Theres definitely promise here to the wrestling game genre. I feel they can truly have a fantastic game next time around when they iron out the kinks and make it not 60 at launch for such little content.
The AEW experience summed up in a video game. Get injured 3 matches into your career, be forced into a feud with Chris Jericho, have a heatless banger with Moxley on Rampage. Great stuff.
I'd question the honesty of any single person who gave this an even slightly positive review. Outside of a delusional AEW fan, anyone with eyes can recognize this is a piece of shit. The gameplay is not fun or reminiscent of No Mercy in the slightest. You can beat any singles match on any difficulty by simply using basic strikes. I won a triple threat against Omega and Moxley on normal difficulty in about 65 seconds without using a signature. It's unbelievably easy and basic.
Content wise it's laughable. No Mercy came out in 2001 and laps this fucking thing in every department. The Career mode is so bad. 12 storylines of nothing. You have next to no choice in anything that happens. Even if you reject a storyline you're still forced into it. There's some basic ideas that are interesting but nothing is well executed. You can plan out your day through workouts, doing bonus matches on Dark/Rampage (they're pointless), going out to eat, or random events like sightseeing, press conferences and MINIGAAAAAAMES. There's no substance here. You'll occasionally get a text based cutscene. If you're lucky the dialogue is so bad it's worth laughing at.
Outside of the bare bones story mode there's not much more to talk about. That's the hardest part of reviewing this game. How many times can you say, "there's an idea here but its not well executed"? I'm more than willing to give leeway for budget issues but where did the money go? Create-a-Wrestler is basic, every CAW looks the same. I like that Create-an-Arena was included but I used it maybe once. There's not much there either. The match types are lacking so much. No cage match? Backstage brawl? Tables? The game has fucking tables so what's the issue?? The company that does a gimmick match every week has none in their video game. If this thing was going for arcadey-fun at least crank that up and do the goofy gimmick matches we see in AEW.
The only other free mode added was Stadium Stampede. Very hokey, looks like a mobile game. You'll enjoy it some the first time and that's it. I don't even start on the minigames that could be programmed by an 8th grader.
In short: Not good.
I'd question the honesty of any single person who gave this an even slightly positive review. Outside of a delusional AEW fan, anyone with eyes can recognize this is a piece of shit. The gameplay is not fun or reminiscent of No Mercy in the slightest. You can beat any singles match on any difficulty by simply using basic strikes. I won a triple threat against Omega and Moxley on normal difficulty in about 65 seconds without using a signature. It's unbelievably easy and basic.
Content wise it's laughable. No Mercy came out in 2001 and laps this fucking thing in every department. The Career mode is so bad. 12 storylines of nothing. You have next to no choice in anything that happens. Even if you reject a storyline you're still forced into it. There's some basic ideas that are interesting but nothing is well executed. You can plan out your day through workouts, doing bonus matches on Dark/Rampage (they're pointless), going out to eat, or random events like sightseeing, press conferences and MINIGAAAAAAMES. There's no substance here. You'll occasionally get a text based cutscene. If you're lucky the dialogue is so bad it's worth laughing at.
Outside of the bare bones story mode there's not much more to talk about. That's the hardest part of reviewing this game. How many times can you say, "there's an idea here but its not well executed"? I'm more than willing to give leeway for budget issues but where did the money go? Create-a-Wrestler is basic, every CAW looks the same. I like that Create-an-Arena was included but I used it maybe once. There's not much there either. The match types are lacking so much. No cage match? Backstage brawl? Tables? The game has fucking tables so what's the issue?? The company that does a gimmick match every week has none in their video game. If this thing was going for arcadey-fun at least crank that up and do the goofy gimmick matches we see in AEW.
The only other free mode added was Stadium Stampede. Very hokey, looks like a mobile game. You'll enjoy it some the first time and that's it. I don't even start on the minigames that could be programmed by an 8th grader.
In short: Not good.
I don't think not being 2K is enough to praise a game.
The spirit of N64 wrestling classics is alive in AEW: Fight Forever... just never fully realised. Personally I felt like there was a lack of match types to keep me coming back (no steel cage match feels like a glaring omission) and the Road To Elite story mode didn't quite satisfy.
