AEW: Fight Forever

AEW: Fight Forever may have the audacity to challenge the current king of wrestling games, but despite its fun-loving spirit, strong sense of style, and solid fundamentals, it fails to execute on a level that comes anywhere close to its potential.

All Elite Wrestling's first match in the video game ring is a solid outing that doesn't quite live up to its real-world product.

At its core, Fight Forever is a love letter to the golden generation of pro wrestling video games. It is not perfect, and on the content side, it’s slightly dated — but most of my complaints wash away every time I pick up the controller and start a new match. The nostalgia and finesse of those old glory years emanates from so many angles that it’s hard to nitpick the places that fall short. AEW: Fight Forever is at once a faithful homage, and a promising signifier of the future.

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.

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.

AEW: Fight Forever is an incredibly faithful tribute to 90's wrestling gaming, and it's clear that a lot of love has gone in to ensure the presentation, gameplay, and atmosphere all harken back to that time with unyielding accuracy. But the world has moved on, and more importantly, wrestling games have moved on, and the dogged determination to honour what came before has resulted in a title that will ultimately prove incredibly divisive. Most egregiously the game feels decidedly budget while demanding a decidedly not-budget price tag, and while the product may improve with updates and time, in its current state, it's hard to recommend Fight Forever to anyone but the most hardcore of AEW's fans.

As a self-proclaimed spiritual successor to WWF No Mercy, AEW had big wrestling boots to fill. While it doesn't quite surpass THQ's classic N64 grappler in terms of pure gameplay, it's nevertheless a highly entertaining wrestling title with a pleasantly silly story mode and some frankly ridiculous weapons-heavy match types. Performance on the Switch leaves a lot to be desired, but it's still the best wrestling game on the system for now.

I’ll give AEW Fight Forever this: When I was playing actual matches, many of my problems faded into the background. The actual wrestling is a good time and up to four players can throw down in a massive variety of ways with a huge roster or their own created characters. It’s when I came away from the squared circle and had to look at other parts of the game that its flaws were hard to ignore. Even so, I think THQ Nordic, Yuke’s, and AEW have a good start here. They’ve made a game that is at least fun to play and feels good in the ring, which is arguably the most important part. If there’s another AEW game, I’d like to see Create-a-Wrestler, crossplay, and the overall presentation of the game rise to meet the gameplay. For now, I’ll just try not to spend too much time outside the squared circle in Fight Forever.

AEW: Fight Forever will win over N64 nostalgists, but anyone looking for a modern wrestling experience may be let down by an unpolished, bare-bones package.

Like the promotion it’s based on, AEW: Fight Forever can be a bit rough around the edges, but the game is also a welcome breath of fresh air. Fun, approachable in-ring action and an endearingly-quirky career mode largely make up for scruffy visuals and some missing content. AEW: Fight Forever won’t be for everyone, but if you’re looking for an alternative, feel free to push your chips All In.