The much-anticipated spiritual successor to WWF No Mercy, AEW Fight Forever, has a release date of June 29, 2023.
The partnership between the Smackdown vs RAW and previous WWE 2K developer Yukes and AEW was revealed back in 2020. The goal of AEW Fight Forever is to create a more arcade experience that – as AEW’s Kenny Omega says – is easy to pick up and play, but difficult to master.
https://twitter.com/AEWGames/status/1660631687775109122
As someone who loves the latest WWE 2k game, the photorealism and realistic moves does hinder it somewhat. The AKI Corporation run of WCW and then WWF games were pure pick-up-and-play, and the lack of realism actually helped it feel more like a wrestling game.
Remember WWE All-Stars? While visually that game maybe took things too far in the opposite direction, the over-the-top gameplay was a massive improvement. It matched the sheer death-defying nature of pro wrestling in the same way No Mercy and its brethren did.
AEW Fight Forever, then, looks to follow in the footsteps of the N64 golden era of pro wrestling games. We still need to wait and see how the game plays and what modes will be available, but if the backstage is as good as the ringside seats, we could be seeing the rebirth of a forgotten genre. I’m excited, in other words.
One more time: AEW FIght Forever will launch on June 29, 2023, and will be available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows PC. And yeah, the note of last-gen consoles means I’m hoping it’ll play on the Steam Deck with a bit of tinkering.
I’ve reached out to THQ regarding Valve’s portable powerhouse and will update should I hear back.
