If there was ever going to be a poster child game for the perils of an all-digital future it’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game. After releasing alongside the feature film back in 2010, the retro-inspired beat ‘em up essentially disappeared from existence a few years later. It was delisted from digital stores and only those who kept the game installed on their hard drives were able to play it.
Luckily, after strong public outcry, Ubisoft has brought Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game back as a Complete Edition available for modern consoles (and next-gen consoles through backward compatibility). And while the Complete Edition is mostly just a port of the prior game with DLC included, it is just as fans will remember it, for better or worse.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is a side-scrolling beat ‘em up in the same vein as Double Dragon or Final Fight. Players take control of either Scott, Ramona, Kim, Stephen, Knives Chau, or Wallace and battle their way through a series of levels each with their own boss fight. For those not familiar with the Scott Pilgrim IP, the focus involves the titular character fighting each of Ramona’s 7 evil ex-boyfriends in order to win her heart. Brian Lee O’Malley, the creator of the Scott Pilgrim comic book, was heavily inspired by video games when making the books, and so the setup lends itself well to the video game format.
Controls in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game try to stick to the basics of classic beat ‘em ups with simple movement controls and one-button attacks (each character has a light and a heavy attack that, combined with directional presses, can suit different situations). Back in 2010, the game’s controls were a bit stiff and clunky and that remains true with the Complete Edition. It’s sometimes difficult to get on the same “line” as an enemy or pick up an object (like a bat, sword, or trash can) to use as a weapon. Players will regularly find themselves punching at nothing despite feeling like they are standing right in front of an enemy, and usually, that leaves them open to attack.
What would otherwise be a fairly standard beat ‘em up is made slightly frustrating by the inconsistencies with combat. It’s not to the point that the game is unplayable by any means, but Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is designed to be difficult, even on the normal difficulty level, so every miss can result in taking a bunch of damage. It’s surprising that one of the biggest criticisms of the original game has not even been slightly tweaked for the Complete Edition, especially because some added magnetism to hits would have gone a long way towards improving combat. Arguably the one element that held the original down is now holding the Complete Edition down.
The difficulty is a major point of contention for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game because of how punishing it can be. Enemies can deal a lot of damage and oftentimes it’s a challenge to avoid. It makes the imprecise combat more frustrating and it also makes grinding a necessity. Basically, players collect money from fallen foes, which is then used to buy healing items or stat upgrade items. Without these items Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game would be a real chore, arguably impossible, to complete. Players need to purchase upgrades in order to have any real success and they are better served grinding money in the first few levels to ensure a better experience throughout. But the game never makes that concept clear, which will leave some players frustrated and will prevent them from making any major progress. Even with better stats, though, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is a difficult game, which makes co-op practically essential.
Outside of some finicky combat, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game still has a lot of exceptional qualities. The 16-bit art style is extremely creative and every level is varied and bursting with personality. The game does rely on some familiar tropes of the beat ‘em up genre, but mixes them with the Scott Pilgrim IP in a way that makes sense. Enemy variety is also consistent until the very end, with players constantly challenged by new foes throughout the 3-hour runtime.
Boss battles are typically a highlight for beat ‘em up games and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game hits that mark with aplomb. Each of the 7 evil ex-boyfriends bring a different flavor to the experience, while still keeping within the confines of a beat ‘em up. Again, the game may be short (it’s only $15, mind you) but there is so much creativity throughout that it flies by.
But beyond the stunning retro visuals, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game’s biggest selling point is arguably its chiptune soundtrack. Created by Anamanaguchi, the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game music is some of the best in a video game, full stop. It’s only made better by the fact that it fits the game’s retro vibe so well. Fans of the original are likely to pick up the Complete Edition if for no other reason than to experience the soundtrack again, and they will be justly rewarded.
In addition to preserving the game as it was originally, the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game Complete Edition also adds the Knives Chau and Wallace Wells DLC to the game, which unlocks two additional playable characters. There are also some basic multiplayer modes to mess around with, but they aren’t anything special. For the main levels, though, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is at its best when playing with a friend (or friends) in co-op. It helps mitigate some of the difficulty and really homes in on the spirit of classic beat ‘em up games.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game offers both local co-op for up to 4 players and online co-op with optional matchmaking. There’s some competition in collecting money and the game does increase the enemy count for balance, but the experience is generally the same. That being said, Scott Pilgrim is significantly more fun with friends.
Outside of the troublesome combat, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game does have a crashing problem that we noticed while playing on PS5 through backward compatibility. Several times the game crashed at the very end of a boss fight, forcing a re-run of the whole level. In online co-op the crashes were more prevalent and put a major damper on an otherwise fun experience. For a game that is mostly preserved as it was, the crashes are extremely disappointing.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is just as fans will remember it and that alone will be worth the price of admission for a lot of people. Experiencing the levels and hearing the music again is a nostalgic experience, in a variety of ways. That being said, the game’s clunky combat has been virtually untouched, which will be a turn-off to gamers looking for a refined beat ‘em up experience. And the crashes were not something one would expect from a port. Still, getting together with friends and bashing baddies on the way to winning Ramona’s heart is a fun distraction for a few hours.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is available now for PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One. Game Rant was provided a PS4 code for this review.
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