Review: Scott Pilgrim EX
- Guilherme Ribeiro
- 1 hour ago
- 4 min read
Scott Pilgrim needs your help to reunite the band.
THE GAME
Scott Pilgrim EX is a beat 'em up developed and distributed by Tribute Games Inc. The Scott Pilgrim franchise gets another game; this time, three gangs take over the city of Toronto in 20XX: the vegans, the robots, and the demons. To make matters worse, Scott's bandmates are abducted by evil forces. That's when our protagonist joins forces with Ramona Flowers and some of her ex-boyfriends to rescue the band and resolve this battle across time and space.
MY IMPRESSIONS
The beat 'em up genre generally presents itself in a linear fashion, with well-defined and objective levels. In Scott Pilgrim EX, this idea is subverted. Here, we have a map that functions almost like a Metroidvania, making you go back and forth, acquiring new resources to advance. And does this work well? Well, in my opinion, no. It's not that the idea is bad, but the execution doesn't work in a fun way for a beat 'em up. Defeating enemies doesn't mean much, since when you return to that part of the map, they will reappear, which makes everything tiresome. Of course, you're not forced to fight them, since you can simply run and go to the next map, but ignoring everything and everyone empties the experience.
The game's art is very cartoonish and faithful to the comics, as if they had been transported directly from them, with colors very characteristic of the series. Despite its faithfulness to the original material, you'll often find yourself visually lost, both with your character and with the interactive elements of the environment, as everything is on the same level of focus, with few indicators of what the player should interact with. The soundtrack is by the band Anamanaguchi, famous for having previously worked on the Scott Pilgrim series; they fit the style and vibe of the series perfectly. References to pop culture, especially video games, are thrown in your face constantly, and it's up to the player to notice all these homages while playing. The game is in Brazilian Portuguese, making it easier to understand the story and how the items work.
Speaking of items, you can customize your character with many of them to improve their stats. In addition, there are shops scattered throughout the maps that sell accessories and consumables. Using coins dropped by defeated enemies, you can buy these items and organize your equipment as you see fit. In addition to the playable characters, there are support characters who are called upon to deliver a blow when summoned, providing life-saving help in some tight spots. The main characters have plenty of charisma and personality, with their own gameplay characteristics that will appeal to all types of players, from those who like more robust characters to those who prefer more agile ones. The interaction of the characters with the weapons collected on the ground is quite interesting, as each one interacts differently, not just being a weapon that deals more damage. The skateboard, for example, besides being used to hit enemies, if the character jumps on it, they can ride and control it like a functional skateboard, as well as the boomerang, which actually goes and comes back. These small details may seem silly, but they give the game originality.
The gameplay is average, with some movements that are very clunky for a game of this genre. It seems that Scott Pilgrim EX was made to be played in cooperative mode, since many times you find yourself surrounded by several enemies and the only way out is to abuse the area-of-effect superpower. The cooperative gameplay experience is, at times, confusing because, for example, to advance to the next map in a four-player game, everyone must go to the same location, which makes sense, but if only one person decides not to go, everyone else will be left waiting or will have to go back to help the player who stayed behind, making the game less dynamic. Ultimately, Scott Pilgrim EX has a moderate level of challenge, with mechanics that are different from the usual beat 'em up games and may surprise fans of the genre.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Variety is what you'll find in Scott Pilgrim EX's achievements. Starting from the end, finishing the game without being knocked out, without taking any hits from the final boss, and seeing the ending for all playable characters are some of the achievements that show you'll need several playthroughs to get them. In terms of collecting items, you'll have to get all the accessories, badges, and unlock all the item descriptions in the shops, which will certainly have you traveling all over the game's maps. The most fun achievements for me are those that require the player to perform specific actions, in this case, even related to the characters in the Scott Pilgrim universe. And there are quite a few of them, so you can have fun doing them. Getting 100% of Scott Pilgrim EX's achievements will take some work, but since many of them can be done simultaneously, you'll probably be able to complete most of them very quickly, leaving only the most challenging ones for the end.
CONCLUSION
The beat 'em up genre continues to show that it can be different and has many places to evolve. Although this method of interconnected maps and back-and-forth movement isn't new, breaking away from the norm is commendable. And even if it doesn't please everyone, including me, Scott Pilgrim EX goes against the grain without sacrificing its personality. For me, the game becomes confusing at many points, letting go of the player's hand too much. It's a game with many elements to absorb right away, and this can be a little daunting for those who aren't used to it and just wanted to sweep enemies across the screen. The experience of a different approach to the genre is worthwhile.
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