Digital games can be a wonderful thing. They don’t run the risk of getting lost like physical game cards. You can fit an awful lot of them on one MicroSD card these days. They grant indie developers an easier option for distribution. Yet games like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game also highlight the biggest drawback of digital releases: only four years after the game’s initial release in 2010, it was delisted from all storefronts due to licensing issues. Just like that, a well-received and unique brawler was wiped from existence, and only those who bought it in its availability window could still play it.
In the years since, there’s been a consistent online push from fans who wished to see the game re-released for modern platforms, and after a whole lot of back and forth, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game – Complete Edition finally came into being (and this time with a physical edition, too!) A decade on from its release, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game proves to still be a top-tier brawler that feels like a great fit for the Switch hardware.
For those of you who haven’t seen the film or read the comics, the story follows Scott Pilgrim, a slacker living in Toronto who begins dating a mysterious girl named Ramona Flowers. Unfortunately for Scott, the League of Seven Evil Exes is hellbent on controlling Ramona’s love life, so he must take them all on in bombastic fights to the death in order to win the right to continue dating her.
Cocky movie stars, psychic vegans and lesbian ninjas are par for the course here, making for an impressively distinctive cast of interesting characters to interact with. All of this is merely background information, however; the plot bears almost no relevance in the face of all the punching and explosive combos. Those of you looking for a gripping narrative will be disappointed by what’s on offer, then, but why on earth would you come to a beat ‘em up looking for a good story?
The real star of show here is the arcade-like gameplay, which centers on a simple loop of clearing out screens of baddies, looting almost enough change for the bus ride home, and continuing this cycle until you reach the Evil Ex for that stage. Each character has a light and heavy attack, and you can use these to chain together various combos to keep enemies juggled for as long as possible. If you find yourself in a tight spot, you can also trigger an area-of-effect attack which costs a few refillable Guts Points to pull off, or you can summon an ally to execute a powerful but costly move.
There’s a subtle aura of strategy underlying this gameplay which is part of what makes it so engaging. Unlike many other arcade brawlers – which can often feel like they’re devolving to a button-mashing mess – you need to be a little more thoughtful in how you approach combat here. Enemies hit hard and if they knock you down, they won’t hesitate to juggle you for a bit and take huge chunks out of your health. Knowing how and when to apply your combos is critical, then, as well as knowing when to lay off the offense and make use of a well-timed block to negate a mean hit. This sort of ebb and flow goes a long way towards making the gameplay engaging; if you don’t adapt your playstyle appropriately, it’s easy to get rolled and see that 'game over' screen all too soon.
Luckily, there are some light RPG elements to help alleviate some of the difficulty and to toss in a little more replayability. For example, cutting through enough enemies will see your characters level up, usually unlocking new moves and abilities that open up new combat options. Through this, new players are slowly introduced to the complexities of the fighting system, and it also helps to give a nice sense of forward progression.
Those of you who need a little extra boost for handling the tougher stages can also head over to a shop where you can buy consumables or permanent stat boosters. There isn’t much variety here in terms of creating ‘builds’, but the dribble of money you get ensures that you can never afford everything, meaning you have to think critically about what’s most valuable to you. All of this is to say, the level up and equipment systems don’t massively alter the core gameplay loop, but they do help to set it apart from being ‘just’ another senseless arcade brawler.
Single-player is naturally supported here, but the best experience comes from playing in co-op. You can have up to four players together at once, and having an extra hand in taking down the waves of villains makes all the difference in the world. If someone goes down, they can be revived if their ally gets to them in time to restore them. If everyone is in sync with each other, you can pull off some impressive team attacks that really roll through the enemies. That’s to say nothing of the fun competitive moments it opens up, such as when you discover that you can punch each other just as easily as the enemies. Like many other party games, then, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is the sort of game you have to play with friends in order to really ‘get it’. You can play alone and it’s still good fun, but there’s an all-important X-factor missing there which dampens enjoyment a bit.
That distinct art style which would go on to become a staple of many games created by Tribute was first utilized in this release, and it’s clear that the art team had quite a bit of fun developing how Scott Pilgrim vs. The World looks. The comic’s original art is mashed together with retro visuals to make for an intensely expressive and thoroughly fascinating visual style that makes each battle a real joy to behold. Whether it’s the rapidly changing sets on a movie studio lot or a dive bar somewhere in Toronto, the backgrounds are filled with all sorts of little details and NPCs that make each environment feel as though it’s bristling with activity, even beyond the massive fight you’re caught up in.
All of this is then backed by a stellar original soundtrack performed by Anamanaguchi. The famed chiptune rock band goes a long way towards giving Scott Pilgrim vs. The World its distinct identity through mixing 8-bit video game sound bites with punk rock music. Though not every song is thoroughly memorable, this soundtrack provides the perfect tempo and energy needed to go along with the chaos of the combat.
As the ‘Complete Edition’, this release also comes with plenty of nice extra goodies to sweeten the deal. All the original release’s DLC is included here, which means you can play as a couple of new characters (and if you guessed Wallace is one of them, you'd guess right) and that some extra side modes have been added, such as a game of Dodgeball. In addition to this, online play has been added for those of you that want to play with distant friends, and there’s even support for random matchmaking, too. This is still the sort of game that you can really only get a couple dozen hours out of at most, but the extra content does nonetheless give you a bit more to chew on while it lasts.
