Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game Complete Edition Review
What would otherwise be a fairly standard beat ‘em up
If there was going to become a poster child game for the perils of an all-digital future it is Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Sport . After releasing together with the feature picture back in 2010, the retro-inspired beat’em up basically vanished from existence a couple of decades after. It had been delisted from electronic stores and just people who maintained the game installed on their hard drives could play with it.
Fortunately, after strong public outcry, Ubisoft has attracted Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game Back as a comprehensive Edition accessible for contemporary consoles (and next-gen consoles via backward compatibility). And though the Entire Edition is largely only a port of the previous match with DLC contained, it’s just as lovers will recall it, for better or worse.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is a side-scrolling beat’em up in Precisely the Same vein as Dual Dragon or Final Fight. Players take charge of Scott, Ramona, Kim, Stephen, Knives Chau, Or Wallace and fight their way through a string of degrees each with their own boss battle. For those not knowledgeable about this Scott Pilgrim IP, the attention requires the titular character fighting all Ramona’s 7 wicked ex-boyfriends so as to win her soul. Brian Lee O’Malley, the founder of this Scott Pilgrim comic book, was greatly inspired by video games when creating the novels, and thus the installation lends itself nicely to the video game format.
Controls at Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Sport Try to adhere to the fundamentals of classic beat’em ups with easy motion Controls and one-button strikes (every character has a light and a heavy Attack which, together with directional presses, can match different Scenarios ). Back in 2010, the game’s controls were somewhat stiff and Clunky and that stays true with the Complete Edition. It is occasionally Hard to acquire exactly the same”line” as an enemy or pick up an item (such as a horn, sword, or garbage can) to use as a weapon. Players will Often find themselves hitting nothing despite feeling as though that they Are standing right in front of the enemy, and generally, that leaves them Open to assault.
is made slightly frustrating by combat inconsistencies. 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. Surprisingly, one of the original game’s biggest criticisms 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, 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 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 prevent them from making any major progress. Even with better stats, though, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is a difficult game, making co-op practically essential.
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 brings 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 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 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-ops for up to 4 players and an 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. The game crashed at the very end of a boss fight several times, forcing a re-run of the whole level. The crashes were more prevalent in online co-op 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.
