Scott Pilgrim EX review

Scott Pilgrim EX is a palatable fresh helping of retro beatdown goodness, but it’s too brief and easygoing to deliver more fun than its inspirations or its best contemporaries. It’s a modern take on River City Ransom set in an explorable city stuffed with secrets and chatty NPCs, where money pours out of enemies and each of the seven playable characters embodies a fighting game archetype waiting to be upgraded with stat-boosting items.

Developed by Tribute Games Inc., it’s bigger than the studio’s previous work and runs to a hefty five-ish hour campaign. The combat centers on masher-friendly light and heavy one-button combos, but also offers blocks, spot dodges, invincible throws, super moves, hop attacks and character-specific specials.

Shops sell four stats—strength, vitality, willpower and agility—that shape playstyles and encourage experimentation: Robot-01 can zone and reset foes, while Lucas Lee functions as a grappler who bypasses blocks.

scott pilgrim, tribute games, river city, beat em-up, lucas lee, robot-01, button combos, stat boosts, campaign length, npcs