Ask most wrestling followers, and so they’ll point out the late ’90s and early 2000s as the most effective period, each for the in-ring product and the gathering of video video games that have been launched for Nintendo 64 and PlayStation. Video games like WWF No Mercy, WCW/nWo Revenge, and the early SmackDown! collection have been straightforward to study however tough to grasp. Virtually 25 years later, All Elite Wrestling is trying to seize that ease of use and nostalgia with AEW: Combat Endlessly — and it comes fairly rattling shut.
Mechanically, Combat Endlessly is rooted within the golden period of wrestling video video games, largely as a result of AEW tapped developer Yuke’s, which made stated video games. Freshmen can button mash their option to victory, but additionally slowly study an assortment of showy and acrobatic strikes relying on when and the way lengthy you press those self same buttons. AEW supervisor William Regal guides you thru a collection of tutorials to display how the sport’s easy fundamentals can attraction to informal followers searching for a nostalgia rush, whereas the excessive talent ceiling holds unlocked potential for hardcore wrestling aficionados. As I spam taunts, I’m introduced again to these years spent gripping my N64 controller. As I leap from the nook of the ring, I’m reminded of the times spent enjoying WWF No Mercy.
Stylistically, Combat Endlessly can be trying to the previous, with an exaggerated and cartoonish aesthetic, versus the hyperrealism of the WWE 2K video games. Some wrestlers’ faces do appear off or inaccurate on the character choose display, however look notably higher within the ring. Every AEW wrestler has a definite set of taunts and sound results, together with distinctive transfer units that encourage you to experiment — the higher to find each grapple and strike. Trendy wrestling video games can pack so many maneuvers that the characters’ identities change into diluted. Due to this complexity, I haven’t felt as compelled to sift via their particular person cartography, so to talk. However Combat Endlessly’s mixture of simplicity and depth already has me hooked.
![Eddie Kingston watches as Anna body slams Kenny Omega in AEW Fight Forever](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QZzfB1avH1p99PJYg6npJ4QD3Aw=/0x0:3840x2160/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:3840x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24761439/aew_fight_forever_kenny_omega_eddie_kingston.jpg)
Picture: Yuke’s/THQ Nordic
In Highway to Elite, maybe probably the most arcade-leaning mode on supply, you choose a wrestler and perform a whole 12 months’s price of storylines. Every week, you journey to a distinct metropolis whereas making an attempt to extend your stats and maintain your vitality ranges excessive. You do that by taking within the native delicacies, understanding on the health club, holding press conferences at well-known landmarks (U.S. Capitol, Liberty Bell, Las Vegas Strip). These actions principally require you to speak to NPCs, however you’ll be able to choose to play minigames as a substitute to spice up your stats. Neglecting this routine can result in losses, burnout since you didn’t refill your vitality via consuming, and even accidents. Alongside the best way, you’re taking selfies with wrestlers you encounter in your adventures. Even when enjoying as an up-and-coming wrestler or created wrestler, you’ll be able to nonetheless geek out.
Storylines are cut up into 4 pay-per-view occasions and infrequently recreate well-known AEW storylines. Actual-world highlights of the occasions usually play after finishing a narrative to determine the lore for anybody not within the know.
And whereas this feels like a seemingly simple journey for a professional wrestler on the street, the NPCs in Combat Endlessly have quirky personalities and their responses usually border on the absurd. You talk about the results of artwork and gentrification with one wrestler. You will discover Sting chilling on Venice Seashore. A waitress in Los Angeles sternly tells you that avocado toast is a worthy meal. There’s a ton of self-deprecation and breaking of the fourth wall. Segments can get repetitive, however they assist stop the burnout of enjoying 20 matches and not using a break.
![Wrestler CM Punk in mid-air, about to hammer punch a dazed Darby Allen in AEW Fight Forever](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AqIgYa8NRNQuR5hMTAk3Y4dqEeM=/0x0:3840x2160/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:3840x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24761443/aew_fight_forever_darby_allen_cm_punk.jpg)
Picture: Yuke’s/THQ Nordic
Via all of it, Yuke’s persistently demonstrates a fervid appreciation for the medium. Making an attempt a pinfall and never fairly getting the 3-count will reveal a 2.99 rely, which has change into a commonplace phrase within the wrestling world. After making a customized wrestler, you’re greeted with a graphic that reads “[Your player] is all elite,” in step with how new AEW wrestlers are launched in actual life. There’s a health club in Austin, Texas, named Fang McFitness, a reference to Fang McFrost, one of many rejected names pitched earlier than a sure wrestler selected Stone Chilly Steve Austin. There are too many of those little bits unfold all through the sport to record right here, nevertheless it’s price enjoying dozens of matches simply to uncover extra.
Combat Endlessly is just not with out its tough edges that may really feel like obtrusive, inexplicable omissions. Maybe as a result of it’s been in development since 2020, the preliminary roster is comparatively small, contemplating how a lot the corporate has grown in simply three years. AEW has signed dozens of recent wrestlers, and proprietor Tony Khan even purchased former rival promotion Ring of Honor, which has change into a sister promotion to AEW. Even then, main gamers who made their debuts in the course of improvement, like CM Punk, seem within the sport, whereas different wrestlers who’ve been with the corporate for longer, like Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds, and Sonny Kiss, are lacking. The omissions may very well be remedied with unlockables and future DLC — AEW has already introduced a season pass featuring six more wrestlers. However their absences are bummers proper now.
![Thunder Rosa uses a fire extinuisher to stun Abadon while Yuka Sazaki lies nearby in AEW Fight Forever](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4fOuS_yEOVl_EgA1ncxeU7t0nCw=/0x0:1920x1080/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24761445/aew_fight_forever_yuka_abadon_rosa.jpg)
Picture: Yuke’s/THQ Nordic
Typically talking, numerous components of Combat Endlessly really feel a bit rushed. Most notably, the sport options the primary model of the AEW Ladies’s Championship, which has seen two new iterations since 2021. Not updating the belongings looks like a results of tight deadlines, or, once more, simply missed alternatives to capitalize at launch. Loading screens pop up highlighting wrestlers with a quote, however the quote is normally a throwaway line from a years-old match. You additionally gained’t discover most of AEW’s licensed theme songs within the sport.
At its core, Combat Endlessly is a love letter to the golden technology of professional wrestling video video games. It’s not excellent, and on the content material aspect, it’s barely dated — however most of my complaints wash away each time I choose up the controller and begin a brand new match. The nostalgia and finesse of these previous glory years emanates from so many angles that it’s laborious to nitpick the locations that fall brief. AEW: Combat Endlessly is directly a trustworthy homage, and a promising signifier of the longer term.
AEW Combat Endlessly was launched on June 29 on Nintendo Change, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Home windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Sequence X. The sport was reviewed on Xbox utilizing a pre-release obtain code supplied by THQ Nordic. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These don’t affect editorial content material, although Vox Media might earn commissions for merchandise bought through affiliate hyperlinks. You will discover extra details about Polygon’s ethics coverage right here.