If you love beat ‘em ups and have been gaming since the PS3/Xbox 360 era, chances are that you have already played Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game back then. If you have, then you know that it is one of the best brawlers out there and can be considered as one of the genre-defining games. However, due to some licensing issues, the game was lost in the past however Ubisoft has now re-released the title to celebrate the game’s 10th Anniversary and it is for modern consoles. This is our review of Scott Pilgrim Vs The World: The Game – Complete Edition on PS5 in which we beat down some enemies and then use them to beat down some more.
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game is based on the comic book series by Bryan Lee O’Malley. The game follows the story of Scott who wants to score with Ramona Flowers however before he can have a chance at making his move, he has to find and beat up seven of Ramona’s evil boyfriends and when you meet them in the game, you really get to see that they are indeed evil. The whole story comprises of seven main levels where you must complete a level and then find the evil boyfriend at the end of the level and beat him up to proceed in the story.
The whole level is filled with various enemies based on the levels. For example, in the Hollywood inspired level, you have to fight people (or grandmas) in dinosaur and alien costumes. The enemy design is really good in the game and each level brings some of the coolest enemies that will find in a brawler. Each level also has a main theme but inside, you will get to explore multiple areas in the game for example the very first level starts in a street but then goes inside a subway tunnel and up a snowy mountain before concluding with a boss fight inside a concert hall so the levels are pretty varied.
The enemies do not just look different as well but each of them comes with their own unique moves and attacks as well. While fighting these enemies solo is quite easy, if they manage to gang-up on you, they will make short work of you and if someone manages to knock you out to the ground, they start jumping on top of you and start piling up bodies. You have to escape from this onslaught quickly or you keep losing health. Health is something that you must watch out especially if you are a new player and just starting the game. The enemies hit hard and they hit plenty.
Each level also comes with a big number of different items and objects that you can find and pick and use as weapons. You can lift up garbage bags, bats, signposts, and many other items and use them to beat the living hell out of your enemies. However, your enemies can also use these items against your enemies. If you knock back an enemy to the ground, you can even pick them up and start using them like a bat and beat other enemies with the enemy. The combat is really fun when you consider all of these things together.
We have seen tons of brawlers and beat ‘em titles come in recent times including the previously released however Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game – Complete Edition brings a unique addition to the whole formula with light RPG mechanics added to the game. Every character you play with earns XP and once a certain milestone is reached, the character levels up and unlocks a new move to attack your enemies with. The interesting part is that even if you die in the current level and have to restart it again from the beginning, you will keep the XP earned, the level reached and the new moves unlocked with you. This means that you will start more powerful this time around and will have a better chance of besting your enemies in the game. Apart from beating your enemies, you can also level up by eating food that gives a small amount of XP every time you consume it.
As you kill enemies in a level, they will give you coins which is your in-game currency. This currency is used for purchasing different food and items from many shops found in each level. The level design cleverly hides these shops in the background, and they are not properly marked as well. These are in the background of the level and if you are not careful in spotting them, you will miss them as they blend really well in the background. From these shops, you can purchase food that refills your health, or you can also purchase many items that increase your character’s base stats.
These stats fall into four different categories which are strength, defense, speed, and willpower. Investing coins in better items is always beneficial because increasing your base strengths makes you extremely powerful in the game and once you’ve done enough grinding, you become literally unstoppable in the game with the incoming attacks doing minute damage that is not even noticeable to you. However, you do have limited health and lives so you have to complete the level without burning through them all or you will be required to start the level from the start. Since the game only has seven levels in the main story, this does not sound too much of a hassle. I am not a very good player in games like Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game – Complete Edition and even I managed to end the main story in a fairly decent amount of time.
Another important mechanic in the game is the Gut Points which is right below your Heart Points in the game. These Gut Points allow you to land your Super Attack or call a backup player who lands a powerful attack and then leaves the stage. However, these Gut Points also serve as an extra health bar because if your health reaches zero, instead of using your remaining lives, the game first uses any leftover Gut Points and converts them into Heart Points giving you a second chance at redemption. The Heart Points you get depend on the available Gut Points. It is always a bargain with using your Gut Points because you can either use them for attacks or save them for a sticky situation.
However, with all this goodness, sometimes the game’s gameplay feels somewhat dated for the modern consoles. One thing is that there is no custom button mapping in the game even with two empty keys for the controller. In addition, the dash is just weird because instead of assigning a dash to a normal key, you have to play around with the left joystick or D-Pad to dash around, and sadly it does not work always. Despite having two different settings of how the game allows you to dash, both of them feel broken sometimes and this causes great confusion especially during fights with enemies.
The sound design of the game is really good as well with beats and score returning from the original game. Apart from the music, it sometimes feels a little out of place on the PS5 console. I don’t know whether this is the case on all platforms but the PS5 version suffers from a slight audio problem where the music completely overshadows the normal sounds of the game. Visually, there is no difference to the game as well with the game running at a 1080p resolution with retro visuals. A modern visual mode would have been a nice addition to the game but sadly it features the same retro visuals that the original title shipped with. However, this does not mean that the game looks bad. The visuals look great and I loved the character and the level design of the title. Apart from the audio issues, the game appears to be in a pretty stable condition with no visual hiccups or frame drops at any location in the game.
The Complete Edition brings back the full story mode along with network gameplay and local co-op support with three other players can join you in the game. Having additional players certainly helps in the game as you can help each other back up if one of you gets knocked out cold. Apart from the main story mode, the game also has four unique modes including a Boss Rush mode, Battle Royal, Dodge Ball, and Survival Horror. These modes are not as good as the main story of the game but it is still a good addition to the game and could offer a decent distraction from the main game if you want to stop playing the main story of the game for some time.
Sticking to the co-op aspect of the game, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game – Complete Edition is an excellent co-op game with tons of benefits of playing together with other people. One that the game has seven unique players to choose from including one that is initially locked and you have to unlock it. In addition, co-op players can help each other out in various ways. Low on cash? A rich co-op player can donate you some cash for your next purchase. Out of health? Your fellow co-op player can give your health and someone gets knocked out, you can also steal their soul and control their character if they allow it. In short, there are tons of advantages if you jump in the game with your friends or just randoms.
Final Verdict:
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game – Complete Edition brings back a lot of memories and seeing it back on modern consoles is a great start to 2021. This is one title that had very little hope of coming back however with the release, we can look forward to a possible sequel to the game as well. It brings back the same classic visuals, retro soundtrack, and somewhat dated controls along with fun and satisfying brawler combat and brilliant levels to explore. It is a beautiful game to play in co-op and can offer hours upon hours of brawler action for you and your friends. A must-buy for everyone.
Final Score: 9.5/10
