New Age Retro – Scott Pilgrim EX (PC) Review

Nearly 20 years after the graphic novel that started it all (and yes 2004 was 20 years ago), Scott Pilgrim EX is the newest game from Tribute Games and the most recent addition to Bryan Lee O’Malley’s comic universe about the worst thing you could be: a 24 year old. The game loosely sets itself after the events of the 2024 anime series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, with a majority of the cast being pretty chill with one another compared to the graphic novel. EX also harkens back to its predecessor, the tie-in game for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World in 2010, through its beat-em-up roots, art from Paul Robertson, and an original score from chiptune band Anamanaguchi. A majority of the people on the current team even worked on the original game as part of Ubisoft Montreal! Though the folks at Tribute, fresh off the heels of popular collaborations with Marvel and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, use their familiarity with a retro genre and this particular fusion to create something that’s as fun to play as it is to watch and listen to.

In the game, Scott’s bandmates are taken by an unknown entity aided by the mysterious Metal Scott. In order to save his friends, Scott teams up with his girlfriend Ramona Flowers, former Evil Exes Matthew Patel, Lucas Lee, Roxie Richter, and the robot that the Katayanagi Twins made. Each character has the same basic abilities when it comes to movement, strong and light attacks, and ability to throw opponents. They also have their own special abilities and additional tech moves activated by pressing up or down with Triangle (we’re a Dualsense household, sue me). These moves add variety between additional precise strikes or moves that give you room as enemies start to pile on. A variety of side characters shine as support moves you can trigger with L1; from Wallace Wells giving you an attack buff, to Young Neil causing a screenwide attack to clear mobs. As the enemies get tougher, you’ll also need to stock up on health items along with accessories to juice your stats, like health and attack power, to survive the ruthless streets of Canada.

The world of Toronto is lovingly filled to bursting with retro gaming flair, but EX‘s map is one contiguous section which lines up closer to River CIty Ransom than 2010’s homage to Super Mario World. “More” is the central ethos when it comes to how Tribute wanted to design this iteration of The Global Second City. Rather than go through one level at a time, Downtown Toronto is splayed out for the player to freely roam about with mysterious portals ripped open which act as the more involved levels you’ll be fighting through. This gives some more freedom in theming as well, which isn’t bad but it’s notable that the first level in the 2010 game was set in the depths of Northern Winter before you get to the gig, while here we walk through a portal to get to an ice level with a dinosaur version of Todd and Cavewoman Roxie as the bosses. Still fun, still creative, but also a key distinction between Ubisoft Montreal’s attempts to condense a book series that sprawls one year into one game, and EX being much lower stakes as if it were just happening through the weekend. If there’s any conversation around what reclamation of the term “cozy” would be, I don’t wanna be in that convo, but I’d at least bring up Scott Pilgrim EX as a step up with how it blends being hard while being super easy to pick up. 

After Metal Scott steals your friends, you go through a variety of quests in order to save the day. A lot of the game is getting from point A to point B and fighting bosses. Again, it’s aggressively simple of a concept as are most of the beat ‘em ups that precede it. Then again, that’s still part of what makes this game so fun! By the end of my playthrough I managed to clock in 6 hours total, and that’s something I won’t mind going through with friends for the next time or trying out New Game Plus mode. Friends are able to hop in and out as well with the introduction of online co-op right from the jump, something that the 2010 game had to wait much later to include. You can even hop onto other people’s sessions freely in a quick button press! It’s never been easier to bust up vegans and robots with some friends than now.

The key feature of the 2010 tie-in game alongside its art was its soundtrack from Anamanaguchi, and they’ve once again come through to soundtrack Scott Pilgrim EX. The chiptune crew from Brooklyn recently put out an album this past year as an evolution from the capital G Gamer tone their music has had, and this soundtrack feels aligned with that perspective. The main overworld theme you’ll be hearing for a chunk of the game feels like a marriage between the original’s title theme and its first level track “Another Winter,” probably the best move for the song that plays most often through the game. Places that are home to shops or storefronts are much more laid back in tone and then songs ramp up once it’s time to kick ass. There’s also moments where the timbre of the game shifts to suit the more fast and loose style of this game; a boss taking place in an old music hall leaning happily into a big band sound for example. When it comes to something as niche as a video game soundtrack intending to evoke a pre-Y2K soundfont, it’s great to hear Anamanaguchi continue to approach the task with a lot of ingenuity and fun.

As someone who has read the books, watched the movie, reread the books in the color hardcover editions, and watched the anime, this is the perfect amount of more Scott Pilgrim I’d want. It’s also important to go outside and drink a beer (personally) and hang out with friends, as the series has been able to highlight time and time again. Like, I’m almost 30 man; any sort of connection I would have to this bastard kid has long since eroded, but it’s been fun getting to squeeze a quest or two in for a day and then go take care of the rest of my night. At a point where I’m having to schedule my gaming sessions because of how busy life is, Scott Pilgrim EX is one of the few games that recognizes I’m no longer young, unemployed, alone, or a combination of the three and respects the fact I have shit to do. I would love for more games to treat me with this respect, and thankfully there’s some who still do! Also Hazel and Katie from Seconds are here so this is basically the best game on the market.