TGS 2025 | "Scott Pilgrim EX"
With the release of last year’s Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Bryan Lee O’Malley’s creation has seen a major resurgence. So it seems natural that the Sex Bob-omb bassist, his love Ramona, and the League of Evil Exes would once again invade the video game realm. Back with the original developers of 2010’s Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, the newest game Scott Pilgrim EX takes a major cue from another iconic video game franchise: River City Ransom (aka Kunio-kun)! And as the Tokyo Game Show demo showed, it wears that influence on its sleeve heavily.
At the start, you can choose from Scott, Ramona, Roxie, or Todd. Metal Scott arrives to cause some chaos, which starts the adventure. With the aid of a hologram Wallace, you learn all the moves, many of which are rehashes from the first video game. Once you get the gist of it, the game begins, as you fight off many robots and attempt to defeat Metal Scott at the get-go. (Spoiler alert: you don’t.)
After this level, I started to roam around Toronto, Canada. It’s here where the River City style comes into play, with its map layout, stores, and interactive elements staying very true to Kunio’s iconic series. And like River City, the streets are paved with baddies. Only here, it’s vegans and demons. (Say it with me: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?!)
Fighting on the beach gave way to musclebound vegans, many of whom weren’t as strong as they looked. But in large numbers, they wound up being a challenge. In one instance, I had to fend off the vegans while I attempted to blow up an armored car. This part was a lot more difficult, as the bombs had a very short fuse and the vegans outnumbered me constantly.
However, the real highlight of the Scott Pilgrim EX demo came towards the end. I was transported back to the Stone Age, where vegans attacked me with yo-yos and boomerangs. Suddenly, a dinosaur version of Todd appeared, giving way to an incredibly fun but difficult boss battle. Although this never appeared in the original comics, I welcome the new additions to the narrative.
Whether you play it solo or with three friends, Scott Pilgrim EX is shaping to be a fantastic follow-up. The retro graphics still fit perfectly with the style of the story, and the more open world map gives way to new discoveries and fresh challenges. With that being said, if you’re not familiar with the Scott Pilgrim series, then you might be at a loss over what’s going on. If that’s you, I highly recommend picking up the original comics, watching the 2010 movie, and even binge the Netflix anime series. That way, when Scott Pilgrim EX arrives in 2026, you’ll be ready to break out the L-word and play!