There is a fantastic basis here to build on though, the matches are good fun and capture that N64 vibe. A decent first iteration but there is so much more that can be done here, will be watching for the next installment with interest.
There is a fantastic basis here to build on though, the matches are good fun and capture that N64 vibe. A decent first iteration but there is so much more that can be done here, will be watching for the next installment with interest.
An absolute slobber-knocker, brother
Incredibly disappointing, gassed up as the modern day No Mercy but gameplay alone isnt enough to carry this one, absolutely nothing to do outside of a very short and repetitive
"season mode" called road to elite and exhibition.
"season mode" called road to elite and exhibition.
Now, I'm a big wrestling fan. I grew up in the 90s watching every WWF broadcast on cable and every ECW tape I could get my hands on. Today, I love everything from the smallest indie promotions to brands like DDT, GCPW, New Japan, WWE, and AEW. As a child of the Attitude Era, I also had my own standard-issue copy of No Mercy for the N64.
Surely, this game should be catnip for someone like me.
This just isn't the case.
Look, I appreciate that THQ produced this game and that you have the same storytelling system as No Mercy. But, when the first thing you see is a bad Unity render of Kenny Omega—one of the company's executive vice presidents, mind you—it acts as a harbinger of what's to come from the game. Everything just feels either a bit off or a bit empty in the game.
Any mode outside of a one-on-one competition is a nightmare in terms of gameplay mechanics. 2K Games has figured out the flow of televised American professional wrestling matches thanks to its annual obligation to the WWE. Fight Forever, on the other hand, thinks a fun tag team match means the unlimited ability to burn your tag (or the ability to interrupt a pinfall attempt once as the non-legal partner). Four-way matches also become a grind in this way but also because there isn't a ring-out stamina meter for fatigued opponents.
My main focus was the gameplay and I did have some fun playing the game, but there were little notions nagging at me while playing, such as:
- The Unity Engine has rendering and loading difficulties for no real apparent reason.
- The creation suite is paltry.
- The roster has changed so much from June that the CM Punk portion of the Road to Elite has become a slice of accidental comedy.
- Not including the trademarked themes for the wrestlers when the budget for the game has already ballooned to a reported $10 million.
- Match ratings based on something that is never made apparent. A match with three A's will receive a B overall and 2 stars. What does that even mean?
I don't know. I did have fun at first until everything became apparent. Instead of thinking of this as a reflection of AEW's failures, hopefully, it can be seen in the future as an indication of its growing pains.
Surely, this game should be catnip for someone like me.
This just isn't the case.
Look, I appreciate that THQ produced this game and that you have the same storytelling system as No Mercy. But, when the first thing you see is a bad Unity render of Kenny Omega—one of the company's executive vice presidents, mind you—it acts as a harbinger of what's to come from the game. Everything just feels either a bit off or a bit empty in the game.
Any mode outside of a one-on-one competition is a nightmare in terms of gameplay mechanics. 2K Games has figured out the flow of televised American professional wrestling matches thanks to its annual obligation to the WWE. Fight Forever, on the other hand, thinks a fun tag team match means the unlimited ability to burn your tag (or the ability to interrupt a pinfall attempt once as the non-legal partner). Four-way matches also become a grind in this way but also because there isn't a ring-out stamina meter for fatigued opponents.
My main focus was the gameplay and I did have some fun playing the game, but there were little notions nagging at me while playing, such as:
- The Unity Engine has rendering and loading difficulties for no real apparent reason.
- The creation suite is paltry.
- The roster has changed so much from June that the CM Punk portion of the Road to Elite has become a slice of accidental comedy.
- Not including the trademarked themes for the wrestlers when the budget for the game has already ballooned to a reported $10 million.
- Match ratings based on something that is never made apparent. A match with three A's will receive a B overall and 2 stars. What does that even mean?
I don't know. I did have fun at first until everything became apparent. Instead of thinking of this as a reflection of AEW's failures, hopefully, it can be seen in the future as an indication of its growing pains.
As a AEW fan this game is honestly disappointing, it lacks replay value, content and overall game modes and arenas. Hopefully for their next game they improve on the roster, modes and content ON LAUNCH.
