RPG elements like character stats work similarly to the River City games. In addition to restoring health, eating various food items will generally increase one or more stats. It seems that players can eat the same item repeatedly for more boosts, which is fun but a little unbalanced. Some food items can be purchased “to go,” as indicated by a symbol on the shop menu, while most food must be consumed upon purchase. That’s a needless complication, but the purpose seems to be that players can only take dinky health items rather than good ones. Unlike River City Girls, you only get to carry one food item period, and it will be consumed automatically upon losing all health. Accessories and badges provide stat boosts or other benefits, allowing some fun customization to the gameplay. The actual leveling up system is item-based rather than experience-based. Level-up items are rewards for certain quests and rare drops from enemies. When these appear during a co-op game, only one player gets the item, and that’s a drag. Why not allow everyone to pick up each drop?
Still, multiplayer is one of Scott Pilgrim EX‘s finest qualities. Drop in, drop out 4-player local co-op and online co-op are supported, and multiple local players can join an online game from one device. Even better, Scott Pilgrim EX has full cross-play co-op, as we tested on long today when mixing and matching Xbox, Steam, and Switch players. Like other Tribute Games beat ‘em ups, you have to actually jump into the game before partying up with online players, but that’s a minor hassle. We only experienced players getting dropped from the game on rare occasions, which is worlds more stable than Marvel Cosmic Invasion was at launch.
In co-op, only the host makes story progress. Everyone else will simply retain the money, items, and levels that they acquire. There’s no friendly fire, so bringing friends along will definitely make the fights easier (and more chaotic). Players can also revive each other, but utilizes Scott Pilgrim EX‘s strange tossing mechanic. At any time, players can hold the left trigger and press one direction to throw a heart (sacrificing a bit of their own health) or another direction to throw a coin. Sharing health and money in this way is certainly handy, but it makes reviving downed players awkward. You have to toss a heart on the injured teammate before the 10-second countdown expires. Holding a button or beating the downed player into alertness, the revival mechanic favored by most other beat ‘em ups, would be more intuitive. Still, the penalty for dying is just a loss of money, so failing to revive someone isn’t the end of the world.
One playthrough will take 5-8 hours, which is a little short for this style of game. Thankfully, a “New Game Plus” mode will keep the party going. Replaying with different characters (they all have unique playstyles and level up independently) and partying up with friends seem to be the way to get the most out of Scott Pilgrim EX.
In the movie Highlander, the Kurgen says, “It’s better to burn out than to fade away.” Well, Scott Pilgrim EX burns super brightly. The pixel art from Paul Robertson and others is even better than that of the first game. The world is full of expressive and unique characters, detailed backgrounds full of Easter eggs and references, and countless gorgeous colors. Bosses are huge, creative, and memorably on-brand, including prehistoric versions of Todd and Roxie, pirate Envy Adams and her carnivorous plants, a baby piloting a robot, and even a chance to engage in Scott’s fateful battle against Simon Lee on the school roof. The chiptune soundtrack by Anamanaguchi is diverse and catchy. Movement and fighting feel incredible, and the co-op support does not disappoint. I wouldn’t have minded a longer game, but Scott Pilgrim EX is intensely entertaining from start to finish.
Scott Pilgrim EX costs $28.99 on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, Switch 2, and Steam. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off: The Complete Series arrives on Blu-ray on March 24. Preorder it for $27.99 at Amazon.
Steam download codes were provided by the publisher for this review.
Verdict
Co-Op Score
Overall
The Co-Op Experience: Join forces with up to three friends, locally or online, with easy drop-in/drop-out co-op.
Co-Optimus game reviews focus on the cooperative experience of a game, our final score graphic represents this experience along with an average score for the game overall. For an explanation of our scores please check our Review Score Explanation Guide.