What parents need to know
AEW Fight Forever is the first wrestling game (wrestling for Europeans) for All Elite Wrestling, this wrestling promotion founded in 2019 that positions itself as an alternative to Vince McMahon’s WWE.
On the menu, we find a selection of nine types of matches that can be played solo or multiplayer, a story mode where we play as a pugilist of our choice for a year of his career at AEW, as well as a handful of mini-games at Mario Party.
It is also possible to play online against other players around the world or use the creation suite to create wrestlers, teams and arenas.
Unlike WWE games, AEW Fight Forever is more arcade, like N64 games for veterans of the genre. For others, what does that mean? Simply that instead of trying to simulate the real matches we see on TV in a realistic way, the game wants to be faster and closer to a dump.
Details
Level of experience required
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Evaluation
The game is very violent. Not only is wrestling a violent sport in itself, but some very violent fights are available, such as fights with barbed wire ropes and explosives.
In battles with weapons, it is also available to use bedbugs on our opponent, as well as a host of weapons that will make blood flow.
In short, the game is not recommended for the faint of heart.
Apart from a few suggestive outfits, there is no content of a sexual nature to speak of.
Wrestlers sometimes have colorful language in their insults, but it’s usually not very disturbing. However, this level of language is not recommended for young children.
There are several difficulty modes, to adapt the level to all players. The game also offers options to make the controls more accessible to a larger number of players.
However, it remains an action game, and it will be necessary to press combinations of buttons to achieve its ends.
On doit acheter le jeu, on peut acheter des contenus téléchargeables additionnels.
There is paid downloadable content, but the content they offer remains rather optional.
We also appreciate that the game is not sold full price ($59.99 CAD), given the little content offered.
Local game modes
There is a single player mode, Road to Elite, which offers us to play as a wrestler of our choice (or a fighter we created ourselves) during the first year of the company. The choice of character does not matter; The story is the same, it doesn’t matter.
You can also play matches against the computer, play mini-games, or have fun with the creation suite.
There are also daily and weekly challenges that require us to complete certain tasks in the game, in exchange for virtual money that allows us to buy new characters, costumes, movements or scenery elements.
Online Game Modes
We can compete against other players online, either in Ranked mode which will register us in the world ranking, in Casual mode where the results do not count in the ranking, or in a private match with friends.
Expansions/Add-ons (DLC)
There is downloadable content that is paid, but that is not yet available except at the time of writing these lines (we guess they will be soon). For an additional $20 CAD, the Elite Edition includes the season pass, which will see 6 wrestlers and 4 mini-games added to AEW Fight Forever. The six wrestlers in question are Dax Harwood, Cash Wheeler, The Bunny, Keith Lee, Danhausen and Hook.
Pre-order players also have access to two versions of Matt Hardy. It will later be sold separately for the others, but the price and date have not yet been announced.
It has been hinted that there could possibly be more season passes over the years, but nothing is confirmed at this time.
Our opinion
Let’s say it right off the bat: your appreciation of AEW Fight Forever will greatly depend on your appreciation of the AEW franchise. If you are fanatics of the young promotion, you will be happy to find wrestlers like CM Punk and Bryan Danielson, as well as newcomers to the video game world such as MJF or Jade Cargill.
However, for Sunday fans, or for those just looking for a good action game to get under their thumbs, AEW Fight Forever’s offer is limited.
The single-player mode is very short, and even though it’s designed to be completed multiple times, the content tends to repeat quickly. In addition, we quickly feel that the budget of the title was limited: there is no voice dubbing, no complete entries of wrestlers, and the graphics are adequate, nothing more.
Even in multiplayer, the content is somewhat limited; There are less than 10 types of matches, and there is not a lot of variety in the holds that each wrestler can make. Fighting tends to end quickly.
The more I progressed in the game and mastered the controls and mechanics, the more I felt that the fights became uninteresting. I alternated the same handful of takes, then I did my finisher, and voila.
The mini-games are funny, even if we do not understand how they fit into the rest of the game. Let us understand each other; They are rather pleasant to play, but we can not help but think that this time would have been better invested in further fleshing out the single player mode or the combat system, for example.
AEW Fight Forever will entertain the company’s ardent fans for a few hours, especially if they are playing with friends. But for others, it is better to wait for a possible price drop.
