rocket1312

There's a guy on Reddit that got his hands on the game early and has been playing and answering questions all day. The short, short version is that the gameplay itself is fun, but everything beyond that is pretty barebones. CAW is very limited, the story mode is short and repetitive. There aren't a lot of options within the various match types.

Maybe the most disappointing thing to me is that in the battle royal you only control your character and once you're eliminated you have the option to either watch the CPU finish the match or quit. It's not like the AKI games where you control the next guy in if eliminated. Even crazier is that your character isn't even necessarily the first one in the match and you have to watch the CPU until your number comes up. The battle royal in the AKI games was the mode my friends and I got by far the most use out of, but this doesn't even sound enjoyable.

The caveat to all of this (there's more, but I'll let people read through the reddit thread on their own) is that this is the game as it exists today and maybe there will be a day 1 patch that addresses some of this. There's also the promise of long term updates, but I guess we'll see. I'm still excited psyched to play it, but I think a lot of people may be disappointed.

fujishig

Yeah, the main issue with these problems are that they aren't things that are easily addressed with further patching, and the intent (at least I thought) was for them to build on this game and not do yearly releases.

rocket1312

I'm not a programmer, but some of this stuff seems like it could be pretty doable. Maybe not a complete rebuild of the CAW, but the ability to add in new outfits/faces/textures/etc. is likely already baked in.

The match options I'm thinking of are things like submissions only, no count out, tornado tag, 2v2 ladder. Stuff like that. (Some of this might actually be in there. I can't remember specifically though.) Those are things that seem like it would require a couple of switches to be flipped. There's nothing in the engine itself that would need tweaking. Iron man is another one. That would require a little more work in the sense that there would have to be some kind of scoreboard, but the mechanics of the match would still be the same. There was already talk from the developer of adding in 6 man matches at some point down the road. But who knows.

The story mode probably is what it is. If the game is successful and there's demand, I could see them adding content there as DLC, but certainly not as a free patch.
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beavis69

I would say the CAW update is easily doable. I don't think I've played a wrestling game that I have cared about the story mode, so that is no big deal to me. If leveling up your CAW is stuck behind completing the story mode I would say that is a good thing (for me) that it is short. As long as the core game is good, the rest can fall in place with updates/DLC based on demand. That demand signal has to be there though so the core mechanics have to be fun and smooth.

Mike86

The main reason I used to play the story/season mode in wrestling games was because it often unlocked certain arenas or characters/outfits.

Kind of surprised about the CAW system as that was one of the best things about old school wrestling games. I spent a lot of time making wrestlers who were left out or from a different company.

Maxflier

I am curious about this game despite having zero interest in AEW itself and it's lame (to me) roster. Curious to see some reviews for this thing.

rocket1312

I think the CAW is pretty comparable to something like No Mercy. Apparently there just aren't that many options for outfits/etc. And compared to what is possible in the WWE 2k games or even Fire Pro, that's just not going to cut it for a lot of people. It's not a deal breaker for me, but it seems like the easiest mechanism for maintaining engagement over time. I don't really like the 2k games, but I get why it's exciting for people to be able to create pretty much any wrestler they want with custom trons and music and the like (at least on the PC version).

But of course this is all based on an early version of the game and who knows what the developers have on store over time.

rocket1312

Lots of people starting to get their hands on this game. I've watched a couple of live streams. It definitely seems like it's lacking a bit in terms of content, like I mentioned a couple of posts up, but the bones of the game look solid and it looks like a ton of fun. If Yukes continues to support this, I think it will turn into a great game.

One clarification I did get from watching one of the streams, in battle royal, you can either play as one singular wrestler like I described above. You can also play as an entire "suit" (remember the battle royal is playing cards themed) where you pick 7 guys and when one of your guys gets eliminated, your next one comes in. You can still lose all your guys before the CPU and be in a position where you just have to watch, but it's better than what I initially feared.

Other thing I'll add, is while there doesn't seem to be the gear and options to make great CAW's, there are tons of themes and entrance animations for guys not in the game now. The entrances even include many wrestlers that wrestle for other companies. So who knows, hopefully with updates the CAW's will get beefed up to the point where you can actually create a Roman Reigns or a Shinsuke Nakamura, to name a couple of examples.

beavis69

Heard there is a pretty big day one patch, maybe they bring in some CAW stuff through that. If not I really hope they bring it in the next few months because as you said, there is already stuff in there to start building other wrestlers.

rocket1312

It sounds like they're going for a Fortnite style battle pass system with regards to cosmetic upgrades and such. This is supported by a.) the general lack of items in the pre-release version of the game, b.) the rarity labels seen on the handful of items that are available in the in-game shop, and c.) a modder on Twitter who found code and images in the game referencing a premium and free battle pass.

I mostly understand what this all means in theory, but don't have any experience with them in real life outside of the couple of months I got sucked into NBA2K MyTeam earlier this year. But maybe that's not an apples to apples comparison? I don't really know. Anyone with more experience want to come in?

Also, for those wondering about the Switch version, there are comparison videos with the PS5 all over Twitter and YouTube at this point. It looks like it's more or less the same game with slightly lesser resolution and a lower fps, which I think is about the best anyone could have expected.

Maxflier

Eh, the hell with waiting for reviews, you only live once. Went ahead and pre-ordered the Elite joint.

rocket1312

I've been waiting to play this game for 4 years. I've been devouring every second of leaks and related content for weeks like an addict. It's only hours away at this point and I just now learned that my 9 year old son, who leaves tomorrow to go visit his grandparents for 10 days, wants to take the Switch with him. Unbelievable. Am I a bad parent if I tell him he can't?

