All Elite Wrestling is a wrestling organization that is still in its infancy and was founded in early 2019. Despite this, AEW has made a big impression on the industry in a relatively short period of time thanks to its exciting roster of wrestlers, which consists of young promising stars with such famous names as Chris Jericho and SM Punk. The company has already released two mobile games, an online casino game and a wrestling management simulator, but AEW Fight Forever represents its first step into the world of wrestling video games.
Recent footage at Gamescom showed off the impressive gameplay of AEW Fight Forever, which seems to lean heavily towards classic wrestling games from the N64 era, as well as some very unusual mini-games that seem to have some similarities to the old Mario Party games. Wrestling fans are now looking forward to the release date of the game, which has not yet been disclosed.
AEW Fight Forever shows promise
The announcement of the game in November 2020 caused excitement among fans when news broke about the participation of Hideyuki “Geta” Iwashita. Iwashita’s name is not exactly well-known, but wrestling fans appreciate him very highly due to his work on a series of wrestling games released for the N64 in the late 90s and early 2000s. These games included WWF No Mercy and WCW/NWO Revenge, cult classic games that are widely considered to be among the greatest wrestling games ever made.
In particular, WWF No Mercy enjoys great respect due to its reliable gameplay, which holds up well even by today’s standards, as well as a huge list of superstars. The released footage of AEW Fight Forever shows a system that is very similar to the one used in WWF No Mercy, in everything from the wrestler’s health bands to how he performs the movements. Wrestler Kenny Omega, currently active on the AEW list, is a well-known fan of digital entertainment, and he has been the face of Fight Forever for a while, confirming that the title will be published by THQ Nordic. THQ as a publisher has been involved in wrestling games for many years, so AEW Fight Forever looks in safe hands.
While the list of games won’t be the biggest at launch, AEW CEO Tony Khan has assured fans that it will be expanded within a few updates after launch. The game will have a career mode that will allow players to advance through the ranks as fully customized wrestlers. There will also be several unique match types, including the “Unauthorized Blackout” match and the “Barbed Wire Explosion” match, to name just a few.
N64 fans should be thrilled
In addition to the striking similarity with the classic N64 wrestling games, recent footage of AEW Fight Forever revealed another aspect that was a real surprise. The game will include several mini-games, ranging from dance-style rhythm games to baseball competitions. In a baseball match, the opponent’s wrestler is wearing a giant soft baseball, and the player must swing and hit the ball as far as possible to score points. These mini-games look like they would be at home in Mario Party, another beloved series that debuted on the N64. Although only a few such mini-games have been shown, there may well be more of them, and they should add a whole new dimension to the game.
With these new revelations, the upcoming wrestling title puts itself in the best position to challenge WWE’s generally unrivaled supremacy in the genre. Since WCW, WWE has not faced such a threat, and it will be interesting to see if AEW Fight Forever can deliver a knockout blow after the release.
AEW Fight Forever is currently in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
