Review: ‘AEW Fight Forever’ can wrestle with the best of them, but struggles to fully find its footing

I’ll open with this to set the stage for sentiments to come: I ended up having a decidedly complicated relationship with AEW Fight Forever. As someone who loves wrestling but doesn’t exactly feel good about supporting certain promotions, AEW was exactly the shift in the grappling world that I needed. Not that there isn’t a plethora of options for wrestling fans, but AEW had a certain “theatrical” element I personally enjoy. We could sit here and debate “fake” vs. “scripted,” and we could talk about whether modern-day wrestling is a “real sport,” but when it was announced we were getting graced with an official game? It’s safe to say that all wrasslin’ heads turned toward what promised to be a throwback to the days of WWF No Mercy and WWE Smackdown! Here Comes the Pain.

I suppose the best place to begin is where I was inarguably conflicted the most with the game’s career mode, “Road to Elite.” (And before we go any further, yes, I do indeed believe that any wrestler you want to create has to go through this grueling nonsense to be remotely viable in other modes.) It starts with your created character (or one of the many AEW talents featured, if you so choose) being contacted by Tony Khan, who invites you to participate in AEW’s upcoming Double or Nothing Pay-Per-View, where you’ll be placed in the Casino Battle Royale to determine the challenger for the promotion’s world heavyweight championship.

From there, regardless of whether you win said match or not, you’ll go on to complete a number of storylines, ranging from original stories to ones that may be a little more familiar — calling back to some of AEW’s formative rivalries. My issue with this format is that these “arcs” are sparse on proper buildup or “narrative oomph,” so to speak. Sure, you might touch upon the major beats of some of AEW’s most notable feuds and moments, but the fact there’s no voice acting — and while not necessary, it didn’t help dispel the feeling that Road to Elite is more a tutorial for the rest of the game than its own interesting, layered spectacle — combined with a lack of real purpose between shows ensures that the whole mode falls short of its potential by a significant margin.

There’s a lot of “self-management” to contend with between shows. Every week, before AEW’s main show, Dynamite, players will have to manage their stamina, money, and motivation. You have four “turns” to go out to eat (replenishing stamina), work out (boosting skill points to better your character), or go sightseeing or do other fun activities (increasing your motivation — among other benefits). Among these excursions, you may run into fellow wrestlers, taking pictures together and engaging in other wacky hijinks or conversations. I enjoyed this part of Road to Elite (and it’s always a joy to go from state to state, eating region-specific cuisine and learning more about barbecue in Nashville than I ever expected), but I couldn’t help but feel like these moments could’ve also served to bolster the main storylines more where they’re tragically lacking.

All that said, it’s immensely satisfying when you take a new character through Road to Elite from their absolutely abysmal starter stats. I put in a noble effort with that opening Casino Battle Royale, but I got eliminated in short order after getting superkicked in the back of the head and just lying on the mat afterward until I was hoisted up and unceremoniously eliminated. Truthfully, poor Quince Mince (the new face of the company, of course) lost his first five matches before finally — barely — beating Sammy Guevara on a random episode of AEW Dark that I’m sure everyone saw. It was… refreshing, actually!

I’m certainly no wrestling game god, but I’m typically decent — more often than not, I best the AI on the Legend difficulty in the WWE games (which recent entries have doubled down on, but I digress). But Road to Elite humbled me! I got wrecked by the AI in the beginning, and it certainly wasn’t due to a lack of effort on my part, either. It took a while to get fully accustomed to Fight Forever’s unique control layout — and even now, there are still some nuances I’ve yet to master consistently — but there’s something special about the organic journey of a rookie who has no business going toe-to-toe with most of the roster.

With Road to Elite being a mixed bag, I found myself tinkering with the creation modes. Again, I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of some of the customization systems! For a first game in what I hope is a long-running franchise, there’s quite a well of options at a player’s disposal. While the entrances are shortened a la WWF No Mercy, you can have your character raise their fists, for example, and then individually control what hand gestures follow if you want to personalize any custom-made wrestler. You can also shift the camera angles and set off pyrotechnics whenever you see fit, offering further opportunities to stand out as you meet the triumphant roar (or loud disapproval) of the crowd.

Of course, you can create and disband stables, as well as construct your own custom arenas (which I only peeked at, but from what I could see, seemed to follow the game’s trend of a shocking number of customization options to play with). But there’s a small detail that may put some off where I thought it was brilliant, and that’s the fact that you have to purchase some poses, moves, attires, and even characters with the in-game currency — earned through both challenges and the Road to Elite mode. It felt like a perfect emulation of that old-school wrestling game format without being annoying, giving players something to always chase.

Now, we get into the actual gameplay. It’s such a shame that some of the game’s main features aren’t quite up to snuff, because the moment-to-moment wrestling is utterly sublime. There are some collision issues, yes — especially with some weapons — and you could argue as to the logic of some AEW stars not making the cut for the roster, but it’s been a long time since I’ve felt such sheer, childlike bliss playing a video game. It genuinely felt like I was 10 years old again, frantically mashing buttons to kick out of a sudden pin and having insane reversal sequences that looked scarily accurate to wrestling’s best matches. Being able to have more than two signatures and finishers per person also adds an element of surprise to a match where Bryan Danielson has 10 different ways he could ruin your day and you’re fighting not to tap when he locks you in one of his trademark submissions.

You can smack your opponents with skateboards, chokeslam them onto thumbtacks, and even blow them up in a special match type. Yes, folks, the infamous Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match is here, and it’s awesome. There’s nothing like two grappling warriors beating the everlasting hell out of each other before that timer ticks down to zero. If that happens, boom, both participants will be down for the count, turning the match into a desperate race to make it to your feet first and hopefully deliver the finishing blow.

Here’s an exclusive, behind-the-scenes game-reviewing “struggle” for you: for a while, I had no earthly idea what I would ultimately rate AEW Fight Forever. I’ve reviewed quite a few video games, and this has easily been the most difficult one to slap a definitive rating on. On one hand, I was painfully underwhelmed by the Road to Elite mode, a feature I was anticipating the most in a game that harbors something of a scarcity already in the features department (the less said about the minigames and the quality gulf therein, the better). But I’m also aware that sometimes, the wrestling part of these games is what matters the most to some people.

For me, it’s the whole rather than the sum of its parts. For that, and the fact that this game is $60 ($70 if you want the Deluxe edition), I had to consolidate the nirvana of the actual gameplay with the threadbare offerings encircling that bright spot. If you want pure dopamine in the form of quality, exciting wrestling, this is the one for you. If you want an engaging career mode that you’ll want to play over and over just to see the possibilities? Maybe wait for the next game — which I’m already prepared to be helpless against as it pins me to win the Undisputed Greatest Wrestling Game Championship (obligatory wrestling metaphor for the marks out there).

This review is based on the PlayStation 5 version of the game. A copy was provided for review by THQ Nordic.