The World: The Game was originally released back in 2010 to coincide with the release of Universal’s film adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series, about a group of 20-something Toronto slackers navigating life and relationships through video game-inspired hijinks.

A joint project by Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Chengdu, it offered a Scott Pilgrim-spin on the beat ‘em up RPG-lite classic, River City Ransom, that was elevated both by artist Paul Robertson’s bubbly animation-style and chiptune punk band Anamanaguchi’s upbeat soundtrack.

Beat ‘em ups have had a bit of a renaissance these last few years, and while Scott Pilgrim vs.

Like its source material, Scott Pilgrim vs.

Enter a cheat code (Square, Square, Square, X, Circle, Triangle on PS4) and you can start every level with a deadly sword that sends out Master Sword-style energy waves.

The World is as it was before, like coming back to your childhood bedroom, perfectly preserved in the years since you left, out of negligence as much as anything else.

This includes the imperfect but workable online multiplayer, previously released as DLC years after the game first came out.

I’ve been playing here and there with friends and strangers over the past week, and it’s felt like the unexpected reprieve of a snow day combined with the freewheeling exuberance of a post-barcrawl coop session—two things rendered mirage-like fantasies by the pandemic.