A new face in the wrestling genre,AEW Fight Forevermarks the debut of theAll Elite Wrestlingpromotion into the world of video games. A growing competitor to the monolithicWWE, both iconic wrestlers of past decades and rising stars alike have begun to callAEWhome since its inception in 2019.WWEand its associated brands have had complete dominance over the world of wrestling games for over two decades, butAEW Fight Foreverby developer Yuke’s has brought a completely new IP to the table. Although a great showing as an alternative to theWWE 2Kexperience in many ways,AEW Fight Foreverdoes ultimately lack in terms of one the genre’s signature features.
It may not be the size ofWWE 2K23’s built up roster, butAEW Fight Forevermore than makes up for the lower quantity of its personnel with their quality. Between classic wrestling icons like Chris Jericho, Sting, and even Jeff Hardy, the roster ofAEW’s game is stacked with several of its historical legends that increase the validity of the younger brand. While it may not have the realistic graphical focus of the modernWWE 2Ktitles,Fight Foreverembraces its lower fidelity style to the extent that it harkens back to what many fans consider the glory days of wrestling games.
RELATED:AEW Fight Forever How Chain Wrestling Works
Competition for the WWE 2K Games is Healthy for Wrestling
With the 2K series of annual releases going back nearly a decade and ties to the originalSmackDownseriesstarting in 2000, theWWEbrand has been ubiquitous with the wrestling genre of games. Largely defining the gameplay style differentiated from that of a traditional fighting game, theWWEgames have mutated and experimented over the years until settling into the realism-centric formula of the past few entries. The promotion’s digital history dates all the way back to its previous incarnations, and theWWFseries of games had an entirely separate legacy.
Released in 2000,WWF No Mercywas a Nintendo 64 release from THQ that received critical praise. Widely considered one of the best wrestling games of all time to this day,No Mercyis fondly remembered due to its rich, balanced mechanics. Despite its age,No Mercyis still compared to the modernWWEreleases and has proven to be highly influential over the years.AEW Fight Foreverseems to have taken direct inspiration from the more solid combat mechanics feature in theWWFclassic, but it also ultimately comes up short when it comes to one feature evenNo Mercyis still recognized for.
AEW Fight Forever’s Create-a-Wrestler Mode Doesn’t Compare to WWE’s
While similar modes in the past fewWWEreleases have proven to be primary selling points, the Create-a-Wrestler mode ofAEW Fight Foreverhas a far less robust character suite by comparison. For example, only eight options for male faces are available for a custom wrestler as opposed toWWE’s inclusion of detailed editing sliders for years. The sparser selections of hairstyles and even clothing reinforce the fact thatFight Foreverhas far more limited options. Although it may lack in terms of these aspects of customization,Fight Foreverfocuses on custom move-setsin a showing of the game’s emphasis on gameplay over visual presentation.
A strong showing for the newer wrestling promotion’s expanding brand,AEW Fight Foreveralso leaves out some of what WWE fans appreciate the most. Despite its rougher graphics and lack of depth regarding customization, the fast pace of the actual wrestling combat shines through and makes up for what is missing. Its status as an equal to itsWWEcompetitor may be dubious in terms of overall content, but further games can only be expected to reach new heights ifAEW Fight Foreverstarts a franchise.
AEW Fight Foreveris currently available for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
