All Elite Wrestling finally has its foot in the door and is bringing its franchise to the gaming world, and you can play as your favorite male or female superstar. Osaka-based developers, YUKE’s Co, Ltd., and THQ Nordic, with help from All Elite Wrestling, have brought us this arcade-feeling wrestling title, and it contains a huge twist that brought me hours of fun.

AEW: Fight Forever is the first officially licensed video game from All Elite Wrestling and they have not disappointed. If you are chasing a realistic wrestling game, you need to stick to WWE, because AEW: Fight Forever brings back the nostalgia of classic arcade wrestling games; the ones we grew up playing and loving, and updating them for the current generation of consoles.

This title is packed with content, from normal one-versus-one matches, where you can only win from pinfall or submission, matches where the whole ring is lined with barbed wire that explodes, and games like Simon Says, which takes the seriousness out of the game and makes it that much more fun. YUKE’s Co, Ltd. and All Elite Wrestling have created something that will shake up the market and bring back those fun moments you had with your friends, regardless of whether you’re actually wrestling or playing some of the minigames.

The Exhibition screen functions as your “normal” game mode, so this is where you can select matches such as 1v1, Tag Team, or even 4-Way, which are all fun, but AEW: Fight Forever has taken it to the next level with some original game modes we have never seen before, the first being Exploding Barbed Wire DeathMatch, and yes, the name explains exactly what the match is.

You are thrown into the ring that is lined with explosive barbed wire and two tables on the corners that also explode, ironically enough. I didn’t think there was going to be blood in this title as I’m used to titles like WWE where the blood is non-existent, but this mode was full of explosions, blood, and lots of signature and finishing moves, and I found myself playing this game mode more than anything.

Something else that was fun in the Exhibition mode was the minigames, which again, took away from the serious simulation side of the wrestling genre. There are currently three minigames available, with the first being Penta Says, where you need to pretty much play a game of Simon Says against some other wrestlers, and this was surprisingly a bit of fun. The second minigame is AEW Pop Quiz, and again, you can probably guess what this game mode is about. You test your knowledge of All Elite Wrestling to earn points and beat the opponents.

The last minigame is Chip Gatherer, where you need to run around the ring with 3 other opponents and gather casino chips whilst fighting the others, all while dodging bombs being dropped into the ring. It was a bit of fun for a while, but the bombs seem to outweigh the chips a little.

The Custom menu option has three subcategories; Superstar, Team, and Arena, and you can use your creative skills to create the superstar of your dreams, your ultimate tag team, or even the most mental-looking arena you have ever seen. I tend to not spend so much time in creation modes as I don’t have the creative side. I usually end up making an absolute mess of a superstar, but I did notice there wasn’t much of a selection when it came to hairstyles and clothing when it came to superstar creation, and while the lack of choice would make the process easier, it would be nice to see some more in future updates.

The Road To Elite game mode is composed of five Pay-Per-View events, which are split up by another four events between each. The first Pay-Per-View event you are involved in is Double or Nothing, with the second being All Out, before moving onto Full Gear, Revolution, and then finally, Double or Nothing once more. You can finish the Road To Elite within a couple of hours, but as the title suggests, you go from being a nobody who’s been called by Tony Khan to compete in the Double or Nothing, to becoming the most elite wrestler in All Elite Wrestling.

There is also an Online mode, which has three sub-categories depending on your preferred match; Ranked, Casual, and Private. These categories speak for themselves, with Ranked matches offering players a more competitive experience, Casual being something along the lines of practice matches, and Private for when you just fancy beating up your friends. Unfortunately, we’ll need to revisit this game mode when the game is released. I tried several times to find an online match, but having pre-release access did make this a little more difficult.

As you finish matches, you earn in-game currency, AEW Cash, which can be used in the shop to unlock new things for the Creation game mode. The items you can purchase are broken down into sub-categories, such as Poses, which can be used in the superstar creation mode, Arena, where you can use certain props that you have purchased in the arena creation mode, and Moves, which gives you more move-set options when you’re creating a superstar.

You can also buy additional entrance animations, as well as More Items, and contrary to its name, this is where you can purchase additional wrestlers or secondary attire. I managed to snag Cody Rhodes, even though he is now back at WWE.

You can even take part in Challenges, and these are a great way to earn AEW Cash which can be used at the in-game store. You can take part in these Daily and Weekly, and challenges are made up of either normal or secret challenges, with the amount of AEW Cash being determined by the difficulty. These aren’t overly hard, and they make earning money easier than you would expect; I ended up making myself a small fortune whilst reviewing this title.

I first attempted to play using the keyboard, but I gave up almost instantly and hooked up my Xbox Controller. While the controller was infinitely easier, they did feel a little unresponsive at times, like failing to throw punches, or at other times, it would seemingly register a different button and you would randomly start taunting whilst in the middle of the match when you are trying to move around. The controls are simple and all explained by Jim Ross in the first match, so you can get used to them easily enough, but again, they could do with some adjustments.

Following the more arcade-like aspects, the graphics don’t look as realistic as people might have hoped. Character models are very nicely detailed, though they do feature the more cartoon-like appearance you’d expect in a modern arcade, with more solid colours making up the bulk of tones, as opposed to shadows and textures, and the same level of detail appears to go into the environments, creating a very uniform feeling throughout.

Keeping with the more arcade feel, the majority of sound comes in the form of the AEW Superstar’s theme music. There is a little bit of one-side voice acting during The Road to Elite, which occurs when you first start the game mode as Tony Khan calls you, and this felt very artificial, but otherwise, you’ll only hear grunts and groans as you lay the smack down. Other sound effects, such as punches and kicks, or the exploding barbed wire were serviceable, and the crowd made plenty of noise, which was probably the highlight when it came to audio. Even with the arcade feel, some in-game commentary would have brought some more immersion into the game, even if it was just the occasional sentence.

AEW: Fight Forever gives you a choice when it comes to wrestling games, bringing back the more arcade-like feel that some of us grew up with. Between the various game modes, online play, and minigames, it has enough content to keep you entertained for hours, and if that’s not enough, you can always use the custom mode to create your own. I am keen to see where this game goes with future updates and DLC.

Written by: Hayden Nelson