THQ has been known for making video games since the early 2000s. Games such as WWE Here Comes the Pain, Nicktoons Unite, and many others owe their success to this company. And thus cementing themselves a place in gaming history. More recently, THQ Nordic has released a new game entitled, AEW Fight Forever, and many fans, including myself, have become awed by what it has presented.
AEW Fight Forever is a game based on one of the newest wrestling companies in America called All Elite Wrestling. It is a company where famous indie wrestlers come together to prove to everyone that they have what it takes to make it in the big leagues. The game features many famous wrestlers such as Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, CM Punk, Doctor Britt Baker, Hikaru Shida, Chris Jericho, MJF, and many more. With this vast roster of wrestlers, players will be able to take control of their favorite wrestlers and face them off in a series of popular matches seen on TV.
The gameplay is somewhat similar to what THQ used for WWE SMACKDOWN vs RAW and although their mechanics are almost similar, it gives somewhat a nostalgic feeling where wrestlers can freely perform moves anywhere inside or outside of the ring. The only setback I could find out of this game is that the wrestling’s move animations felt a little off, especially the top rope moves. I think the game could have done better if the developers could focus more on improving their motion capture technology.
The type of matches that players can partake in are really worth trying out and most of them are visually appealing. However, in matches such as Casino Battle Royal, the 2-on-2 matches, or any large number of participants, things tend to get hectic or confusing as the targeting system doesn’t know which wrestler to focus on. This is an issue that THQ Nordic needs to address during the development of a sequel to this game.
For modes such as Career mode, creating your own wrestler is kinda a bit of a letdown as the number of customizations and available moves to add on a wrestler are limited, while the rest of the options can be purchased after completing challenges. Plus, the gear and looks of the customized wrestlers are limited, making it harder to actually conceptualize what players want them to look like. An example of it is facial construction, hair designs, mask designs and more are some of the features that are limited and makes it harder for players such as myself to feel committed to the game.
Another thing I noticed about the character creation feature is that players are unable to share their creations and that kind of worries me for the game’s staying power over time.
The Road to Elite is a feature that is both nostalgic and disappointing at the same time. Players can try out this mode but sadly it only focuses on the storylines of male superstars such as Kenny Omega vs Hangman Adam Page, Young Bucks Vs The Lucha Brothers, and The Elite vs The Dark Order. Sadly, players won’t be able to see storylines that involve female wrestlers like Jade Cargill, Hikaru Shida, and Doctor Britt Baker. I feel that the developers are missing out by leaving out female competitors as they are currently on the rise in today’s wrestling industry.
To sum it up, AEW Fight Forever is a good game that has tons of potential. If I were to recommend it to those who are new to wrestling games, I could but for those who are veterans of these types of games, I wouldn’t recommend it. It lacks the appeal it needs to stay active for at least half a year and it would have appealed to a much larger audience if it took some cues from contemporaries like WWE 2K23. At the very least, it should try to find ways to stay up-to-date with current happenings within AEW. That can go along with fans of both the brand and wrestling games in general.
