Good news. You can play AEW Fight Forever on the ROG Ally, but there is a catch. When I tried to load up AEW Fight Forever through Steam, the game would get to the final loading screen then a fatal error would cause it to crash. This problem doesn’t appear on the Steam Deck version, but it does appear tied to Steam in some way.
I was able to get AEW Fight Forever working by heading into the main folder, finding the launch file (the EXE), then adding a shortcut to my desktop. Cloud saves and everything will still work as usual and you’ll be able to get through the main title screen without a crash.
The only downside of this method I’ve noticed is I don’t have access to Steam’s controller support, meaning my Dualsense controller wouldn’t register while in docked mode (you can make an Xbox 360 profile in DS4windows to get around this).
In handheld mode, the right stick also acts as a mouse no matter what settings you change. Ah.
It’s an annoying start for sure, but the main thing is AEW Fight Forever is playable on the ASUS ROG Ally with this workaround. Here’s hoping this problem gets patched before release.
Performance
I mentioned this in my Steam Deck performance review, but there isn’t much of a difference between the ASUS ROG Ally and the Deck versions of AEW Fight Forever. Both run at 60 frames per second for the most part and can be enjoyed with minimal tech issues.
There is one big difference: The ASUS ROG Ally version remains the better choice of the two, and that’s down to being able to run the game at 1080p rather than 720p.
Visuals are something I’ll get into later, but from a tech perspective, AEW Fight Forever runs well on the ROG Ally once you get past that annoying loading problem. You will get plenty of frame drops, especially in the exploding deathmatch mode, but I wouldn’t say they detract from the enjoyment. Any drops are frustrating and all that, but it’s manageable, you know?
Recommended Settings on ASUS ROG Ally
There isn’t much in the way of settings when it comes to AEW Fight Forever. What is there, though, is more than enough to get the game running smoothly.
Just whack everything up to high and change the resolution to 1080p and you’re good to go. If you do run into any problems, just lower the settings to your liking. Don’t mess with vsync, though. There’s normally never, ever a good reason to turn vsync off. Consider that today’s lesson.
| AEW Fight Forever (In-game Settings) | |
| Window Mode | Fullscreen |
| Resolution | 1920×1080 |
| V-Sync | On |
| Shadows | High |
| Anti-Aliasing | High |
| Textures | High |
| Post Processing | High |
| ASUS ROG Ally Settings | |
| Profile: Performance 15w | Estimated Battery Life: 1 Hour 36 Minutes |
| Docked Mode Resolution: 1920×1080 | RSR: Off |
| CPU Usage: 33 to 50% | GPU Usage: 58% |
| RAM Usage: 59% | Temperature: 63 degrees |
| Performance Rating: 3/5 | |
Bugs and Issues
Although bugs aren’t a major problem, there are numerous issues I have with AEW Fight Forever.
The visuals are best described as ‘inconsistent’. There are some sublime textures and tattoos, even if the artists have taken a few liberties. But the character models range from recognizable to melted waxworks. I’m not sure if some of the models were rushed or what but it results in an often ugly game.
The feeling of being rushed carries over to the character suite too, where customization is limited to a few options per area. Those in-depth recreations you’ve seen in the WWE 2K games aren’t going to be appearing here any time soon.
Then there’s hit detection, which works for the most part but often refuses to register hits that should land.
Kicking out of pins is also mind-numbingly random. Sometimes you can take a finisher and still kick out, other times you could lose to a hip toss. It’s infuriating having a fun match then losing in the weakest way possible. It’s unsatisfying and at times very unfair.
All of the above is before we get to the roster. I know wrestling games are always playing catch-up when it comes to staying up to date, but AEW Fight Forever feels years old. Where are The Acclaimed? FTR? The NXT call-ups? The game is old before it’s new.
Verdict
I may have a few bad things to say about AEW Fight Forever but for every fault, I can’t help but love what it’s doing. Gameplay is front and center and it’s really what makes this game so enjoyable.
It’s barebones, for sure, but if you’re after an arcade wrestling experience, AEW Fight Forever stands head and shoulders above the rest. It’s easy to pick up, hard to put down. As a spiritual successor to WWF No Mercy, it hits all the right highs.
Do I recommend AEW Fight Forever on the ASUS ROG Ally? Yes, but only with some serious caveats.
All screenshots captured on ASUS ROG Ally. | Review code provided on behalf of THQ Nordic.
