AEW: Fight Forever Xbox Series X Review 6/10 “Great in-ring action, but certain areas need more depth” 🤼‍♂️ #AEW

AEW Fight Forever is the new wrestling offering from developer Yukes, upon its first announcement it was made clear that this game was going down a different path, it would not concern itself with the more simulation style of gameplay, instead opting for a more arcade-orientated approach. For me this was music to my ears, as  I’ve complained for years that arcade was the way to go, opting for fun over realism.

I’m happy to say that the gameplay is the game’s biggest strength; it’s fun, brutal, and packs a punch. Matches are about building momentum and damaging your opponent, you use a combination of strikes and grapples - strikes are a combination of punches and kicks, which can be chained together for maximum effect; grapples can be done in a variety of positions and take many forms, they are easy to execute and have a nice variety. There is a nice fluidity to all of the combat giving a fast pace to matches. 

The matches really come to life when weapons are involved, over the years weapons and their uses have been a bit bland in wrestling games, but Fight Forever goes all out - you can wrap chairs around necks; you can ride skateboards and then jump off them onto opponents; and thumbtacks are also in the game.

I was very impressed with the creativity and violence that you can cause, although one slight knock is that in a few matches, the tables fell over from the lightest of touches. Orange Cassidy having his own stance and being able to put his hands in his pockets was neat. Although I love the gameplay I do have a few problems, the control scheme isn’t my favourite  -it’s not bad - but I think other wrestling games have nailed it better. Also, I detest having two different counter buttons for strikes and grapples. 

A variety of match types are in the game; singles; tag; triple threats; four ways; lights out; casino battle royal etc. but the big difference from other titles is the barbed wire exploding deathmatch - where the ropes are covered in barbed wire and you have a short time before the ring explodes, it’s very violent and very tense.

Sadly this is where a running theme will start, although they have some nice match types - they have a lot missing, no iron man; no trios matches; no triple threat ladder matches - there are far too many match types missing. Not having trios matches when the company has trios champions is just silly. The roster also suffers from this problem, far too many AEW wrestlers aren’t in the game, it has a shallow roster and even with the DLC planned, it won't even be 70 wrestlers, when there are presently 201 wrestlers currently on the actual AEW roster. 

The creation suite is also far too shallow, and basic. I do understand that it has been built from the ground up, and they can’t put everything in the game at once, but wrestling games need these things, being able to create adds variety and easy ways for the fans to do a lot of the hard work, creating various wrestlers and characters to add to the game.

‘Road to the Elite’ is a mode I was super looking forward to, and though it has its issues I did really enjoy it and vastly preferred it to WWE’s showcase mode. It tries to capture the early story modes of the past and I fully approve of that. It’s short and does lack variety, but I enjoyed my time with it.

You can use a wrestler in the game, but ‘Road to the Elite’ is more for your created superstar, as it takes you from the start of your career through the four AEW PPVs, it has some interesting storylines and a heavy dose of silliness. Through the mode you can do other activities like interviews; hitting the gym; or go sightseeing. While doing this you may run into other wrestlers and get some cool interactions. As I’ve said,  it has its issues, but I enjoyed it.

SUMMARY

AEW: Fight Forever has great gameplay, but its shallow depth elsewhere really hurts it.

I think it still offers some fun but I’m hoping future entries can take this strong base entry and really expand upon it.