With over three years in the making, the teams at THQ Nordic and Yuke's have worked hard to present a love letter to fifth-generation wrestling games with a modern roster and current-gen graphics with All Elite Wrestling's first console game, AEW Fight Forever.

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While considered a much smaller game than a typical WWE annual release, there are plenty of play modes to make it stand out in its own way. Lapsed wrestling fans will also be surprised to know that many wrestlers who once were with WWE are playable characters in AEW Fight Forever – such as Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Bryan Danielson (FKA Daniel Bryan), and Jon Moxley (FKA Dean Ambrose).

1 Career Mode

Similarly to WWF No Mercy for the Nintendo 64, AEW Fight Forever features a story mode where you can play as any wrestler in the game – even the late Owen Hart. This is considered a simpler career mode compared to what you might find in a modern-day WWE game you're required to play as a custom wrestler.

During this mode, you compete in matches and your story will branch into different paths depending on whether you win or lose the previous match. You'll also gain skill points by working out and following the quick-time event prompts. Skill points are used to unlock skills from enabling additional finisher slots to climbing the top turnbuckle faster.

2 Intergender Wrestling

Screenshot captured from IGN | AEW Fight Forever Gameplay - MJF vs Jade Cargill - Full Match

For nearly a decade, intergender wrestling has been forbidden in the WWE 2K series, except for the watered-down Mixed Tag Match type, in order to avoid problems with sponsors. AEW: Fight Forever has no such restrictions. Just like Street Fighter and other traditional fighting games, you can have female characters square off against male characters.

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So, if you want to play as a female wrestler like Kris Statlander and fight a male wrestler like CM Punk, the game won't stop or restrict you in any way. Female wrestlers can participate in men's matches in any match type, whether with two, three, or four combatants.

3 Double-Team Attacks In Online Co-Op

Screenshot captured by AEW Games | AEW: FIGHT FOREVER | Tag Team HYPE Trailer

AEW Fight Forever touts tag or two-on-two matches as the premier way to play online. During certain moments of these matches, you can use a unique tag team mechanic to perform double-team moves successfully with simple on-screen prompts.

Regardless of your wrestler, you're able to perform a tag team move with any other wrestler as your partner. This gives both teams an even playing field even if the wrestlers you pick have no chemistry with one another.

4 A Unique Selection Of Weapons

In Fight Forever, there are over 40 weapons you can use in matches such as the Lights Out Match, compared to just nine weapons altogether in WWE 2K23. The list of weapons spans from classics such as steel chairs and tables to hardcore match staples like fire extinguishers and trash cans.

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You'll even find weapons specific to certain wrestlers such as Darby Allin's skateboard and perform tricks with it. Other curious weapons include Hikaru Shida's Kendo Stick, Jericho's "Bottle of Bubbly", a tire, and a shoe with thumbtacks. This is one of the more underrated features of the game you could find yourself playing around with for hours.

5 Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch

Screenshot Captured from AEW Games | AEW: Fight Forever | Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch Trailer

AEW Fight Forever features this hardcore Japanese match type as a one-on-one match. The first Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch happened in AEW in 2021, and it's considered a signature match AEW calls their own like WWE has for Hell in A Cell and other matches.

While the barbed wire ropes and beds may look gruesome, they are rather more zany than violent when wrestlers fall onto or run into them, leading to explosion effects and opponents getting launched into the air in a comedic fashion. This match makes the arcade AEW experience even more arcade-y.

6 Mini-Games

Screenshot captured from AEW Games | AEW: Fight Forever | Mini-Games Sneak Peek

The new AEW game comes with over a dozen different four-player mini-games. Shida's Slugfest, Chip Gather, and Box Breaker are some of the mini-games where you play as your favorite wrestler and perform actions in a ring or stadium setting. Mini-games like AEW Pop Quiz, Spot the Difference, and Count 'Em Up are more basic mini-games where you control either a cursor or tally.

While some of the mini-games created for AEW Fight Forever are very simple, the developers have certainly provided a palatable Mario Party-like experience if you're looking for entertainment in the game other than pro wrestling. Mini-Games are also available in Career Mode to add in variety to wrestling, lifting weights and attending press conferences.

7 Training Mode

In AEW Fight Forever, there's a standalone training mode for you to practice your moves and combos. Choose any wrestler, opponent, and arena, and hone your wrestling skills as much as you like without worrying about time limits and tough opposition.

Training mode makes for a useful way to test out controls, such as how to reverse, use your opponent's finisher, and do all kinds of attacks and actions without partaking in an actual match. You can remap the buttons as you please in the options menu and practice with your new controls in this mode before playing more online matches.

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