Could this be Wrestling meets Mario Party!!??

Email: John.Betts@Gamehype.co.uk

At the recent THQ Nordic showcase event, several titles were exclusively premiered, showing trailers, gameplay footage, and revealing further details from the live hosts. AEW’s/Tony Khan’s first venture into the gaming industry has been known for some time. A title to rival that of their real-life rivals the WWE and whilst the budget is unknown (there are some wild rumors out there), it’s rather unlikely that AEW fight forever will have the type of production costs of the WWE 2k series.

During the event, gamers got a 2minute trailer including Brit Baker and Tony Schiavone fighting over pizza!! (I kid you not) and a first look at some gameplay for a limited amount of time which included a minigame reveal, appearing to include games like baseball in the stadium stampede grounds (also the home of the Jaguars) and some kind of button spamming dance-off.

As for the actual in-ring footage we see a mixed-gender singles match between Adam Cole (Bay baaaay) and Brit Baker which looked pretty sharp. Gameplay animations looked smooth with impressive lighting features, crowd textures, and an overall solid presentation of the Dynamite titantron. Little things like Brit’s long dark hair strands swaying from side to side whilst utilizing the lockjaw finisher are neat touches that no doubt improve the realism but it’s easy to see flaws in the models of the wrestlers. I felt the overall look and design of both Brit and Adam Cole look rather dated, graphically looking average at best. Here’s hoping THQ/Yukes & co touch this up as the models stood out more to me than any other issue. I also noticed some of the weapon shots looked unrealistic. Particularly when Adam Cole gets smashed over the head with a chair, the weapon is then wedged between his neck and head but Cole remains standing there like nothing happened. (That’s some kinda superpower shiz surely??). Granted the showcase does clearly state the footage used in the presentation may not be a true reflection of where the game is at today. So the visual polish some of the models need could have already been finished.

One last point I’d like to add is the No Mercy vibes I was getting when seeing the fire extinguisher sprayed all over the ring, the release of foam onto your opponent looked slick and a lot of fun.

There wasn’t much else revealed, sadly no release date :(, though there are rumors the title will be released over the coming months, and AEW Fight Forever pre-orders are now actively being pushed on the weekly Dynamite TV Airing which could suggest an October/Nov release window.

My general feeling after having seen the footage would be one of optimism that this game will deliver. The production values have moved away from that cartoony, WWE battlegrounds look, for a more realistic sim with some satisfying gameplay teasers. The fighting animations and the collision system looked accurate and the presentation looked on point. With some more polish this could be a legit contender for best wrestling release if the launch is a success.

Feel free to drop GameHype your views on AEW Fight Forever in the comment box below. Did you enjoy the trailer?