REVIEW: AEW Fight Forever – The Buffet is Open
By: Aniello De Angelis
There have been two moments where it has felt as though I’ve touched upon the meaning of life. First, in 2000, when I initially experienced the AKI engine in WWF No Mercy, and again in 2004, when I finally defeated Fat Joe in Def Jam: Fight for NY. The unbelievable combat fluidity, storytelling, and hyperviolence that these games showcased remain unrivaled to this day. Coincidentally enough, these events share the visionary direction of legendary video game developer, Hideyuki “Geta” Iwashita – the genius behind the AKI engine games and the decision to make Sean Paul a capoeira fighter. Fast forward eighteen years, and the once king of the genre is back to claim the throne with a new potential franchise in AEW: Fight Forever.
Now, let’s get the ugly out of the way first. Fight Forever is as paper-thin of a launch game as the TNT title is a championship. There’s enough content to satisfy basic needs, but when it comes to meaningful match and character customization the options are sorely lacking. The career mode, Road to the Elite, features numerous storylines but without any connective tissue. Meaning that, in chapter one, you can win the AEW World Title only to then challenge for it down the line having never defended or lost it. The lack of a throughline prevents long-term investment, but in retrospect, I’m not sure if that’s what this game is meant for.
For instance, the game’s match evaluation system is wholly antithetical to AEW’s real-world approach to wrestling. Short squash matches are rewarded with A+ grades whereas longer-form main events are punished with lower ratings. Obviously, the point of comparison many are making is the WWE 2K series which features a far more simulation-based gameplay style (which is, in my opinion, better executed in Fire Pro Wrestling). Ultimately, it’s a bizarro digital world where companies have swapped their in-ring approaches forcing us to rewire the ways we approach our favorites. However, by playing more into Geta’s (re)vision of AEW rather than my personal understanding of it began to unlock the true fun behind the game – whooping ass with the unbridled excitement of a sicko middle schooler in 2004.
While Fight Forever is admittedly lacking in areas and has hiccups with player placement and move disruption, the engine Yuke’s has developed from the ground up produces the exact feeling that No Mercy and Def Jam players have been yearning for since the golden days. Thus, the 2K comparisons feel moot, and, if anything, a cheap shot at Yuke’s who first laid the foundation for the WWE video game series. Fight Forever isn’t going to satisfy the 2K itch, but it also isn’t trying to because it’s far more in line with games such as WWE All Stars and NBA Jam. Overall, the game feels like a hybrid of Mortal Kombat and SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain. Road to the Elite is an often hilarious and rewarding sprint through both fictional and historical AEW storylines that blends the bizarre spirit of HCTP’s backstage unpredictability and week-to-week customization with MK’s arcade rush playstyle.
Much like how AEW itself proudly celebrates its influences, so does AEW: Fight Forever. It’s a love letter buffet to celebrated classics – Mario Party, Mortal Kombat, Here Comes the Pain, Def Jam – that may not perfectly pair together quite just yet, but from the Young Bucks being the AEW equivalent of the Super Mario Toad’s to the ultimate exploding barbed wire deathmatch redemption game mode, AEW: Fight Forever successfully tugs at nostalgic heartstrings while slowly setting the stage for another golden age of pro wrestling games.