The first day of IGN Fan Fest 2023 kicked off yesterday afternoon, and one of the show’s stars was THQ Nordic’s AEW Fight Forever. Gamers from all over the globe gathered to watch as Evil Uno, Nyla Rose, and Danhausen took the stage to discuss the latest on All Elite Wrestling’s video game. Many fans hoped for a release date, but what they got instead was much of the same.
Here’s everything we learned from IGN’s Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Adam Page gameplay video.
Bryan Danielson Vs. Adam Page Was A Virtual 5-Star BANGER!
The latest gameplay trailer of AEW Fight Forever showcases one of the better feuds in All Elite Wrestling history. Danielson and Page have faced off twice now in AEW. As many probably remember, their first match went to a 60-minute time-limit draw. Unfortunately, time expired right as Page was getting ready to pin Danielson after a Buckshot Lariat. It also happens to be the longest match in AEW history — for now.
This trailer doesn’t focus on the first contest. Instead, it completely embodies the rematch. As you could expect, Page and Danielson put on another five-star match. This time, however, Page retained the World Championship.
The first thing I noticed with the new trailer is that the blue and red lasers from the new AEW Dynamite set appear to be present. This leads me to believe that although we haven’t seen it yet, the game will be updated to at least replicate what we see on Wednesdays and Fridays. Also, the expedited entrances were something I enjoyed before, but with every new delay, I wonder if they couldn’t have done a little more with this. You could barely even tell the belt was around Hangman’s waist.
AEW Fight Forever Looks Great
Previously, we’ve seen character models of wrestlers that weren’t perfect, but that isn’t the case with Danielson and Page. Instead, both wrestlers look like their real-life counterparts. Most importantly, however, the gameplay looks excellent.
The trailer revealed at IGN Fan Fest was the perfect blend of Fight Forever gameplay and footage from the actual bout. Page’s tope suicida (suicide dive through the middle rope) was the first thing you see. I do wonder if eluding it would cause him to go crashing into the barricade. Nevertheless, the animation looked nice. Next, we see Hangman hit a clothesline off the top rope before following it up with two of his most dangerous moves. And if we’re being honest, Page’s moonsault fall-away slam may have even looked better in the game. His Deadeye on the outside was picture perfect. At this point, most wrestlers would be down for the count, but not Danielson.
Much like we saw on Dynamite, Danielson eludes Hangman’s finisher only to rebound off the ropes before hitting the champion with his own finisher — the Busaiku Knee. The replay on signature moves is outstanding, and the way the camera slows down before making contact is picture-perfect. But as we all know, this wasn’t how the match ended. Adam Page would recover, hitting Danielson with a German suplex before rolling out onto the apron and hitting a deadly Buckshot Lariat.
Q&A With AEW Superstars
Like any fan experience nowadays, wrestling fans could ask the talent questions. The biggest takeaway from this session — other than the fact that wrestlers are just like you and me with love for gaming — is that AEW FF sounds like it’s going to play exactly like we’ve hoped. Evil Uno went into great detail about how he could “pick up the controller and play.” When asked how he felt about the game, here’s what Uno said.
“I’m actually very happy with it. I was also at Gamescom and I had extensive time with it because I was at the booth. So, every moment that we weren’t actually doing interviews, I was playing the video game. I’ve played some of the build after, and it’s very reminiscent of the old N64 engine games everyone knows about…There was a tutorial but I never read a single word and I instantly knew the buttons…it felt perfect to what I had played on the N64. It just seems like the type of game you can pick up and play and have a ton of fun with.”
To watch the rest of this Q&A session, click the link.
Still No Release Date
As someone who has been riding the hype train since AEW Fight Forever was first announced, I must admit this is getting frustrating. The game was initially supposed to drop sometime at the end of last year, but issues with ratings, the cover, and other things forced THQ and co. to push the release back. So now, we’re still left wondering when will we finally get our hands on a game that some of us have been waiting for since WWF No Mercy.
Currently, most retailers have AEW Fight Forever listed as December 31, 2023, which seems like an obvious placeholder. But as we saw last year, sometimes we can’t assume these things. Nevertheless, fans are becoming anxious, and the hype behind a once-promising game is slowly dying.
Bottom Line
AEW Fight Forever continues to impress with every new gameplay video they release. The match between Danielson and Page was every bit as good as it was on TV. It looked great. But unfortunately, with very little known about the game’s official release, and the company itself starting to become a bit stale, wrestling fans are becoming a bit weary. I still have hope Fight Forever will be everything we hoped for and more. But as of now, they got their backs against the ropes.
Published: Feb 18, 2023 04:59 pm