Are you ready to rumble? If your answer is yes, then you probably have "AEW Fight Forever" on your radar. The game pushes you into the squared circle to battle it out with some of wrestling’s biggest stars (and a few weirdly named ones). Developed by Yuke's, who must have taken a time machine back to the retro wrestling games of yore, it’s a throwback that’s just flashy enough to keep your attention before you get smacked around by your friends.
Gameplay in AEW Fight Forever is where the fun begins, assuming you enjoy chaos mixed with just the right amount of drama. Picture this: you can participate in a wide variety of match types including singles matches, tag team showdowns, and that craziness known as Casino Battle Royale. There’s also online play if you’re feeling like a digital gladiator, and intergender wrestling that’s so 2023 it feels liberating! The career mode, dubbed 'Road to Elite', lets you live the life of a wrestler, complete with a handful of choices and mini-games that could distract you from real-life responsibilities—like homework or that pile of laundry that’s just judging you from the corner of your room. Just watch out for Kenny Omega trying to drag you into a tag team match while you’re wearing pajamas!
Graphically speaking, the game seems to straddle the line between 'stylishly retro' and 'oh-dear-this-might-be-a-nostalgia-fest'. The wrestler models are cartoonishly vibrant, reminiscent of those classic wrestling games that filled your childhood, and they’re exaggerated just the right amount to keep you giggling every time someone flies off the top turnbuckle like a confused bird. That said, the environment textures might leave you wondering if the developers ran out of time before polishing everything, like someone who starts a school project at 11 PM. But hey, it’s all part of the charm, right?
In the grand scheme of wrestling games, AEW Fight Forever is like that friend who shows up at the party uninvited but has the best snacks: entertaining, nostalgic, and filled with potential, but it also brings a few glitches and gaps in gameplay that remind you it’s still a work in progress. While it may not dethrone every wrestling game on the planet (sorry WWE 2K!), it carves out a space for itself with its arcade styles and charm. Fans of AEW will appreciate the smaller touches, like the roster of wrestlers that includes some legendary favorites and the promise of more content via updates. So, if you're looking to throw bodies into the ring and relive those old arcade memories, then crank up your Xbox Series X and get ready to bodyslam your way into the squared circle. Just don’t forget to tap out every once in a while—real life does exist outside the ring!