Honestly, I find this overheated for a wrestling company’s first major attempt at a wrestling simulation game. Sure, there’s issues, but most wrestling games do.
it’s fine! completely unremarkable in a way that made me entirely forget that this even came out, though i did get a kick out of jobbing everyone out to Riho and giving her like 6 titles. tony khan fuckin hire me give me the damn book since u clearly need the help from a guy like me with big and good ideas
Nice try, but this game is like the actual AEW
Storytelling; boring as hell.
Storytelling; boring as hell.
I've beaten Trent Beretta over 150 times
Solid experience
Solid experience
This release features an incredible skeleton for exciting wrestling action, high impact moves, snappy counters, and high flying antics!
Sadly the skeleton is all that the game has, aside some servicable representations of modern and past AEW wrestlers, the game itself does not offer enough to keep a player hooked in online, mostly for the fact that the developers had overlooked the possibility of COUNT OUT CHEESE AND BAIL OUT UGH THOSE TWO MECHANICS HAVE ANNIHILATED THIS GAME ONLINE
If you're playing with someone and swear to not play anyone with bail out, or beat the count out attributes (Kenny Omega, Bryan Danielson, Wardlow) then the gameplay is so much more fun and you get to express yourself far more.
There's just so little to this game even with the release of the AEW Stadium Stampede mode which doesn't address the main fact that online is an exploit ridden minefield, and the creation suite is paper thin.
Like I said at the start, the skeleton of a great game is here...but that's all we paid 40 bucks for. A skeleton.
Also it didn't have The Acclaimed at launch so it was doomed from the start to quickly hit niche obscurity.
Sadly the skeleton is all that the game has, aside some servicable representations of modern and past AEW wrestlers, the game itself does not offer enough to keep a player hooked in online, mostly for the fact that the developers had overlooked the possibility of COUNT OUT CHEESE AND BAIL OUT UGH THOSE TWO MECHANICS HAVE ANNIHILATED THIS GAME ONLINE
If you're playing with someone and swear to not play anyone with bail out, or beat the count out attributes (Kenny Omega, Bryan Danielson, Wardlow) then the gameplay is so much more fun and you get to express yourself far more.
There's just so little to this game even with the release of the AEW Stadium Stampede mode which doesn't address the main fact that online is an exploit ridden minefield, and the creation suite is paper thin.
Like I said at the start, the skeleton of a great game is here...but that's all we paid 40 bucks for. A skeleton.
Also it didn't have The Acclaimed at launch so it was doomed from the start to quickly hit niche obscurity.
Fun but lacking in content and polish. They focused WAY too hard on making this a party game with mini-games, and not enough time on making a proper, fun wrestling game. The story mode isn't very interesting though it can be fun. Just overall, could have been far, far better.
AEW came out of the gate swinging with a massive amount of support from professional wrestling fans. The company’s aim to be a competitor/an alternative to WWE has been viewed as a victory for the business. So naturally they set their sights on the lucrative world of video games. After several delays Fight Forever finally arrived in June and unfortunately the delays were foreshadowing for a disappointing experience. WWE 2K23 released stuffed with content in a mostly successful effort to cover its technical shortcomings. Fight Forever doesn’t do nearly enough to distract from its much worse limitations.
Simplified controls and a story mode that can branch off in several directions attempt to harken back to the glory days of games like WWF No Mercy or SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain. Being able to switch camera angles and activate pyro at any point during a wrestler’s entrance is pretty neat, even if the entrances themselves are puzzlingly short clips that only last a few seconds. The variety of match types with additions such as the ridiculous Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch (based on the very awful one between Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega) is surprising. On the surface it all seems like a wrestling game that’s trying to be just that: a straightforward, old-fashioned pro wrestling video game.
Yet it all has a very “one step forward, two steps back” feel to it. The aforementioned story mode, called Road to Elite, changes based on what the player does, but it’s very quickly obvious how limited and poorly written it is (some of the cutscenes are agonizingly cringy). It’s short, which in turn means the replay value is low because of how little it actually offers. The creation modes are very sparse, offering less customization than games from the 90s did. The roster is a headscratcher, lacking several AEW stars who would seem like shoo-ins but featuring the likes of Cody Rhodes who hadn’t been in AEW for over a year at the time of the game’s release. The plethora of mini games are bad across the board, not to mention a confusing thing for Yuke’s to have spent time and resources on.
