Regardless of how familiar fans are with Tony Khan's All Elite Wrestling (AEW), it's fair to say that AEW: Fight Forever has piqued the interest of most casual wrestling fans . A couple of things have made people take notice, namely its pedigree. The game is being developed by Yuke's alongside Hideyuki "Geta" Iwashita, who wrestling fans associate with some of the finest genre titles like WCW/NWO Revenge and WWF No Mercy. AEW: Fight Forever is certainly in good hands, and its array of playable wrestlers, game modes, and available weapons all show promise.
Weapons are not historically a big part of wrestling, but after the success of Ted Turner's WCW in the early 1990s, fans began to demand more excitement, leading to elaborate match types. By the time WWE entered its Attitude Era in the late 90s, everything from steel chairs to thumb tacks and baseball bats wrapped in barbed wire were being used. While the WWE has massively toned down this violence in recent years, other companies use it as a way to compete. AEW has adopted this tactic to a degree, with a distinctly more adult approach featuring blood, swearing, and an almost grungy production feel. From footage shown so far, the game looks to be a continuation of this.
AEW: Fight Forever Has Revealed Various Weapons For Players to Use
AEW: Fight Forever appears to be pulling out all the stops in order to maximize its chances of success. Several game modes have already been unveiled, including a host of unusual mini-games. While the title will undoubtedly have its work cut out trying to compete with the WWE games, putting AEW: Fight Forever on Game Pass or PS Plus could potentially allow it to reach a much wider audience.
This would be a bold move for developer Yuke's, and it may decide the best course of action is to instead provide players with as much in-game choice as possible, from game modes to the roster of playable wrestlers and weapons. A recent gameplay trailer showed off just a handful of these weapons: baseball bats, fire extinguishers, thumb tacks, as well as more unusual options such as a skateboard.
These are added to a list that already includes standard steel chairs, trash cans, and cones. Common wrestling weapons such as folding tables, ladders, and ring bells have not yet been shown, but given some of the match types revealed so far like Exploding Barbed Wire Death matches, Lights Out matches, and Ladder matches, it seems a safe assumption that they could appear too. Many of the confirmed 40 weapons that will appear remain unaccounted for.
Adding to this variety is a roster including the likes of Chris Jericho and CM Punk. While it may not be the biggest at launch, the roster is expected to grow with potential DLC options. A firm release date for the new wrestling title has not been announced, but the game is confirmed to launch next year. With WWE 2K23 still a relatively unknown quantity, and rumors suggesting that the game may not be happening at all, wrestling fans may well turn to AEW: Fight Forever to provide them with some new action. Should the game invoke a real sense of nostalgia, capturing the spirit of classic N64 games, it should give itself a chance of furthering AEW's popularity.
AEW: Fight Forever releases in 2023 on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.