Scott Pilgrim EX was provided by Tribute Games Inc. for review. Thank you!
There aren’t many franchises that I feel like I can keep coming back to, no matter how many times I see or read the story, but Scott Pilgrim is one of them. The franchise started as a comic and expanded to a fantastic movie, which I can rewatch over and over, and a full-fledged video game. I played the hell out of this game when it was originally released in 2010, and I have longed for a return to its hilarious, video game-inspired world. Now, after over 15 years, Scott Pilgrim has returned in Scott Pilgrim EX, and it’s almost as glorious as I could’ve hoped.
One of my favorite things about the world of Scott Pilgrim is its commitment to being a somewhat parody of popular video games. And this continues in the new game. The gorgeous pixel world of the game is filled to the brim with references to tons of other franchises. From the save points that look like the poles from the classic Sonic the Hedgehog games, to random characters and enemies that look very similar to others like Scorpion from Mortal Kombat or the popular dog from Undertale, there are just so many references packed into almost every aspect of the game that it feels like a love letter. In a way, the entire franchise is a love letter to video games, and I was overjoyed to see just how much of that love was brought into this game.
Scott Pilgrim EX also features a nice new story to tell, and while it isn’t the most compelling, it does the job and is still entertaining. After all our bandmates and their instruments were stolen by Robo Scott, we have to work together with other characters from the franchise to find and save them. This leads us to hop through dimensions, travel through Scott’s hometown in Canada, and fight scores of weird enemies to bring them all home.
With a relatively short play time, the story isn’t meant to be extremely detailed or in-depth. However, for a game like this, it works very well. I felt the wave of nostalgia going back in and meeting familiar faces, while seeing a lot of them in a new light due to the other dimensions we have to go through. It ultimately leads us to do a lot of back-and-forth, running across the map, which felt a little tiring at times, but it wasn’t as egregious or frustrating. There are indicators of where to go next, so even though it has a metroidvania-esque map, I never really got lost. Thankfully, there are some side quests here and there and challenging boss fights, but it can still feel like a chore every so often.
The new game also brings back the beat 'em up gameplay I loved from the previous game, and I actually like a lot of the changes that were made for this. Each of the playable characters has their own unique move set, which is fully unlocked from the start. This means that we can get into the action immediately with all the tools in our arsenal, all ready for us.
The combat itself is dynamic and fast-paced, and exactly what I would hope for from a beat 'em up. It was so enjoyable that I found myself grinding when I didn’t need to, just because I was having a blast, using my weak and strong attacks to make people explode into coins. These, combined with grabs, assists, technical moves, and our ultimate, created a nice balance that didn’t feel stale.
However, there are a few little nitpicky issues that I do have. I found it difficult here and there to line up my attacks, sometimes punching the air while the enemy is below me. I felt this primarily when trying to attack flying gargoyles, and I just kept missing because it was hard to gauge where exactly they were on a vertical plane. And while we can pick up items, most of them can’t be taken to other areas. Some of them can, but I do wish that were the standard for all the items instead of just a few.
As for progression and leveling up, this was actually one I liked more than dislike. Unlike other games with a leveling system, we level up based on when our stats go up. It isn’t based on any exp bar, or when we attack enemies, it all comes from items we pick up or purchase that increase one of our four stats. It’s a welcome change from the more common system with experience bars, and it creates a compelling gameplay loop of fighting enemies, picking up money, and using it to purchase food to get stronger. And with each character having their own progression, there’s enough reason I found to keep coming back.
Other than food and increasing stats, we can purchase equipment and badges that can augment our stats and give us some new abilities. It’s a nice extra to make us more powerful, though it doesn’t have much detail to it either.
Ultimately, Scott Pilgrim EX is a simple game. It doesn’t contain complex elements, but it doesn’t need to. The game still holds up as a great experience that is a ton of fun to play, especially with a friend. The game has drop-in co-op, and this makes the gameplay so much more fun. I would say it's probably the ultimate way to play beat 'em up games in general, and this one is no exception.
Ahead of its launch, I had no reservations about how well Scott Pilgrim EX would perform on the Steam Deck, and I was very correct. The game is flawless, hitting 90 FPS with a 5.5W battery drain, which makes it one of the best experiences on the Steam Deck currently. It's perfect to play right out of the box, and there isn't much more I can say about it otherwise.
In the settings, we can change the language, toggle shaking effects and hands-free running, turn on automatic back attacks, customize keybindings, and change volume settings.
The game doesn't support 16:10 resolutions, though you can change the window type to "Windowed" to stretch the screen to fit the entirety of the Deck screen (not recommended). There are also cloud saves and controller support.
Scott Pilgrim EX is a great beat 'em up that gets almost everything right. The combat is dynamic and exciting, the world is gorgeous and filled with references to other video games, and light RPG systems that made progression more enjoyable than I expected. It can feel a little too simple at times overall, and I had some trouble lining up my attacks, but it never detracts from the gameplay and is still fun, especially when you have another friend to play with.
It's also perfect on the Steam Deck. It runs at 90 FPS with an extremely low 5.5W battery drain, and it's a fantastic game to play on the go.
Our review is based on the PC version of this game.
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Scott Pilgrim EX is a great beat 'em up filled with great combat, a nostalgic world, and light RPG systems that all work wonderfully together. It's also flawless on the Steam Deck.
