AEW: Fight Forever
OpenCritic Rating
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
AEW: Fight Forever Trailers
AEW: Fight Forever | Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch Trailer
AEW: FIGHT FOREVER | Road To Elite Intro Trailer
AEW: FIGHT FOREVER | Ladder Match Trailer
Critic Reviews for AEW: Fight Forever
AEW: Fight Forever may have the audacity to challenge the current king of wrestling games, but despite its fun-loving spirit, strong sense of style, and solid fundamentals, it fails to execute on a level that comes anywhere close to its potential.
An encouraging debut for the big new rival to WWE, with loads of welcome throwback nods to No Mercy and Fire Pro, and a career mode you won’t be able to resist playing through multiple times.
A midcarder to the WWE 2K23 main event, AEW Fight Forever lays down some solid foundations and is fun to play, but without much depth it falls short.
If nothing else, AEW: Fight Forever has potential. I’m happy to have a more arcade-style wrestling game, especially one based on a major promotion. The gameplay has a strong foundation, and when it's firing on all cylinders, the action channels the simple fun of the ‘90s and early 2000s. The rest of the package just needs to catch up. Until it does, even the most passionate AEW fans may have a hard time sticking around for this main event.
All Elite Wrestling's first match in the video game ring is a solid outing that doesn't quite live up to its real-world product.
It's hard to be anything but disappointed by AEW: Fight Forever. The AI is game-breaking, the roster is lacking, and online play is in the doldrums. If you are purchasing AEW: Fight Forever to play local with mates then it might be worth a look, as there is a lot of arcade fun and silliness to be had here, but for everyone else, this one is best avoided.
I’ll give AEW Fight Forever this: When I was playing actual matches, many of my problems faded into the background. The actual wrestling is a good time and up to four players can throw down in a massive variety of ways with a huge roster or their own created characters. It’s when I came away from the squared circle and had to look at other parts of the game that its flaws were hard to ignore. Even so, I think THQ Nordic, Yuke’s, and AEW have a good start here. They’ve made a game that is at least fun to play and feels good in the ring, which is arguably the most important part. If there’s another AEW game, I’d like to see Create-a-Wrestler, crossplay, and the overall presentation of the game rise to meet the gameplay. For now, I’ll just try not to spend too much time outside the squared circle in Fight Forever.
Overall, AEW: Fight Forever is a fantastic pickup for fans of the company who want to experience many of its roster in video game form for the first time, but it does lack the polish of not only past and present WWE games, but other Yuke's titles as well.