Perhaps some or all of that could be excused or at least taken in stride if the gameplay wasn’t smothered by unresponsiveness. The controls are sluggish and the collision detection is poor. Hits or grapples often simply don’t connect, which makes playing the game on a harder difficulty a nightmare. Also, a thing that isn’t unique to this game (it has plagued WWE games for a little while now) but still annoyed me is the amount of rope breaks registered to the point where it seems as if you have to pin or submit an opponent in the dead center of the ring. If a body part isn’t under or touching a rope it shouldn’t count as a rope break!!!
It’s a shame to see AEW’s first swing at a major wrestling game fall short because the good ideas are frustratingly noticeable. I believe they can and will improve upon what Fight Forever attempts with future iterations. But when stacked up against their major rival in the year of Luigi 2023, AEW has lost the gaming battle to WWE. Tony Khan would probably say they aren’t competing, but this is my review dammit.
———
Note: I haven’t played the Stadium Stampede mode and probably won’t get a chance to anytime soon.
Simplified controls and a story mode that can branch off in several directions attempt to harken back to the glory days of games like WWF No Mercy or SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain. Being able to switch camera angles and activate pyro at any point during a wrestler’s entrance is pretty neat, even if the entrances themselves are puzzlingly short clips that only last a few seconds. The variety of match types with additions such as the ridiculous Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch (based on the very awful one between Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega) is surprising. On the surface it all seems like a wrestling game that’s trying to be just that: a straightforward, old-fashioned pro wrestling video game.
Yet it all has a very “one step forward, two steps back” feel to it. The aforementioned story mode, called Road to Elite, changes based on what the player does, but it’s very quickly obvious how limited and poorly written it is (some of the cutscenes are agonizingly cringy). It’s short, which in turn means the replay value is low because of how little it actually offers. The creation modes are very sparse, offering less customization than games from the 90s did. The roster is a headscratcher, lacking several AEW stars who would seem like shoo-ins but featuring the likes of Cody Rhodes who hadn’t been in AEW for over a year at the time of the game’s release. The plethora of mini games are bad across the board, not to mention a confusing thing for Yuke’s to have spent time and resources on.
Perhaps some or all of that could be excused or at least taken in stride if the gameplay wasn’t smothered by unresponsiveness. The controls are sluggish and the collision detection is poor. Hits or grapples often simply don’t connect, which makes playing the game on a harder difficulty a nightmare. Also, a thing that isn’t unique to this game (it has plagued WWE games for a little while now) but still annoyed me is the amount of rope breaks registered to the point where it seems as if you have to pin or submit an opponent in the dead center of the ring. If a body part isn’t under or touching a rope it shouldn’t count as a rope break!!!
It’s a shame to see AEW’s first swing at a major wrestling game fall short because the good ideas are frustratingly noticeable. I believe they can and will improve upon what Fight Forever attempts with future iterations. But when stacked up against their major rival in the year of Luigi 2023, AEW has lost the gaming battle to WWE. Tony Khan would probably say they aren’t competing, but this is my review dammit.
———
Note: I haven’t played the Stadium Stampede mode and probably won’t get a chance to anytime soon.
know next to nothing about aew, the game is ok i guess.
it's like they don't actually know what people want to do in a wrestling game (mode-wise) but they aced the gameplay
Honestly, what a let down. Thought we would be getting a return to form in pro wrestling games, but this just wasn't it for me. A rushed product with ridiculous DLC prices and a base game full price. 4/10
Goofy as hell like any good wrestling game should be.
I'd say this game certainly had the potential to be a pretty good wrestling game but it faltered on a lot of things plus it's lack of updates (and it's over reliance on DLC that honestly isn't worth the price.)
Extremely shallow. It tries to recreate the feeling of playing N64 wrestling games with your friends but somehow it feels like it has a fraction of the depth. They wasted their time making a bunch of minigames that are god awful instead of focusing on things relevant to the actual game. I would trade every single minigame for one additional match type. I get that you're trying to get that N64 feeling in there, but when I wanted to play minigames I would take No Mercy out of the N64 and put Pokemon Stadium in.
The single player mode, road to the elite, is repetitive and dull. The writing in it is probably at a lower bar than widely mocked games like Forsaken. Also, the DLC is hilariously priced. Can I just buy Toni Storm for like 2 bucks without getting a shittyl minigame too? I was so eager for this game because the WWE 2K games desperately need competition. They have been stagnant and dull for a long time. I was wary when they announced Yukes, a big part of that stagnation, was involved in this...and I was right to feel that way.
