Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 35 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 35
  2. Negative: 1 out of 35
  1. May 7, 2026
    70
    Scott Pilgrim EX delivers a chaotic retro-inspired adventure packed with time travel, alternate dimensions, and countless nods to classic arcade games. Its stylish pixel art, varied soundtrack, co-op gameplay, and diverse cast make for an entertaining beat-'em-up experience, though repetitive enemy waves before bosses and occasional combat frustrations hold it back from true greatness.
  2. Mar 9, 2026
    70
    If, like me, you enjoyed Scott Pilgrim as a kid, and always wanted more of this unserious, nerdy franchise, then Scott Pilgrim EX is a perfect dose of pixel graphics, evil exes, and enemies that burst into coins when they're defeated.
  3. Mar 3, 2026
    70
    I admire the fact that Tribute Games embraced the River City style with Scott Pilgrim EX, as it really makes this beat’em up more of an adventure. The artistic direction and soundtrack are perfect too, and the combat flows well. I do wish the story were stronger and some of my favorite characters from the previous game had been playable, and the presence of launch bugs that can affect multiplayer is a downer. But at the very least, after a patch or two, those gameplay issues should be fixed.
  4. Mar 3, 2026
    70
    Fans of Bryan Lee O'Malley's comics or the star-studded 2010 Edgar Wright film will find all of their favorites and more in Scott Pilgrim EX, the latest licensed collab from Tribute Games. The beat-em-up is enjoyable to play, but difficulty and connection issues can hamper the short-lived experience.
  5. Mar 10, 2026
    60
    While the music and gameplay have evolved with the times, in terms of narrative, Scott Pilgrim EX plays it way too safe. Though written by series creator Bryan Lee O’Malley, there’s none of the edge that secured Scott Pilgrim its original cult following. Our cast have, for the most part, worked out their differences. There’s no David v Goliath here, no antagonist that forces Scott and his pals to grow amid the messiness of bad relationships. Scott’s other friends appear in fun cameos and cat-meos, but the story is a silly, shallow adventure that feels like a side quest, the kind of game Scott would stay up all night playing before missing his shift at work.
  6. Mar 3, 2026
    60
    The core combat is still fun and fans of Scott Pilgrim will have a good time getting together and seeing all the references, but there are simply better beat ‘em ups available for you to brawl your way through.
  7. Mar 3, 2026
    60
    Maybe that's the main takeaway. Scott Pilgrim EX certainly looks nice and feels warmly familiar, its hero roster is superb, and they're all fun to control and well differentiated. A playthrough is short and sweet at a few hours if you’re not too distracted, and there’s even a New Game+. But there's otherwise not much here that stands out, and the game lacks any impressive set pieces or water cooler moments, with nothing approaching the multi-stage Gideon boss fight in the original.
  8. 55
    Scott Pilgrim EX is nothing more than satisfactory. Brawling through dozens of adversaries can be quite enticing, especially with a friend. However, every other element falls flat with areas, enemies, bosses and levelling ending up a big regression from other contemporary beat ’em ups. Likewise, fans of Scott Pilgrim will be pleased by the plethora of visual tributes. But the narrative and dialogue of EX come across as purely referential and lack a heart of their own.
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  1. Mar 3, 2026
    I can respect the drive to innovate here. After all, Scott Pilgrim’s long-term staying power is built on reinvention. You get the sense that Tribute isn’t comfortable just being known as a novelty act that recreates arcade nostalgia for popular IP. There’s a real attempt to bring the beat-'em-up genre forward in the same way that Absolum successfully pulled off last year with its roguelike infusion, but Scott Pilgrim EX overcomplicates an elegant formula without putting forth a big picture “why?” If this is a game that’s so indebted to the classics Scott Pilgrim was inspired by, why deconstruct and then reconstruct it all in this way? If you’re going to forego a heartfelt script full of thematic weight to focus on the language of play instead, that design needs to communicate something of its own to fill the space. Without it, Scott Pilgrim EX’s heart is lost in a sea of low-hanging video game references.