Scott Pilgrim EX Rules And It’s A Pitch-Perfect Adaptation (Review)

Scott Pilgrim EX is the latest adaptation of the comic of the same name, once again bringing the video game-inspired slacker into the realm of gaming. Previous crossovers into gaming have been really impressive for Scott Pilgrim, whose original aesthetic, worldbuilding, and pool of references were largely driven by classic gaming of the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis era. Scott Pilgrim EX looked to be an even greater expansion of that aesthetic, with trailers indicating a faithful reinvention of the comic characters into a fresh game world.

The final product is better than I could have imagined. Tribute Games has produced one of the best beat-em-ups in years, a terrific action title with a shocking amount of depth. The sense of adventure, exploration, and excitement in Scott Pilgrim EX makes for one of the most purely entertaining and easily engaging games I’ve played in a while. As a fan of the source material, it’s a pitch-perfect love letter to Scott Pilgrim and the history of gaming — and it’s also just a flawless action game on top of that.

Review Score: 5/5

Pros:	Cons:
Terrific action and sense of worldbuilding deliver a terrific beat-em-up/MetroidVania fusion.	If you don’t like beat-em-ups or retro games, you can probably skip this one.
Sense of style is a pitch-perfect recreation and expansion of the source material.	Small visual hiccups can be a little distracting.
Quick to learn, fun to master, hard to put down.

Scott Pilgrim EX Takes A Brawler Into A MetroidVania

Scott Pilgrim EX is an absolute blast, a side-scroller that gives the side-scrolling combat and cartoonish adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s comics a MetroidVania vibe to expand the experience and give it a new layer of depth. When most of the members of Sex Bob-omb are kidnapped by the mysterious Metal Scott, Scott and Ramona are forced to team up with some of their former enemies/Ramona’s ex-partners if they want a shot at saving their friends. After a brief early battle that shows players the ropes, the game opens up to the world of Torotono in the year 20XX, where players will also be forced to fight their way through hordes of demons, robots, and vegans if they want any shot at saving the band in time for their upcoming show.

Set after the happy ending of the original story, but tweaked enough that the former enemies can become surprising friends and experience the growth they got in the Netflix series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Scott Pilgrim EX plays like a refined version of the cult classic Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game that came out in 2010. The game’s design has been greatly enhanced, though, with players given relative free rein to explore Toronto and try to save their friends. It’s up to you to decide where to go and who to fight, giving the whole experience a sense of freedom that’s an absolute blast.

As an expansion of beat-em-up games, it’s a great way to add natural depth and a sense of exploration to break up the combat — which itself has been refined to a great point thanks to a series of combos that are quick to learn but hard to master alongside technical moves, special attacks, and precise blocks. There’s a real strength to the game design that makes the entire experience a thrill to play. With a difficulty curve that encourages impulsive attacks, impressive combos, and good use of the items around the environment, Scott Pilgrim EX knows how to refine action gameplay into something impressively deep.

Scott Pilgrim EX Looks, Sounds, And Feels Great

Beyond the game design that makes Scott Pilgrim EX a solid action game is a clear love of not just the source material but the media that helped inspire it. Scott Pilgrim EX is filled to the brim with references to the lore of the Scott Pilgrim comics and cartoons, as well as the video game visual aesthetic that has always defined it. Scott Pilgrim‘s charming illustrative style was always suited for pixel art design, as proven by the previous adaptation of the title to gaming. The game has a vibrant look that’s always moving, with background gags and deep-cut references fleshing out the world.

Taking place in a more extreme version of the Scott Pilgrim universe allows the game to really indulge in the strange visual elements, from the toned-down pathways of Subspace to the robotic legions of the game’s Metal Sonic stand-in. There’s such a clear love for the 90s era of platform gaming baked into the worldbuilding and aesthetic that any video game fan, regardless of their appreciation for Scott Pilgrim, will find plenty of fun references to the history of the medium. It’s a great way to pay tribute to not just the comics and cartoons that inspired the game’s story, but the gameplay elements it refines from previous generations into a new form.

Scott Pilgrim EX Is The Action Game I’ve Been Waiting For

Scott Pilgrim EX was always going to be an easy sell for a certain type of gamer who enjoys a retro action experience and loves the Scott Pilgrim media that has come out before. For fans of the comic (or the film, or the show), there’s such a deep wealth of love for the material on display that it has to be seen to be believed. What’s shocking is just how fun the core gameplay is. A mix of classic horde battles and inventive confrontations adds real depth to the combat and keeps it from feeling repetitive, while unlockable upgrades help level the playfield and encourage further exploration for the sake of resources and experience.

The larger open world, broken up into memorable parts of town, is full of secrets that require multiple players to unlock, adding more opportunities for players to team up and take on Metal Sonic with a full team. The comedy is constant, and the action engaging. The fact that it does all of this while also fully embodying the charm of the original stories and delivering on fun minute-to-minute gameplay is incredibly impressive. Scott Pilgrim EX is everything fans of the cult classic game could have hoped for, taking the concept and expanding it into something extraordinary.