Maxflier

That would be terrible to tell that kid that.
Now if the Switch somehow happens to not make it into his travel bag, well....

Music

Is the Switch for him, or the family?

Buy a 2nd one.

rocket1312

The Switch technically belongs to me, but he can play it pretty much whenever. That's the thing though, he hasn't played it in weeks. That's why it never occurred to me until now that he'd want to take it! Little brat.
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Mike86

Got my Xbox One back recently so I might actually get the game on that platform instead of Switch. I feel like it might play better on Xbox.

beavis69

I don't know the last time I was this hyped for a game, maybe back in college. And of course we leave at 7am tomorrow for the airport for Japan for two weeks. Going to get up at 6 and try and sneak a quick exhibition match in before we go.

rocket1312

You and me both. I've got about 2 hours before I have to go to the airport. Hope to get in a couple of matches before then.

rocket1312

Well, it seems like early access for pre-ordering the Elite Edition isn't a thing on Switch, because it's not letting me play it right now. So much for giving it a test drive before my Switch goes on a 10 day vacation.

beavis69

Got 20 min with it. Played a singles offline and singles online. The game plays exactly like the N64 games. They need to clean up the hit detection for punches and kicks, but other than that it’s pretty smooth

Not shockingly for a just released game, online is gonna need some stabilization. Match was a bit glitchy at first but steadied out. That is until we we got frozen in a grapple which lasted for about 2 min. Eventually he broke away but couldn’t grapple me as my character was still convulsing. Ended up having to quit the match. Hopefully they release a couple of patches while I’m away.

one think I couldn’t figure out was how to select broken Matt hardy

rocket1312

Since my Switch went on vacation and I'm a huge nerd, I bought this on steam just so I could play it even though I know I probably won't touch the steam version after this week.

All I've done so far is a couple of 1v1 matches against the CPU. The gameplay is super fun and is reminiscent of the N64 enough to make it familiar, but it has its own feel. It certainly plays faster, which is good. I never played the PS1/2 games, so I can't compare it to those, but I think it may be a bit of a hybrid of the two. Playing as Hangman against Miro, just being able to deliver the deadeye in the middle of the ring and then immediately go to the apron and hit the buckshot easily and without having to do any complicated setup or button combinations was incredibly satisfying. It's simple and a ton of fun.

That said, it's clear that this is like 75% of a game at this point. There just isn't a lot of content beyond the basics and it feels like a lot of i's haven't been dotted and a lot of t's haven't been crossed. Even something as simple as when you load the FTR dlc, they are not paired as a tag team by default. You're forced to create a new team and set up their entrance and music and double team moves and all of that. The components to do so are all there. They're just not pre-linked. Hopefully the game does well enough to earn long-term support. The bones are solid and exactly what I was looking for in the game. It's just lacking a bit of polish.

fujishig

So anyone have hands on with the switch version.

And I blame this thread for tempting me to preorder this sight unseen. This is definitely a game that I bought just to support and not because it's actually worth the full price as a game (as of yet). Granted I've only played a few exhibition matches but after a certain amount of damage John Silver just kept pulling the same rollup move on me over and over and I couldn't counter it at all.

rocket1312

They definitely need to tweak something with regards to momentum/damage. I know it makes logical sense that once you get beaten down and all your energy/hit points/whatever depleted, you should be toast, but wrestling isn't a real sport and part of the fun is making a big comeback. Even if you're on the threshold of getting pinned, rebuilding your momentum and hitting some big moves should grant you some sort of reprieve, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

I'm still having fun with the game though. I think they've got something special here to build on and I look forward to future iterations, whether that be updates or a sequel.

Speaking of updates, has anyone read anything about the upcoming stadium stampede mode? It basically looks like Fortnite but with wrestlers. Seems like this will be the first big update to the game, but there's no release date yet. Online isn't really my thing, but it does look like silly fun with all sorts of weapons and vehicles (Hangman's horse, Matt Hardy's golf cart). I'm conflicted because I'd rather they build on the actual wrestling and customization therein, but anything that draws eyeballs and leads to long-term engagement is ok with me.

DaveWadding

Had pre - ordered this game, and when it dropped I focused on the biggest task - unlocking Owen Hart.

To unlock Owen you have to wrestle 100 exhibition 1 vs 1 matches. If you do any gimmick matches they don't count towards unlocking the character, but they do for the achievement. So I played 100 matches, unlocked the achievement, check the in game shop, says I got the challenge for doing 100 matches, but nothing in the shop.

I had to play 15 extra matches to unlock him.

Just wanted to warn people about the glitch.

rocket1312

I've had a few days to play the Switch version now that my Switch has returned from vacation.

Compared to the Steam version, it's definitely a lesser experience, but still completely playable. The graphics are lower res and not quite as detailed. The frame rate is probably 30 instead of 60. It maybe feels a little sluggish compared to Steam, but that might also just be a result of the frame rate making everything look a little less smooth. All of these things actually make it feel more like playing the old N64 games to me and don't really affect my enjoyment in any meaningful way.

But by far the biggest difference between the two versions is that the Switch noticably drops frames every so often which manifests itself in a quick gameplay hiccup. It probably happens a couple of times during a match and you'll definitely notice it. That said, while I wish it didn't happen, it doesn't ruin the game or stop me from having fun. This is not a WWE 2k situation. Hopefully it will get patched someday.

I probably won't return to the Steam version very often, but that's more a function of wanting to play on my tv vs my computer. If I had a different console I would absolutely prefer to play it there over the Switch, but the portability of the Switch is obviously the draw.

I should add that I don't play online. If that's a priority, I'd imagine the Switch is the least desirable option, both in terms of performance and in finding opponents.