Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate review

IDW comics has a rich history of videogame tie-ins, so it is only apt that their slept-on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles run got the same treatment, with an enjoyable action game like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate. It’s the first time that the work has been referenced in this media since the rather underwhelming Mutants in Manhattan – a rare misfire for Platinum Games. Historically most games featuring the Heroes in a Half-Shell have been brawlers or platform affairs, but Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is a little different and surfs the wave of popularity that roguelike dungeon crawlers have experienced in recent years.

The team has unashamedly come out and worn their influences proudly on their sleeve; but even if they hadn’t there is no escaping that this is heavily inspired by Supergiant Games’ sensational Hades. So, dipping into this, I was instantly familiar with how it was going to work and what I needed to do, as the structure and expectations on the player are so in-line with the mythological classic. Originally a mobile game for iOS, this is a souped-up console stab at the title which seeks to capitalise on the trend in roguelikes, whilst enticing fans of one of the most iconic and popular comic book teams in history.

Each of the heroic quartet have distinct abilities and weaponry. In addition to your primary attack, there are also Tools which are unique to each Turtle. The first character you take control of is Leonardo, who can sling out shuriken stars. Donatello has a temporary defence boost. My favourite Tool is the chain system used by Raphael which can pull enemies toward you in order to dish out some punishment. You move from one room to the next, and cleaning house will reward you with a chance to power yourself up, tinker with your Tool loadout, or snare valuable Dragon Coins. The combat itself is fluid and easy to pick up – however I would have liked some of the moves to feel a bit more weighty and impactful, and it comes off a little lightweight and wishy washy at times.

Framing the action is a scenario where the Turtles’ mentor and father figure Master Splinter has been abducted by the nefarious Shredder – however they are visited by their anthropomorphic rat martial arts patriarch who lets them know that he is able to transform the aforementioned Dragon Coins into ability-enhancing perks, much the same way that the Olympians dish out Boons in Hades. There are loads of possibilities, and it is up to you to decide which style of combat you are most comfortable with and which path you go down in terms of building the profile of your avatar.

As a roguelike, there is of course that element of luck in play. Sometimes you just won’t get what you want, and will end up getting smashed and having to go again. As the game opens up and you make progress, and there is also a brand-new form of in-game currency that makes an appearance and the ability to wield status-altering Artefacts. I won’t spoil too much here, other than to say that things ramp up in terms of both complexity and difficulty after a certain point, meaning that careful consideration of which power-ups and buffs to seek out or employ become even more important in order to progress.

Each stage throws a bunch of standard enemies at you, and it is this element of the game that is perhaps the weakest. There are only four basic types of foe: Baxter Stockman’s irritating Mouser robots, the ubiquitous Foot ninjitsu, giant rats, and Punk Frogs (the latter also happening to be the most hardy and tough to beat out of the lot). There are beefed up variations on theme that appear for each of the four enemies but the variety just isn’t there – you would find more imagination and choice of things to beat up in the old school Konami arcade titles. Bosses, on the other hand, are ace and can come at you with a variety of environmental and physical enhancements at random. Bebop and Rocksteady are of course present and correct, along with Leatherhead (the mutoid creator of the Punk Frogs, not the village in Surrey), Karai, and metal-faced evildoer Shredder himself.

The story isn’t going to trouble the richly detailed mythological world of its biggest influence, and I would have liked to have seen more ways to interact with some of the elite-level Turtles characters who do occasionally pop up as NPCs. The visuals can appear a little muddy at times, too, and won’t be pulling up any trees. Things can get mega hectic during boss encounters, especially if you luck into a crazed version that comes surrounded by a bunch of additional foes and environmental hazards.

What this does do well though is the implementation of an excellent co-op mode. You can play with friends in traditional couch fashion, and also play with mates online simply by sharing a code. It is great fun to play with others, following a rich tradition of classic Turtles games.

Essentially this is a less-polished Hades-style game but with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – which isn’t a bad thing at all, and is certainly a fun and worthwhile use of a tremendous license that fans will enjoy. It could do with a tad more variety and a lick of polish, but this fades into the background when you are able to sit and have a couple of run-throughs with a friend.