The only blemish on this otherwise excellent brawler is the fact that the difficulty scaling can be a little out of whack in many places. That is to say, the difficulty curve is scarcely a curve at all. Some levels are nearly impenetrable walls that you beat against time after time until finally being lucky enough to break through. Others are an absolute breeze to get through. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World oscillates a bit too much between these two extremes, then, which can make for an experience that often feels weirdly paced.
Also, the online in our experience has been rather middling. It's difficult to tell whether this has to do with pre-release server issues or a deeper problem, but actually getting into an online game is a bit of a trial. Sometimes you load in and everything's fine, then a sudden crash boots you back out. And even when we did get a stable game going, we encountered several glitches that ranged from being amusing to completely halting further level progress. Suffice to say, your mileage may vary with the online; local co-op is definitely the way to go here.
Conclusion
Those of you looking for the next Castle Crashers or Streets of Rage need look no further, as Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game – Complete Edition is a great beat ‘em up for your Switch. Bombastic presentation and crunchy combat gameplay make this one enjoyable from start to finish. Though it can feel like it runs a bit short and the difficulty spikes can be rather intense, we’d give this one a strong recommendation to anybody looking for a fun, short game to play in co-op. Let's just hope it sticks around for longer than four years this time.
Comments 64
Yeah, I want it!
When did the Joys/Cons replace the Pros/Cons become a thing! i just noticed this and its brilliant!
also yes this game is good
u guys said the same thing with double dragon neon difficulty. are u guys having trouble with beat em ups? I finished double dragon neon blind with no game overs. It wasn't hard u just can't mash buttons. don't dock points cuz its biting back.
We are 'Sex Bob-Omb'
One, two, three, four!
I will definitely buy this awesome game.
Day one buy from me, which says a lot as I know Ubisoft will slash the price of this hard during the sales.
I'm going to get my physical copy ASAP!
PSA: If there's a game that contains licensing with music or characters, etc., on digital that you want to get, buy it at your soonest convenience! You'll never know when its time is up. Oh, and don't forget the associated DLC.
And on physical, it's the JRPGs that get tiny print runs. They may be still available after their run is over but the price usually skyrockets.
Crossplay? I'll be getting it on PC with the majority of my friends, but 1 other has Switch only and another Xbox only.
Can't wait for Scott Wozniak (Aka Scott the Woz, aka Scott, aka Scott from Scott 's Stash) from the Scott the Woz YouTube channel to do a Scott the Woz video on Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game based off the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World movie based on the Scott Pilgrim comics!
Looks nice, but as I'm no pro at beat em ups, the notes on difficulty do put me off a bit.
Never played it before and i don't know what to expect, i hope it's good enough for me to make a purchase. Love them indies.
Yeh, I will be double dipping for this title. Getting a physical copy from Limited Run Games will mean it will be a long wait, so I may opt to purchase a digital copy in the interim.
I'm buying this for the third time for the Anamanaguchi soundtrack.
So excited to get the physical version. I didn't get very far on 360 back in the day. Any idea if this has cross-play? Seems like it would be an easier game to implement it for.
Physical version should ship in about 12 months time
I still have this game on my PS3, amazing art and music, but the gameplay gets repetitive really fast (but I must say that I only played it on single player mode, because I have no friends😢). I prefer Double Dragon Neon.
This game is so good that despite being one of the lucky ones to still have a working copy on my xbox 360, I am fairly certain I will double dip and buy it again for Switch. This, Double Dragon Neon, and Streets of Rage 4 are all you need if you're a beat-em-up fan. Also Fight n Rage.
I loved it back on the PS3 so that means I'll love it again.
It’s such a shame. I was delighted when this got announced, having never played it on other platforms before its untimely culling. It looked great and was spoken of highly. I was all the way up for it.
Then UbiSoft’s sexual assault-supporting culture crawled out of the woodwork, and its CEO failed to apologise in a meaningful way, take any proper action, or resign. It’s a hard pass and a sigh on this one, sadly.
Looking forward to finally having Scott Pilgrim in my game collection tomorrow. Always wanted to play this!
@Vertigoat Well spotted. That’s a lovely little touch from Nintendo Life. I like it.
@Balladeer Same for me, I love the Scott Pilgrim series but can’t justify giving Ubisoft my money.
Does it work splitscreen plus online? Like two players join locally and two others online
Had it on the Xbox 360 & loved it, so this is a definite purchase.
The soundtrack is excellent.
I agree about the difficulty though. One minute you’re smashing through enemies, the next you’re getting your arse handed to you, then the next you’re back to feeling like the Hulk but in virtual Michael Cera form.
I’m looking forward to the Online Multiplayer too.
Time to break out the L Word!
Was going to be a day 1 purchase but after reading the review I will hold off and wait to see what the online is like first.
@Balladeer I'll still buy it as I want to support the employees who work there, and not try to punish their boss while vicariously punishing them. That plus it looks aces.
