A Toronto brawl across broken time
Scott Pilgrim EX is a 2D beat 'em up set in Toronto, 20XX, where three rival gangs — the VEGANS, the ROBOTS, and the DEMONS — have taken over the city. Scott's bandmates get abducted by shadowy forces, and a new adventure begins. You fight through fractured time and space across a whole city of interconnected levels, meeting old and new faces, completing quests, and digging out hidden areas. Combat runs on instinct and improvisation: string together combos, pick up wacky weapons, use your surroundings, and fire off over-the-top special attacks. Between fights you spend coins on items and stat upgrades to shape your fighter, and special badges unlock new abilities and bonuses. The roster gives you seven fighters to choose from — SCOTT PILGRIM, RAMONA FLOWERS, MATTHEW PATEL, GIDEON GRAVES, LUCAS LEE, ROXIE RICHTER and ROBOT-01 — each with a distinct combat style, so everyone in the group can pick a character that suits how they like to brawl.
Playing together
Co-op runs up to four players, locally or online, with easy drop-in/drop-out, so people can join mid-session without restarting. You can also use Remote Play Together to bring friends in. The story is written by series creator Bryan Lee O'Malley and is built to work for longtime fans and newcomers, which makes it a straightforward pick for a mixed group. Since each character plays differently, splitting the roster across the group gives you varied combos and specials on screen at once. Expect hectic, chaotic fights where strategy and spontaneity both pay off — coordinating who grabs weapons and who focuses a boss tends to work better than everyone swinging at once.
Before you start
The game has a singleplayer option, so nobody is locked out if the group can't line up. It leans retro with pixel graphics and 8-bit energy paired with new hyper-melodic rock music, which sets the tone but also means the action stays fast and readable rather than realistic. Progression matters: coins earned in fights feed into items and stat upgrades, so runs where you push quests and find hidden areas leave you stronger for the tougher stretches. Plan on exploring the interconnected levels instead of rushing straight through, since quests and hidden spots are where the upgrades come from.