Scott Pilgrim EX Preview: You Can't Beat A Beat-Em-Up

I love Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. The graphic novel is ace, the film is an actual good adaptation of its source material and Netflix’s Scott Pilgrim Takes Off was a surprise release that I would have enjoyed for several more seasons had it been on the cards.

I’ve already spoken about the video game adaptation of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World so during last year’s Game Awards I was thrilled to see the announcement for Scott Pilgrim EX. At this year’s Gamescom I went hands-on with the new beat-em-up and am pleased to say it’s another banger.

If you played Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game you’ll spot several similarities in the combat, roster and world design, but there are some notable differences too.

For starters Scott Pilgrim EX tells a somewhat original story, while taking story beat inspiration from the Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. Players are tasked with choosing their favourite character and reassembling Sex Bob-Omb, but their instruments have been stolen and scattered across reality.

Like anything Scott Pilgrim-related the game is out of this world, and my demo quickly bounced between a face-off with Metal Scott, a battle at the beach with vegans, and a boss fight with a dinosaur amidst a new Ice Age. Aside from your character’s combos and abilities enemies would often drop weapons to use like a yo-yo or a skateboard, and there were of course environmental hazards to hurt them with too. At one point we played tennis with a turtle shell, which I’m hoping gets turned into a minigame at some point…

All of this was gorgeously animated and when you’re not bashing heads there are shops scattered around the city to purchase healing items and upgrades to make your character stronger.

I’ve got no doubt in my mind that Scott Pilgrim EX will join the many great beat-em-up games already out there, and after my hands-on preview at Gamescom I’ll definitely be picking it up as soon as I can. 2026 can’t come any sooner…