Review – Scott Pilgrim EX

Before it was a game, it was already a curious mix of influences. Created by Bryan Lee O’Malley in comics released in 2004, the series’ universe has always played with pop culture in a very particular and comical way. The story so far has followed Scott Pilgrim, a young musician who falls in love with Ramona Flowers. The problem is that, to date her, Scott needs to defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends.

The series mixes romance, humor and exaggerated battles inspired directly by video game logic. Enemies explode into coins, characters seem to have extra lives and personal conflicts are literally resolved through a fight. A perfect theme for a beat ’em up, right?

This universe ended up crossing different media over the years, including the film and the game. But now, the series returns with Scott Pilgrim EX and promises many new features.

Fighting with DNA Arcade

It’s worth an important detail: I didn’t have much prior familiarity with the franchise. All I knew up until that point was what I randomly saw on the internet, and that ended up making the experience interesting for another reason: playing without nostalgia revealed how much the game can stand on its own.

Developed by Tribute Games, this is a 2D adventure game that remains a classic beat ’em up, but this time Scott and the rest of the gang arrive with new features that will allow you to do more than just fight in the streets. The player chooses between well-known characters from the series and goes through scenarios solving missions, facing groups of enemies using combos, special attacks and objects found along the way.

One of the first new things we see here is the story itself. This time we are faced with new content, written by the author himself to encourage orphaned fans of the franchise. The journey begins when the members of the band Sex Bob-Omb are kidnapped by Metal Scott, an evil version of our protagonist. Crime leaves gaps in time and space open across the map, making Toronto an interdimensional place, where the streets have quick passages to the beach, for example.

Your mission is to rescue all the members, but until that happens expect many fights against the Vegans, Robots and Demons gangs. Furthermore, the game is full of secondary missions, some of which are very fun and include a curious volleyball match. All objectives reward quest items or coins that will be useful for purchasing consumables.

The combat works well precisely because it is direct. The fights are quick, requiring attention to positioning, and can even be surprising due to the level of challenge at certain moments. Even in the first few hours, the game already demonstrates that it doesn’t want to be just a ride. There are several possible combos, grabs, partner summons, special powers, among several ways to give any enemy a good beating.

There are 7 character options and each one has different moves and submissions. Additionally, they also have their own experience levels. With this in mind, when changing characters, you may need to evolve your skills a little until you can keep up with the progression. There are also accessories that help improve the attributes of strength, vitality and agility, being an important composition to have enough energy in combat, as the hordes are often quite large.

Exploring a Fragmented Toronto

This amount of detail can take away from the simplicity that beat ’em ups commonly propose, but it ends up being an interesting management as it brings more depth to the game. What really bothers you are the distant checkpoints. See, there are many scattered around the scene, but sometimes, when you are defeated, you respawn very far away and still need to review all the dialogues without options to skip, which ends up becoming a little repetitive.

Toronto also hides many secrets. There are 12 collectible items to find. They can unlock a great ally in battles, there are also others that will help you recover your health or cause even greater damage to enemies, something especially useful if you’re playing alone. And if you are one of those who enjoy achievements, there is a menu dedicated to a list of objectives to complete and complete the game 100%.

You can fulfill this redemption and enjoy Scott Pilgrim EX with up to 4 local and online players. In this mode there are several ways to play: you can use GameShare to share the game with a friend who doesn’t have the title, you can also join online sessions and follow other players, as well as invite them to your sessions, which helps with progression. Be warned: cross-play is enabled, so you can play with friends who have the game on other platforms and this meeting results in wonderful chaos.

Playing alone can be quite challenging. Despite the frenetic combat and diverse abilities, the hordes of enemies can be tricky. There are many variations of them, with blows, powers and objects being thrown. Managing everything is a huge challenge and, in the end, there is life to deal with a boss. Sharing this challenge can make things a little easier, here’s a tip.

Alone or online, you can’t help but notice the game’s visuals. Pixel art is vibrant, full of personality and extremely expressive. Each scenario seems carefully constructed, full of details and packed with references scattered throughout the environment. This was a complete surprise to me, as I had never noticed this feature of the series. And together with friends, it’s a fun pixel art binge and fights.

Another thing that draws attention are the songs by the band Anamanaguchi. 8-bit rock is energetic, making gaming always lively. Those who know know that the band follows the series and, this time, their compositions are also new, made entirely to bring Toronto and this whole adventure to life.

Even without deeply knowing the series’ universe, it’s easy to see that Scott Pilgrim EX is full of homages to pop culture, comics and video games. Exploring each area often becomes an exercise in curiosity, trying to identify as many of these hidden references as possible. And that always leads to that silly smile or even a mental recreation of the Leonardo DiCaprio meme, you know?

Scott Pilgrim EX has a livelier city than expected

Unlike the 2010 game, Scott Pilgrim EX tries to expand the scope of the experience a little. Instead of just advancing through linear stages, as is customary in games of this genre, here there is an explorable version of Toronto. The player can move around areas of the city, talk to characters, accept small missions and revisit previously explored locations, almost like a good metroidvania.

This structure makes the world more alive, giving the chance to review and discover interesting facts with each passage, even if it is not always completely varied, since in terms of combat it doesn’t change much. There are, for example, no acquisitions of new skills that allow you to open new places or face new types of enemies. Still, it’s a good way to improve the character and get to know other faces in the story.

Anyway, exploration can become a little repetitive at times, but it rarely becomes a real problem. The game itself allows you to run between areas, so anyone who prefers to stay focused on the missions can do so without major interruptions (except for chats). In fact, the game always indicates where the next objective is, another feature that distances it from a metroidvania.

In search of Easter eggs

For those who like to observe the scenery and discover small details, the city ends up becoming a curious space to explore, even more so because you come across objects that may not make much sense at first glance, asking for some of your attention to find their secrets.

The weight of comparison may be unavoidable. For many players, the most direct reference will still be Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game. The 2010 game became cult precisely because it accurately revives the spirit of arcade beat ’em ups: direct stages, intense combat and fast progression.

Scott Pilgrim EX tries to expand this proposal, adding exploration and a slightly more open structure, in addition to improvements. This may seem like a natural evolution or just a change of pace from the classic format, a bold way to try to renew the genre. All of these expansions make the game more robust, but honestly, they still manage to keep the gameplay simple and its street fighting essence.

Regardless, the game maintains what defines the series: strong visual style, irreverent humor and combat designed to be chaotic and fun. Another feature that the game preserves is its font style for texts. Despite being its own thing, it is a little cumbersome and sometimes makes it difficult to read, this bothered me a little, especially in portable mode.

Scott Pilgrim EX expands on a formula that already worked, adding new possibilities without abandoning the arcade spirit that defines the franchise. Even for those who have no prior connection with the Scott Pilgrim universe, the game manages to sustain itself with its personality, striking visuals and fun combat.

And for those who already know and follow it, it is certainly a more than welcome addition, as it is an unprecedented story. Exploration of the city could be more varied at times, but the amount of details, references and small elements spread throughout the world helps keep the experience interesting and lively.

Ultimately, Scott Pilgrim EX embraces what has always been its greatest asset: stylish brawling, absurdist humor, and a constant celebration of gamer culture. It’s almost like a representation of each of us in a fantastic world that we could live in, and so if you, like me, don’t know this series yet, please don’t waste time and play it.