For seven long years, the fantastic Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game was absent from digital shelves. Thankfully, the beloved cult-classic beat 'em up has made its return for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. Bringing together the classic gameplay many fell in love with and the old downloadable content into a single, simple purchase has revitalized some player's nostalgia for phenomenal beat 'em up games.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World has noted as a great action game experience, yet like many other games of its ilk, it's pretty short. The game only takes a couple of hours to beat, though players who want to can spend hours grinding. This leaves many with an itch for more games like it. Thankfully, the beat 'em up genre has plenty of gems, both hidden and highly regarded, meaning you don't have to look far to find more phenomenal action. If you're looking for a great beat 'em up game to play after finishing Scott Pilgrim, here are five titles that will fulfill those needs.
Mother Russia Bleeds
Released in 2016 from Devolver Digital, Mother Russia Bleeds is a brutal beat 'em up experience that's not for the faint of heart. While its mature content might seem a bit offensive or tacky to some, the gameplay is on point. Fast, brutal combat systems paired with dangerous weapons and a radically steep difficulty make this title a must for fans of the genre. If you loved Scott Pilgrim vs. The World's pixel art, you'll probably like Mother Russia Bleeds' style. While not particularly charming in the visual department, the grungy, muddy aesthetics paired with pixel art blend together to create a brutal action game experience that's certainly worth playing.
Armored Warriors
Capcom is known for producing some of the greatest beat 'em up games of all time. Titles like Alien vs. Predator and Final Fight put the company on the map as one of the greatest beat 'em up publishers. One particular gem from Capcom's glory days has largely been forgotten: Armored Warriors. The game puts players in the role of mech pilots, racing around the screen at lightning speeds, beating the snot out of other gigantic robots.
If fast-paced robot destruction isn't cool enough for you, Armored Warriors also has unique upgrade mechanics that allow players to switch up their entire move sets with pickups from destroyed enemies. The sheer amount of customization for gameplay and the lightning speed of the experience makes it a brisk yet phenomenal time for everyone. Armored Warriors has not been lost to time, thankfully, with its inclusion in the Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle, which is available on every current platform.
Castle Crashers
Discussions about beat 'em ups need to mention Castle Crashers. The whimsical side-scrolling action title is a blast for the whole family -- as long as they don't mind the major difficulty spikes. Castle Crashers possesses a shameless, goofy attitude, which largely resembles Scott Pilgrim in certain ways. The great slapstick comedy isn't everything that Castle Crashers has to offer, though, with hours of awesome combat, tons of upgrade options that dramatically adjust playstyle and lots of other mechanical complexities to explore. Castle Crashers can be found just about anywhere, and for dirt cheap, so it's worth picking up the indie gem if you haven't already.
Final Fight
Arguably the granddaddy of the beat 'em up genre, Final Fight was the game that put Capcom's beat 'em up arcade games on the map. Final Fight wasn't the first beat 'em up to roll in, but it was the first to make a substantial impact on the industry. By today's standards, Final Fight might feel a tad rough around the edges, but its superb combat system, distinct enemies and crushing difficulty still make it a blast to play. It also marks as an important history lesson for the genre. Like Armored Warriors, Final Fight is available in the Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle, which is great for preserving this classic gem of the arcade era.
Streets of Rage 3 or 4
When recommending a Streets of Rage title, it's hard to recommend just one. While the series had a slightly rough start on the Genesis, Sega's Streets of Rage grew into a phenomenal franchise, improving steadily with each title. Once Streets of Rage 3 hit, it proved to be one of -- if not the -- best beat 'em up around at the time, and it has aged fantastically. You can play Streets of Rage 3 just about everywhere, with tons of Sega Genesis collections available on any platform, containing tons of gems from that golden era of console gaming.
If you're looking for something a bit newer, Streets of Rage 4 is where it's at. Streets of Rage 4 might hold back a bit on the mechanical improvements the previous game made to the series, but its distinct art style and fluid combat mostly negate those issues. Streets of Rage 4 is a stellar co-op experience, filled with tons of unlockables, homages to the series' past and plenty of difficult challenges that will ask you to master its tightly tuned gameplay.