Scott Pilgrim EX is a supercharged beat-em-up sequel that may end up surpassing its source material

15 years after Ubisoft’s original beat-em-up spin on Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novel series, a new studio has stepped in with a sequel that looks to seriously supercharge the concept.

It’d be fair to say that developer Tribute Games is having a bit of a moment right now. After years toiling away on some pretty excellent original games before eventually finding breakout success with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, the French-Canadian team is once again digging for beat-em-up gold with not one, but two beautiful pixel-perfect beat-em-ups on the horizon.

I’ve made my thoughts on this year’s extremely promising Marvel: Cosmic Invasion known already. What I didn’t expect heading into my demo for Scott Pilgrim EX at Gamescom, however, was that I would enjoy it just as much – but for entirely different reasons. While Scott Pilgrim EX may look like just another pixelated beat-em-up take on Bryan Lee O’Malley’s cult classic graphic novels on the surface, believe me, plenty has changed since that first Scott Pilgrim vs the World game from 2010, which served as a mostly direct translation.

Scott Pilgrim EX is much more of a sequel story, spinning up a tale set after the events of the movie/ graphic novel/ game by seeing Scott and Ramona team up with the latter’s league of evil exes this time around, fighting through a fully interconnected 2D Toronto in a bid to track down and rescue all of Sex Bob-Omb’s band members and their instruments. In lesser hands I’d be worried about expanding this universe in a game, but Scott Pilgrim EX is penned by O’Malley himself and in-universe references abound.

True, at its heart Scott Pilgrim EX is yet another solid licensed beat-em-up – and from this studio I’d expect nothing less. What sets it apart, though, is just how much more open and flexible it is compared to its genre peers – even Marvel: Cosmic Invasion – which by comparison now seem to be playing it safe. I may have only got hands-on for only 30 minutes, but Scott Pilgrim EX had me doing so much more than dishing out a good mix of light, heavy, and special attacks against waves of side-scrolling enemies in this brief time. Between optional mini-games, a fully explorable map that had me going back-and-forth, plus some seriously unique playable characters, it has plenty more to offer.

I spent the beginning of my demo playing as Scott, who as you’d expect, handles like a good all-rounder. Controlling his chunky character sprite felt oddly familiar, but the biggest change EX implements over the original game is that enemies are far less spongy this time around. Unlike Ubisoft’s decade-old game (which looked and sounded great but could often be tiresome to play), here, beating down legions of beach vegans felt satisfyingly punchy, even as the madness of four-player co-op fully began to take hold and I had to concentrate really hard to keep an eye on my character.

READ MORE: Sonic Racing CrossWorlds is still on track to be 2025’s most exciting and colourful kart racer

READ MORE: Shinobi: Art of Vengeance review – Lizardcube does it again with stunning revival of a Sega classic

The power of love

Speaking of which, one of the major appeals of Scott Pilgrim EX for fans will be the ability to play as Ramona’s evil exes. In my Gamescom demo I had access to both Roxy, who, as you’d expect, handles more swiftly due to her ninja-like sensibilities compared to Scott and Ramona. Most of my time, however, was spent playing as Lucas Lee, who Scott Pilgrim fans will know as the self-absorbed actor who comes complete with his own stunt team.

Knowing this, I’m pleased to report that Tribute Games has translated this tendency perfectly, not only by making Lucas Lee the tank-like class of Scott Pilgrim EX’s cast, but also by having his special attack be a summon that calls in a group of Lucas Lee likes, that unleash a screen-tearing AoE manoeuvre. This skill contrasts brilliantly with, say, Scott, whose special sees him strike a chord on his guitar.

Scott Pilgrim EX isn’t lacking when it comes to sheer character variety, and I’m already intrigued to see how other exes like Matthew Patel may handle. Fireball throwing, anyone? Clearly, in pretty much every aspect, Tribute Games and Bryan Lee O’Malley are having a lot of fun with not only how to pay tribute to the whacky universe, but also how to expand it too.

I imagine this was also the primary drive to not make Scott Pilgrim EX level-based. Because while the adventure is indeed segmented by chapters and objectives, not once while beating up robots or more fleshy foes was I ever pulled out of the map. It’s a small change, but one that makes for a more cohesive beat-em-up experience that feels more like a true open world, as I venture from the suburbs, to the beach, to Vegan Police HQ (yes, really) and back again.

The last major way Scott Pilgrim EX manages to stand out from the raft of pixelated beat-em-ups releasing today is in its small yet meaningful RPG elements. You see, smashing up bad guys earns you currency, as expected. Pop into one of the game’s many shops, however, and all your team’s currency is pooled into one pot, letting you purchase health upgrades like Turnip Fries or Paleo Pizza, but a whole raft of equippable power-ups too.

The fact that everyone is working from the same money pot became a recipe for chaos in my demo, too, as it made choosing the exact health boosts and upgrades I wanted a bit of a gamble and free-for-all. In other games it’d be annoying, but this chaotic group mentality is exactly the type of thing a co-op beat-em-up like this thrives on.

Much more than just another sequel, Scott Pilgrim EX is on course to confidently reform and restructure what it means to be a pixelated beat-em-up in the skin of an all-new Scott Pilgrim story.

Core to it all is the fact that the actual act of beating enemies up feels like less of a chore than it did in that first 2010 game, which when mixed in with creative special skills for each character, a surprisingly open map, and ways to form your own build for Scott, Ramona, and at least five of her evil exes, easily makes this the perfect way to continue Scott Pilgrim’s story in any medium.