AEW Fight Forever for the Nintendo Switch

Review game AEW Fight Forever for the Nintendo Switch,

Paul previously discussed his thoughts on the PC and PS5 versions of AEW: Fight Forever, which were largely influenced by WWE. I’ll try my best not to allow my extreme preference for AEW to affect how I rate the Switch version of the game, as it’s now my turn to review it.

But it’s difficult. I’ve supported AEW since they began four years ago, and I really, truly want to see them flourish. In addition, it’s been a while since I’ve really loved a wrestling game, so I had quite high expectations for AEW: Fight Forever given how much it was obviously inspired by titles like WWF No Mercy, a game I have pleasant memories of losing hours and hours to.

It’s fantastic news that this is by far the finest wrestling game on Switch. Even so, it’s not exactly a difficult feat given the lackluster state of the competition. The only other game that comes close to Fight Forever is a WWE 2K offering that is arguably among the worst games ever created, along with ports of vintage Neo Geo Pocket Color games, drab arcade games, and the insane weirdness of Wrestling Empire. (Although I hasten to add that if you’re a lover of wrestling, Wrestling Empire is unquestionably an offbeat gem in the Switch repertoire.)

Fight Forever, though, has a few advantages even on its own merits. The creation tools may not go as deeply into the specifics of things like facial bone structure as some other sports games do, but they nevertheless let you make factions and stadiums in addition to wrestlers with distinctive looks and movesets (a la No Mercy).

Also, the game offers a story mode that provides you with a solid overview of everything it has to offer. It has shortcomings, which I’ll discuss shortly, but it was still interesting to travel around North America while watching wrestling matches after wrestling matches and having the time to explore the area’s sights and dine on its cuisine. While being a long-time vegan may be affecting me somewhat, I thought it was quite great to be able to choose your wrestler’s diet and then have that mirrored in where and what they ate on the road.

Yet, the storyline is also where some of the game’s issues are apparent; it doesn’t always make sense. As an illustration, after one of our matches, Penta appeared in a cutscene where he expressed his desire to face me. I defended the tag titles with Christian when we won them, but after that, I never saw him again. I became involved in a protracted intergender conflict with Thunder Rosa while pretending to be a male wrestler. I was decimated in a 3-on-1 beating in the ring in front of the referee after a match against PAC that had a clear Disqualification on the scorecard. (I mean, I know that AEW refs follow the rules rather loosely, but even that looked pretty obvious.)

Fight Forever also has some issues that are unique to the Switch edition. The graphics are quite bad. Everyone and everything appear hazy at all times, giving you the impression that you are continually watching the game through a haze. The Switch version of this game seems like it was released a few generations ago, whether you’re viewing a profile photo, choosing individuals during selection screens, watching cutscenes, or engaging in combat.

Moreover, there were a few sporadic performance problems. For instance, the ropes would wobble whenever I raced into them and take a surreal length of time to settle down, making me feel as though I was seeing sine waves. The chants from the crowd generally sounded distant and tinny, as if they were being sent over with a can and a piece of string. Even at one or two points, the game simply froze, forcing me to restart it from scratch.

Yet, AEW: FightForever is still worthwhile to play despite these issues. While there are undoubtedly areas for the game to be improved, it truly captures the spirit of the games it is attempting to replicate. Like AEW itself, it offers a refreshing departure from the slickness of its major rival. It’s safe to say that AEW: Fight Forever is the only wrestling game you need to play on the Switch.

An AEW: Fight Forever Switch code was sent to us by THQ Nordic for review.