I remember there being a fervent excitement for the Scott Pilgrim movie around the tail end of my high school career. Having not read the comics, this wasn’t such a big deal to me. Unfortunately, two of the people telling me how exciting this was did the movie reviews for the school paper, and once stated The Queen was a horrible movie because it was about an old lady. Needless to say, that means nothing.
I would eventually see the movie, but I remembered being too distracted by whatever happened to Michael Cera and his face to truly enjoy it, even if the entire cast went on to be the biggest names in the industry. There was just never that attachment there for me. Scott Pilgrim EX doesn’t stray that far from everything that came before, but maybe getting to play something that harkens back to a specific slice of nostalgia familiar to me. It could be I was finally ready to feel that nostalgia in a way I wasn’t at 20, but it is something there that grabbed me.
The first thing of note was that Scott Pilgrim EX is a sequel, albeit unofficial, to the recent anime from 2023, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, which is actually familiar to me. This contrasts with the game from 2012, which was an adaptation of the film plot, so here, we get an original set of events set after, in which Sonic the Hedgehog 2 happens in Scott’s home city of Toronto.
This isn’t least of all because progress is literally saved at Star Posts scattered around the city, but also because the main antagonist through much of the story is, in fact, a metal, spin-dashing Scott Pilgrim. The members of his band Sex Bob-omb then go missing, and this forms the crux of the narrative as Scott and five other allies go out to save them and just generally beat the bad guys. Moreover, just to be clear, the band’s name, which is a bit of classic nostalgia, is not the only reference to Super Mario, so there’s that.
While the game is chock-full of 90s references, the core of the game, which is a beat ’em up, draws heavily from River City Ransom over anything else, the third entry in the Kunio-kun series that reached America in 1990. These games have the move from left to right, and occasionally get stuck in a frame as you fight a horde of enemies, then move on. Where Kunio varied, and these similarities begin, is that the world can be explored at your leisure after unlocking new areas, which is actually encouraged.
The player can choose between Scott Pilgrim, Ramona Flowers, Roxie Richter, Lucas Lee, Matthew Patel, and Robot-01 as they fight three gangs in the city. They look for members of the band as well as riffs to open rifts that allow the gang to open new areas that connect to the main map. It feels even more absurd than a Toronto filled with multi-colored succubuses trying to beat you down.
Of all the inclusions, though, that of Robot-01 feels like a letdown. I know the character played a prominent role in Take Off, but there are so many memorable characters that could have replaced what amounts to a generic-looking robot. Kim Pines, for instance, can be seen jumping from job to job as she works at almost every business you can interact with. Similarly, Younge Neil and Knives Chau take on roles in the background, all of which I would have rather had as playable fighters.
Part of the reason for this is that, despite the game having a VERY light story, during key moments like beating a boss, characters get to bring their personalities into dialogue. It feels like the best of all the throwbacks since I haven’t seen that in a while. Even River City Girls, one of my favorite series, treats both main leads as if they are always there. This approach in Scott Pilgrim EX led to some pretty interesting moments and, if we are being honest, is probably why I spent most of my playtime on Roxie with her absolute attitude. Well, that and she has a big sword that she uses to hurt people.
These characters all have their own fighting style that they bring into the mix, as well as their leveling arc, so there is value to switching between them. You can do so easily, so there is no reason not to try them out as often as you can. There is also a drop-in/drop-out co-op of up to four people, so you can mix and match just how these characters can feed off each other. Combat itself can be pure chaos as the game throws waves of enemies at you, and while you can clear these alone, bringing friends into the mix makes it all the more fun and far less frustrating.
And trust me, solo, the game can get frustrating. After getting everything you need to progress, narrative points are always marked with boss fights. They are pretty cool enemies that involve more, so knowing their attacks and avoiding them, and countering when you know a break will happen. The issue is that all the while, waves of other enemies charge you. This happens during the actual fight, but even getting to the fight requires fighting a horde of enemies, AND THEN, and then you get to fight the boss and his minions. This gets worse the further you get, as later bosses have a horde fight you need to win an objective against, then a horde fight, and then the boss. I needed a friend’s help to beat the game because my maxed stats, Roxie, were no match for the war of attrition.
Healing in general makes this more frustrating, as you can only take one food item to go, and not every food item can be. This doesn’t act as healing but more as a revive should you hit zero. Most bosses, though, can hit for more than these can revive, so it feels more like a prolonging of the inevitable rather than something useful. Enemies also drop health, but very few and far between, and in fights where you are fighting what seems like the entire universe, it would be more helpful to get more. Even hitting 0 HP, you do get a chance at a revive, though again, in single player, you can’t move. With ten enemies probably on screen, you are most likely screwed, a much less agonizing fate when you have allies.
I knew going in how the game was geared towards playing with one to three friends, so this doesn’t shock me. The issue is that they don’t really need to balance anything for more people because they are already throwing all of that at you when you’re solo, which feels almost hostile in a way. Some of us don’t have friends, and we would like to enjoy Zany fights in Toronto just like everybody else. Thank you very much!
Food is equally the way you level up your character, with each food item having a stat increase they offer. There is no traditional leveling system on top of that, which is a shame. This allows you to farm stats if you are stuck, with the need just being that you fight enemies for pocket change to run to a place and buy these items. You have access to a place you can farm yourself to max in the second area. The other unfortunate part is that characters don’t evolve their combat set past what you start with. While slamming enemies back with Ramona’s hammer is fun, it robs this game of the depth some other titles in the same space bring.
Exploring the map is fun, though again, it’s a pretty small map, made up of Toronto being essentially the center of it and these very bizarre alternate areas branching off from it. What the map lacks in size, it makes up for in personality. One area that you reach from a suburban area is a literal gothic castle. From a beach area, you can reach the Ice Age. A lot is going on. At one point, you fight Metal Scott in a park with Super Mario backgrounds, in front of a White Castle. This feels like the unholy trinity of my childhood.
All the while wandering around, you are also treated to a pretty awesome 16-bit retro-inspired soundtrack that feels par for the course, given everything else. Anamanaguchi, a chiptune rock band, gave some personality to a world already bursting with it, which is definitely a good thing.
Verdict
Scott Pilgrim EX is a passable nostalgia romp that will offer you and your friends enjoyment, bashing your way through the world. The throwback world combines multiple aspects of games I grew up with, both as obvious references and easy-to-miss sight gags, with a fun roster of characters to beat your way through everything that stands in your way. The biggest issue I had with this experience was how hostile it got towards playing solo later on in the game. This can be solved if you play the way the retro gods intended and invite some friends, but it was still a glaring wall to hit. Scott Pilgrim EX never hits the apex of the nostalgia it hopes to emulate, but it is still a fun time to be had by all.
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Reviewed on PlayStation 5, also available for PlayStation 4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC
A review key for this title was provided by Tribute Games for the purposes of this review.
Developer/Publisher: Tribute Games
Release Date: March 3, 2026
Pros:
+Fun combat across several playable characters
+loads of retro nostalgia in a classic's inspired package
+Great co-op experience
+Anamanaguchi soundtrack
Cons:
-Not much depth to leveling up and developing character
-becomes increasingly punishing if you go solo
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Scott Pilgrim EX
