REVIEW | AEW: Fight Forever

AEW: Fight Forever Review | I’ve really started to get into wrestling games since writing for Life is Xbox. Prior to writing here, my last wrestling game was back on the PS1. I don’t recall why exactly I stopped playing, but I am here now. After being spoiled by WWE 2K 22 and 23, I was excited to try AEW: Fight Forever, which is a separate arm of the wrestling sport which focuses more on the sport compared to WWE’s focus on entertainment. Up until now, I hadn’t even heard of AEW before but it is the second-biggest wrestling promotion in the United States, just behind WWE. So let’s see how well their game holds up.

What We Liked!

• Different Modes | AEW: Fight Forever has a multitude of different modes to choose from. At first glance, I was actually surprised by just how many were available. You will find the usual 1 v 1, tag team, Royale Rumble, Ladder matches and cage matches all front and center. You also get some additional modes such as explosive cage matches which involve car batteries being connected to metal spikes that cause explosive damage when touched. It’s a bloody mess of a match but quite the spectacle to see and play. You also get the traditional online modes as well and these can be coupled with the aforementioned modes too if you want to take the fight online against others. Finally, you also get the career mode which lets you take either your custom character or a member of the AEW and train them up through the championships.
  
  
• The Music & Audio | The music is great with many songs being featured from well-known artists. Most of the music derives from the Rock and Metal genres but it’s fitting within the theme of the game and the look of the characters. You can also customise your stage walk-on music if there is a specific song you like. There is no voice acting in the game apart from the ringside commentary but I never felt like the lack of voice acting from characters was an issue. Sound effects are good with slaps, kicks, punches, and slams all sounding authentic creating an engaging fight, time after time.
  
  
• Customisation Options | AEW: Fight Forever gives you quite a lot of customisation options, ranging from character customisations all the way through to the stadium details. Some of these details can be fine-tuned down to the rope colour and rope break guards. Rope colours can be changed individually along with the ring floor, ring outskirts, banners, and guards. Not only this but even the stadium lights can be changed colour along with what logo or video you want playing during the fight. AEW: Fight Forever uses a monetary system to allow purchases of customisations. Each fight allows you to earn money based on your ranking, which can then be used to purchase clothes for your character or stadium props. Characters can also be customised to use custom taunts and animations.
  
  

Mixed Feelings

• The Graphics | AEW: Fight Forever is a mixed bag when it comes to how it looks graphically. On one hand, there are instances where the game looks great and really showcases some of the details that AEW uses when fighting. For example, the blood detail during some of the more intense matches is realistic in the way it splatters and moves. However, when it comes to the character models they look outdated at best. The character that I chose for my career was CM Punk, and he just looks plastic. Not just him though, but many of the other characters in the lineup all lack some sort of detail. Shirtless characters especially have a weird glossy shine to them, as though their specular details are too high and their normal maps are too low. Crowds are basically mirrored so they repeat the same action on each side during the fight and the stadium (unless customised) looks basic. It’s a real shame since I was expecting some decent competition when it comes to WWE still being the king of wrestling games.
  
  
  

What We Disliked

• Repetitive | One thing for sure is AEW: Fight Forever is a repetitive beast, especially in career mode. After each fight, you have to either work out, go sightseeing, do a talk show, or eat. What’s even weirder is that each of these then has its own scene that plays out but can’t be skipped. All you can do is mash the A button until it is over. For context, none of these events add any value to the game. This is a game about wrestling. However, eating at a local diner provides you with a screen detailing all about local cuisine and what sort of ingredients it is made from. Thanks, I guess? Sightseeing takes your character out to a landmark of the state you are fighting in and puts you up against one of the lowest-resolution, google maps images I have ever seen in a game. If the graphics weren’t so bad for the character models, it would look a lot worse. But some of the images are warped and stretched and it’s very lazy in its design. Doing a talk show gives your player some additional fame, but again, it is all down to how you play, and never saw any of the benefits that these activities give you. All these seem to do is detract from the main purpose of the game. To wrestle.
  
  
• Lack of Online Players | During my 10+ hours with AEW: Fight Forever I could not get online to play a single match against a real person. This may not be the game’s fault, but it doesn’t look good having so few players online. If online play is your thing, you might have a hard time finding players. According to Steam Spy, as of the time of writing, there are currently 50 players online which is painfully low. These are just players in the game and not necessarily playing online.

How long to beat the story | 10 hours
How long to get all achievements | 20 hours
You’ll love this game if you like these | WWE 2K 22, WWE 2k 23, Undisputed

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