Scott Pilgrim EX review: "Fantastically crunchy pixel combat is let down by an obsession with repetitive backtracking"
3 minute readPublished: Tuesday, March 3, 2026 at 3:00 pm
Scott Pilgrim EX: A Retro Beat 'Em Up with Modern Frustrations
The highly anticipated *Scott Pilgrim EX* has arrived, promising a fresh take on the beloved beat 'em up formula. The game, developed by Tribute Games, aims to recapture the magic of the original *Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game*, which helped revitalize the genre. This time, the story sees the band Sex Bob-Omb kidnapped by a character inspired by Sonic CD's Metal Sonic, prompting a rescue mission involving Scott, Ramona Flowers, and a team of heroes and villains.
*Scott Pilgrim EX* boasts a vibrant art style, charming dialogue penned by series author Bryan Lee O'Malley, and a soundtrack by Anamanaguchi. The game introduces a diverse cast of seven playable characters, each with unique fighting styles inspired by fighting game archetypes. Players can choose from characters like Scott Pilgrim, Matthew Patel, and Robot-01, each offering distinct movesets and combo potential.
However, despite its strengths, *Scott Pilgrim EX* struggles to fully deliver on its potential. The game's open-world design, while ambitious, feels underdeveloped. The map, a representation of Toronto, is largely a linear path with limited side areas. The mission structure relies heavily on repetitive fetch quests, leading to excessive backtracking. This is compounded by frustrating checkpoint systems that can send players back to earlier stages after a defeat.
The game also misses opportunities to capitalize on its time-travel plot, with limited interactions between different versions of the characters. While the combat is enjoyable, the repetitive mission design and backtracking ultimately detract from the overall experience.
BNN's Perspective:
*Scott Pilgrim EX* is a mixed bag. While the core combat and character roster offer a fun experience, the game's open-world design and repetitive mission structure hold it back. The developers clearly have a passion for the source material and the genre, but the execution falls short of the high bar set by the original game and other modern beat 'em ups. It's a fun game, but it could have been so much more.
Keywords: Scott Pilgrim EX, beat 'em up, video game, review, Tribute Games, combat, open world, backtracking, characters, Sex Bob-Omb, Ramona Flowers, Anamanaguchi, retro, fighting game, gameplay, story, Toronto.