Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Has Been Resurrected After a Decade, But How Does It Stand in 2021?
I think it’s fair to say that 2010 was a simpler time for most of us, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was definitely a part of that simpler time for me. I remember watching my friend play the game on his Dell PC and eventually taking Scott on his epic journey to defeat Ramona’s evil exes for myself.
Since its initial release in 2010, the Scott Pilgrim franchise has gained a hard-core fan base, which includes fans of the game itself, the original comics from Bryan Lee O'Malley, and the live-action film from Edgar Wright (all of which I enjoy greatly). The game, however, became a poster child for delisted games when it was removed from all platforms due to its license expiring, meaning that the developers of the game could no longer legally make money off of the Scott Pilgrim property. So it definitely caught my attention when I heard that Ubisoft would be re-releasing the game for its 10-year anniversary. While there was no question I was going to buy the game, I was hesitant as to what the Scott Pilgrim experience would be in 2021. Would the side-scrolling beat-em-up still have the same quirky appeal? Or would its gameplay come across as generic or dated?
Much to my satisfaction, I did not find this to be the case. If anything, I would argue that I had even more fun playing it now on my Nintendo Switch than I did when I first played it in 2010. I say this for multiple reasons, one of the main ones being the pure nostalgia I felt from the moment I saw the bright orange loading screen and heard the iconic soundtrack, to the moment I defeated the final boss Gideon in level 13 and saw Scott finally victorious in his conquest of Ramona’s Exes. I felt as though I was back in my old neighborhood in my friend’s room, consuming way too many cool ranch Doritos and grape sodas on a school night. And after the last year, I must say that this was a very welcome throwback.
However, while I did enjoy revisiting Scott's world after so many years, the game is by no means perfect, and there are a few things that you should be aware of before diving in. There is certainly not a lot of variety in terms of gameplay when it comes to attacks and combos, with each character having just one regular attack and one heavy (with jumping and crouching variations). This is not inherently a bad thing, but it can get slightly repetitive, especially when you consider you can’t really pull off any combinations besides doing one of the two attacks. One of the most frustrating things in the game is that you cannot outright see what each item does for you until you purchase it, which can lead to wasting money on the wrong items when trying to level up your fighter in a specific category. However, I found this a pretty easy obstacle to circumnavigate by looking up a shopping guide on my phone whenever I played the game and went to a store.
While video games have come a long way over the past years in terms of graphics, gameplay, etc., the support for retro and indie games is as strong as ever, with games like Undertale, Cuphead, and Hades being huge successes. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a welcome addition to this category and truly has something for everyone with its iconic set of characters for multiplayer fun, captivating single-player story mode, and extremely enjoyable extra game modes. Day-one fans like myself will thoroughly enjoy revisiting all 13 levels, as will those who never had the opportunity to play the original game until it was too late. I know multiple people who are huge fans of the movie adaptation and subsequent soundtrack but never got the chance to play the game. I'm sure there are tons of other people around the world who fit into the same category. This release is a glorious opportunity for them to get the experience they probably never thought they would get after the game was stripped from all platforms in 2014. Overall, while Scott Pilgrim vs. The World may not be a perfect game, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives and make it a worthwhile gaming experience in 2021. I do not regret buying this game by any means, and I strongly recommend the re-release whether you’re a Scott Pilgrim mega-fan looking for a nostalgic adventure, or a total newbie that wants to dive into Scott's chaotic action-packed quest for romance for the very first time.
Written by: Bryan Herrera | Instagram
Art by: Yanni Spanolios | Instagram