Stick to N64 wrestling games. The marathon of single matches in WCW/nWo revenge you get in that single player mode is infinitely preferable to anything here
The single player mode, road to the elite, is repetitive and dull. The writing in it is probably at a lower bar than widely mocked games like Forsaken. Also, the DLC is hilariously priced. Can I just buy Toni Storm for like 2 bucks without getting a shittyl minigame too? I was so eager for this game because the WWE 2K games desperately need competition. They have been stagnant and dull for a long time. I was wary when they announced Yukes, a big part of that stagnation, was involved in this...and I was right to feel that way.
Stick to N64 wrestling games. The marathon of single matches in WCW/nWo revenge you get in that single player mode is infinitely preferable to anything here
I really wanted to like this game, and although it can be fun to mess around in once you get a hold of the controls, it's not very good. The create-a-wrestler mode in this game is AWFUL. It is just absolutely terrible! We've been spoiled so much by the in-depth creation suites in the WWE 2K games that in comparison Fight Forever's looks like an absolute joke. The career mode is beyond repetitive and I was bored within the first 20 minutes. Beyond that, the DLC's are ridiculously overpriced.
I hope this game can be a learning experience for the team because there is a foundation of something good here, but this just isn't what I'd hoped for.
I hope this game can be a learning experience for the team because there is a foundation of something good here, but this just isn't what I'd hoped for.
A really fun gameplay and that's it , this game lack of cotent is crazy there is nothing to do
Really fun to play! Really shitty to look at.
What’s there is fun! There’s not much there.
They’re adding more stuff as they go! Behind paywalls that feel a bit too expensive.
Your favourite wrestlers are here! Except the ones that aren’t, and the ones that are are in looks or personas considerably out of date.
It has minigames! Shit ones.
I dunno, it’s a game of two halves, but the negatives outweigh the positives, and you kind of wish they’d call time on it and work on an iterative sequel rather than pouring resources into a game whose rep has driven people away.
Also why does everyone do the freakish bulging eyes celebration when they get a belt? You’ve got all these personalities but no personality, you dig? A shame,
What’s there is fun! There’s not much there.
They’re adding more stuff as they go! Behind paywalls that feel a bit too expensive.
Your favourite wrestlers are here! Except the ones that aren’t, and the ones that are are in looks or personas considerably out of date.
It has minigames! Shit ones.
I dunno, it’s a game of two halves, but the negatives outweigh the positives, and you kind of wish they’d call time on it and work on an iterative sequel rather than pouring resources into a game whose rep has driven people away.
Also why does everyone do the freakish bulging eyes celebration when they get a belt? You’ve got all these personalities but no personality, you dig? A shame,
it's okay
the commentary that jim ross gives at the end of matches is the funniest shit ever
An excellent wrestling game. Was advertised as a return to No Mercy style gameplay. They even got Geta to direct. However it goes beyond that but also sometimes doesn't quite reach it. It feels like a natural evolution and simplification of that system. I really like how this game feels. But I think my favorite thing about this game is how it's breaking peoples minds. A major wrestling company releases a game that doesn't have the production values of the WWE games and nobody knows what to do. I respect it. Does need more match types and I'm hoping for a tournament mode of some kind as
well. CAW is really limited but I don't really care. I really need to play Def Jam FFNY again though. That was one of the last games Geta directed and is probably the best Aki engine game. Would love to be able to compare the two.
well. CAW is really limited but I don't really care. I really need to play Def Jam FFNY again though. That was one of the last games Geta directed and is probably the best Aki engine game. Would love to be able to compare the two.
The lack of content and polish really hurts this game. The gameplay is really fun, but man the game feels empty. I appreciate the effort and definitely see how Fight Forever 2 or 3 will be awesome. This first outing isn't good, however.
It's Fine...
A serious lack of content. CAWs have no gear to make unique wrestlers unless you like Captain Pick a country. Sure its getting Stadium Stampede, but not the match type. Instead Stadium Stampede is a battle royal. Feels like there are too many dumb mini games when I just want a wrestling game in my wrestling game.