I've now given up buying new games as EVERYTHING comes down within 6 months. I'll get this in a sale though.
I will be getting this for sure. I would have bought it this weekend but seeing that it's published by Ubisoft, I think I'll just hang off for its inevitable sale in 3 or 4 weeks.
I'll never pay full price for a Ubisoft game, it's pointless to do so.
To new players concerned about difficulty spikes, I revisited the first level to grind money and buy stat boosting food and books. If you get a ton of cash Wallace also runs a hidden shop with expensive but very useful stat boosts!
Feel that crunch!
I have so much to play right now but I'll definitely grab this down the road when ubi does their inevitable sale
It must be difficult to give an accurate score to a short game without knowing the final price, unless value for money is not a consideration when scoring. 🤔
@Ocaz Damn you must a professional.
@YANDMAN that's what I was thinking. I'm getting my rear kicked in DD:Neon. I've only played thru about 4 stages but they're tough as nails. Anyone who could get thru without a game over screen in the entire game has to be God like.
Day 1 and double-dipping to get the physical on Switch! I still listen to the soundtrack from Anamanaguchi. This is the last Beat 'em up I need to be satisfied... unless someone makes a phenomenal one in the near future.
Double dip fur sure. Getting the physical and will probably buy digital while I wait for it. Paul Robertson never gets credit for this game. His animation style is incredible. Watch King of Power 4 Billion %
Ah, good times with this on 360. Double dipping for sure.
Wait a sec this isn’t a game review article
THIS IS JUST A BREADBOX!
Your constant movie puns were definitely noticed in this article.
I still don't know how Wallace can beat this game while passed out drunk.
The "L" word ?... Lesbian?
No.........Lesbians?
The fact that I can hit Teamates is a huge turn off for me.
Is there an option to turn that off?
I liked Streets of Rage, but same issue. The 4th installment allowed you to turn that off.
So about that online...is there cross-play with other versions of this re-release?
I still own it on my PS3, so I can wait on the Switch version.
Definitely great to see this coming to Switch at last, though. I definitely needed a good beat 'em up on my Switch (I couldn't get into River City Girls as a Kunio-Kun fan and while Streets of Rage 4 looks cool, I don't feel like paying an arm-and-leg for it).
I'm going to wait for the physical release, it's going to come to my country! Yey!
Will be double dipping on this game on switch and pc. One on my main system and the other for portability. Never got the dlc from the last release so atleast that is going to be new for me.
@NintendoByNature yeah it really does get tough at points, the floaty controls don't help.
@YANDMAN not the point I was making but I suppose if u gotta cry anyway then u will.
One of the best beat-em-ups ever. I took care never to delete it from my PS3 because my son and I would replay it constantly, and now we can do so again now that I no longer have my PS3. Good times.
Love this game. Can't wait!
Oh man, I bought this and played it just now
And I know It's already an old game but why are the button inputs so unresponsive, and who on the dev team decided that checkpoints shouldn't be a thing? I know It's based on arcade games of the 80's and 90's but the reason those games didn't save was because they couldn't.
Idk, making it intentionally inconvenient like ancient games seems like a weird stylistic choice that can only be appreciated by 50 year olds who experienced arcade fighters at the time
I'm in lesbians with this game ❤️❤️❤️
@Emceehamster It's 14.99 apparently. How much do games at this price go down to? Like 8.99?
@Vertigoat They've been doing the Joys/Cons thing for years. I believe as early as 2018, though not all reviewers used it until around Luigi's Mansion 3.
The film is on Netflix (UK). Will be watching it tonight. What do you play? Zelda... Tetris... It's kind of a big question.
Thanks for rhe review. That being said, sorry if I missed it but could you mention more about co-op? I know that you said that 4 players can play together, but it's important for Switch lite users to know if at least you can play with two different consoles or if you are referring exclusively to playing in one console.
Just played through the game, really liked it since I loved the original, but seemingly none of the marketing mentioned that you need to make and log in with a separate Ubisoft account if you wish to unlock Knives. For some reason they excluded her from the default lineup and put her behind that kind of wall. Of course it's not impossible, but for a "complete" edition you pay for adding any additional obstacles like that sure makes it feel like you've been deceived.
@Ocaz You're so right.
@YANDMAN evidentally
I’m gonna buy this game for the Switch, but does anybody know if there will be a physical switch release in Europe like with Streets of Rage 4?
Does anybody know if the game offers cross play support? I’m getting it on Switch but I know a few friends who are buying on PS4.
@chill_e knowing Ubi it will probably be half off before the end of the year.
Me: Do you promise to be good game?
Game: Yes, I'll be sooo good!
NLife: What are you making this poor game say?
@gcunit Fortunately the RPG elements can help there. If you find yourself struggling with a level you can go back & grind an earlier level to level-up or purchase power-ups in a nearby shop. I played it back on PS3 and the feeling when you finally reach the right level & breakthrough is euphoric.
Just need to finish a couple of other games on the queue before I get to this. Looking fwd to it. Already downloaded.
I wasn't going to get this game but after what I heard about it I'm going to give it a go.
@jump you arent wrong! super cheap right meow!
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