Scott Pilgrim EX Review (PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch 2, Switch, & PC)

You need not be a hardcore fan of Scott Pilgrim to enjoy its arcadey contraptions. Although it certainly gives you an upper hand in fully appreciating the work Tribute Games has done with Scott Pilgrim EX. This beat ‘em up isn’t just another retro game. It’s a preservation of style and culture. Of references to days long gone but never lost. Even beyond the franchise itself, Tribute gives a nod to cult-classics, acknowledging how far we’ve come.

It does so with intention and expertise, too, through modernizing the gameplay, while remaining true to history. Lots of surprising depth and explorable content in this new canon entry that I’m certain both newcomers and veterans will appreciate. 

Still unsure about grabbing a copy? Our Scott Pilgrim EX review should help clear any doubts for you.

No One Messes with the Band

Sex Bob-omb, the name of Scott’s garage rock band. Currently in jeopardy of performing because some robotic hater, who happens to be your doppelganger, kidnaps your bandmates and instruments. So, now, you have to chase him down throughout 20XX Toronto, saving your bandmates one at a time, and hoping to defeat your nemesis for good. 

The story’s a lot deeper than that. Mysterious forces threaten Toronto’s future. Some gang groups, called the Vegans, Demons, and Robots. There’s time-travel, too, jumping through portals to the past and future, in the hope of saving the world. From the Distillery District to Casa Vania, you’ll travel across a Metroidvania-like interconnected, open-world fighting waves of enemies. And eventually return home in time for Sex Bob-omb’s euphoric performance. 

While you might draw connections to previous Scott Pilgrim media, you shouldn’t have a tough time connecting the dots. The narrative is, in the end, unserious and meant to be consumed lightly. It’s great for fans, I imagine, that the narrative and visual style stay true to the anime film and show. That you’d feel right at home enjoying familiar dialogue and beloved characters sprung back to life, alongside entirely new ones. 

Anyway, do enjoy the hilarious takes on saving Toronto. The rounding up of Scott’s allies, including former enemies, to take down the gangs terrorizing the city. You have seven playable characters to unlock, and memorable NPCs, filling in your explorative adventures with refreshing content. Just don’t expect something moving or even remotely compelling. It’s a story, merely a fun means to an end. 

Sucker Punch

It’s in the beat ‘em up action sequences that Scott Pilgrim EX’s core lies. Familiar yet surprisingly more complex than previous Scott Pilgrim games. At its basic, you’ll jump quickly into the mechanics, dishing out light and heavy attacks at enemies. When you string together several light attacks, the damage is more significant. And you can further mix in one-button heavy attacks to stun enemies. 

But even further are your throws offense measures you can take to dismantle gangs. They’re pretty handy with the shell and ball variety that can be retrieved for good measure. And moreover, they break through blocks, pushing you to mix up your strategy. Speaking of blocks, would you believe that you can go for precise blocks? In a beat ‘em up game? Mix them all together, and you have a pretty engaging combat flow of offense and defense.

And then Scott Pilgrim EX layers on diverse character skillsets, like classes. When some characters use grappling to grab and throw enemies, others launch projectiles. Some are summoners, others are powerful attackers. And it’s up to you to experiment and find your best fit. Keeping in mind, as much as characters specialize in different moves, they aren’t as complex as RPGs, enough to really set them apart. But it’s still awesome that some variety is present, regardless.

Same characters come bundled with special attacks, which come in handy against bosses. Every character, moreover, unleashes their special attacks in unique, flashy ways that make switching them up much more fun. You can tell their personalities and styles apart, and that goes a long way to giving some extra strength to the mini-RPG system in Scott Pilgrim EX.

All the Way Up

You are paid handsomely for your efforts in clearing out the gangs in Toronto. Most lucratively by collecting coins dropped by enemies. Cash these in at the shops and you’ll unlock new equipment that helps raise your stat levels and gives you advantages in battle. They increase your health, for instance, attack power, or coins dropped. 

Again, nothing too complex to get grindy or frustrating, which, in itself, may come with the frustration of growing powerful too fast. It’s smooth sailing powering up your characters. And at a certain point, it can feel like a quick breeze punching and kicking your way through waves of enemies. And raising the difficulty doesn’t help much to increase the challenge when your characters are maxed out. 

By the end of your three to five-hour playthrough, you’d have pretty powerful characters. And they remain so even when you jump back in. Perhaps more game modes would help alleviate button-mash fests. Add specific challenges to complete under a time limit, or boss runs. There are versions of these in the side quests you pick up while exploring the world. But nothing complex; collectathons, if anything.

Still, that’s not at all to say that Scott Pilgrim EX’s moment-to-moment gameplay isn’t wholesome. Something about how it feels to punch and kick enemies, the feedback relaying Scott’s force and weight to an impeccable degree. Even if you wind up button-mashing your way through easier enemy fodder, it still feels damn good to be ploughing through masses of evil scoundrels. 

Slick Finish

It’s that smooth feel of gameplay that really elevates Scott Pilgrim EX’s entertainment value. From start to finish, every button press and response is fluid, with characters moving faster and more gracefully. It does get chaotic, and in local co-op or online multiplayer, I suppose it can get rather confusing when so many things are happening all at once. Yet, the performance remains top-notch and overall a joy to play through.

It’s no surprise, given Tribute Games’ success in developing similar modern retro-style 2D beat ‘em up Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. A master of their craft, combining a slick finish and experience with charming nostalgia. It’s in the retro references to the anime and show that the nostalgia is made more apparent. Some you might miss, others will hit perfectly at the most unexpected times.

The checkpoints harken to the long-gone but not forgotten Sonic the Hedgehog era. Fun homages to the classic gaming era, including Casa Vania parodying the classic Castlevania series. References to Ninja Gaiden, familiar faces, and fighting styles, with a variation. Both the comic books and gaming haven’t been spared.

Yet, it can sometimes feel like a mere referencing of the past without a context that makes sense. And I get it, not every reference, given how many there are, can be meaningfully adapted. But still, it might have been more impactful to dig deeper into some of their significance to gaming in clever ways than you might expect. 

Sweet Delight

And finally, Anamanaguchi has done it again, giving us a new soundtrack to fall in love with all over again. It’s both a love letter to the franchise, but also still feels new, almost, to be listening to those beautiful hyper-melodic and garage rock chiptunes. Combined with the delightful, vibrant, cartoon art style, you have an all-around, near-perfect package.

Verdict

Scott Pilgrim EX does nearly everything perfectly, with masterful art, beautiful music, and fun beat ‘em up action. But, if you’re to analyze it with a magnifying glass, you’ll surely identify areas where it could improve and be all the better for it. But those little faults are nowhere near significant enough to degrade your experience. 

It’s simply a fun time exploring Toronto, Canada, through the eyes of Scott and his allies. To travel through time, fighting the vegans, demons, and robots. And throughout your chaotic rampage, stumbling onto more retro references to the franchise and classic gaming than you can count. 

At times, Scott Pilgrim EX sure does feel lacking in depth, like Tribute Games definitely had room to push the references’ meaningfulness further, and perhaps introduce more arcade, challenging runs post-game. Perhaps these would have made the experience excellent without fault. 

Faults or not, Scott Pilgrim EX’s beat ‘em up system looks and feels great. It’s retro but also modernized with diverse characters and depth. Even when not too complex, it still engages you enough to want to experiment with its different play styles and upgrade your stats as you go.