWE 2K rival many assumed it would be. Instead, like its real-life counterpart, AEW: Fight Forever aims for something different. At times, it feels wild and cheesy, and strange art choices make it an uncanny experience. But equally, it embraces this cheese, elevating its action and storytelling with a welcome silliness. Confidence is key – and AEW: Fight Forever just about gets away with being the quirky, odd duck in the world of serious wrestling games.

AEW Fight Forever’s gameplay, modes, and campaign are quite a fun time, if not occasionally cheesy. Unfortunately, rough graphics, strangely limited features beyond the wrestling, and some very phoned-in commentary are just a few of the things that distract from what might otherwise be a solid competitor to WWE and its 2K series.

Other than playing as some of my favourite wrestlers, I struggled to find many redeeming qualities with AEW Fight Forever. The game is lacking in modes, match types, wrestlers, and creation suite options. Combined with a generic and alarmingly short career mode, AEW Fight Forever is far from elite.

AEW Fight Forever turns out to be a huge letdown. The overall experience suffers from the lack of gameplay-polish and the amount of bugs and glitches. While the game delivers some high recognition-value, it fails to live up to the promise of delivering a nostalgic arcade-wrestling-game.

With the last couple of entries in the WWE 2K series being particularly strong, AEW: Fight Forever always had its work cut out to impress. What’s been delivered, however, falls below even our tempered expectations, with sloppy gameplay, dull visuals, and a serious lack of modes. Chances are you’ll get a little fun out of it if you’re an ardent AEW fan, but there are better wrestling games available whether you want to the action to be a more accessible or not.

AEW: Fight Forever’s good ideas can’t save it from a paltry amount of content and somewhat inferior gameplay compared to its competition.