Fire Pro Wrestling World PS4 Review: 5 Ups & 2 Downs

Ups...

5. Fighting Road Delivers

Fire Pro Wrestling World Kazuchika Okada
Spike Chunsoft/NJPW

This is the game's equivalent of a story or career mode, and it sees your created character start out as a bright New Japan young boy, slowly working your way to the top of the card, making bags of friends and enemies along the way. Typical wrestling game fodder, basically. There's nothing remarkable about it, but its simplicity is in keeping with the rest of FPWW, and it's enough to get players hooked without delving into needlessly dramatic soap opera tropes.

Fighting Road is an effective framework that gives players something to do outside the usual array of exhibitions. It brings progression and purpose, and while the narrative is basic, all most players will really want is a way to move from A to B in smart, logical fashion. Fortunately, it ticks all of these boxes.

The story is delivered in expectedly straightforward fashion, with stills of New Japan Pro Wrestling roster members delivering unvoiced lines via text. It's not the most compelling way to do things, admittedly, but this is a small development team, not the 2K juggernaut.

Most who buy this game won't be doing so because they want a big, Hollywood-style story, but a simple roadmap to experience that fantastic Fire Pro gameplay with greater purpose. Fighting Road works.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.