Turtles Trapped on an Endless Quest

IFor those of us that have been around since the Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesOriginally dreamed up as a parody of Marvel's Daredevil comics (going so far as to basically reproduce to opening shots of that comic's hero gaining his powers), the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles not only launched a sudden boom of anthropomorphic fighting animal comics but have, themselves, starred in multiple comics series, TV shows, and movies. really broke out on the scene, there has been a certain style of game that we’ve held far above everything else: the Konami style arcade brawler. Konami made Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the landmark arcade title that truly defined a specific time and place in the brawler genre, and for three-ish games (depending on your stance on the various ports for the first arcade game, the NES sequel, the arcade sequel and ports, and the Genesis mix-and-match edition), Konami really showed the power of their craft. Not everything TMNT they released was gold, but when they were working in that pure, arcade-format, brawler genre, they had some of the cream of the crop.

And then the license went to other developers and those companies really struggled to recapture the magic. Across the last two-plus decades there’s only really been one game that nailed the magic of playing as the TMNT, and that was the arcade-style throwback Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge. That game really had everything players wanted, with lovingly detailed graphics, plenty of arcade action, and the ability to play with huge groups of friends to really nail that arcade experience. The only thing it lacked was a compelling reason to replay it over and over again, largely because the first time through let you see just about everything the game had to offer. It’s fun to pick up from time to time, but its long term viability was questionable.

Released a couple of years later, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate, seems to have a solid answer for that one major issue. This is a top-down, rogue-lite brawler in the vein of Hades, where your turtles are forced to fight through a series of increasingly difficult zones, taking on a series of bad guys, all to reach a final boss (Shredder, of course), before getting sent back home to do it again. The plot comes out in bits and pieces as you play through the game, winning or losing runs, and each time you end up back at the turtle’s sewer base, you can spend hard-earned coins on permanent upgrades to try and get better, more powerful, and more capable in the game. Replayability is not a question with this title.

The game focuses on the four turtles (although in expansions you can also get Casey Jones, Metalhead, and Alopex, a fox character introduced in the IDW comics) finding out that Master Splinter has been captured. They head out on a rescue mission to save him, but encounter tough resistance. Battling their way through the sewers first, they run up against Leatherhead, the mutant cross, who guards the exit. From there they battle through the docks, which are defended by Karai, the streets, with Bebop and Rocksteady at the ready, and then the rooftops, all to take on Shredder.

Or, at least, that’s the plan. But the enemies are plentiful, and the bosses are strong, and it can be hard to make progress. Any time the turtles get defeated, they’re sent back home to lick their wounds and regroup. That doesn’t stop them from trying again, though, getting sent out to take on Shredder and his minions again as they battle valiantly to find their father. And if they do manage to take down Shredder, they’ll learn that their quest isn’t so linear, and there is far more going on behind the scenes than they might realize…

When it was initially released in 2024, Splintered Fate was heavily compared to Hades. Some considered it nothing more than a clone, although I think that’s a pretty shallow comparison. Yes, it’s a stage-based rouge-lite where you go out, you die, and then you try again. But that’s just the basic look of it. There’s plenty that helps to set these games apart, and to make Splintered Fate feel like its own experience. And much of that comes down to the TMNT license on the package.

A key selling point for this game is the fact that you can play it with groups. Up to four players can join a session, taking their characters (at whatever level along the upgrade path they’re on) through the battles, taking on bad guys and earning coins. In fact, I’d argue that a multiplayer experience for the game is more fun than the single player runs not just because it gives you friends to hang out with, but also because it helps to ease back the difficulty of the title.

When playing with friends, death is not an instant setback. Players can die, but as long as one player survives the room, everyone else will get revived (with a small chunk of health) to continue onwards. This means that one strong player can, effectively, drag other players through the game helping them get deeper (and get better rewards in the process). It helps to ease the overwhelming difficulty of the game, as it can get pretty brutal, especially in the last stages, while also letting everyone experience far more of the game’s delights.

At a technical level, the basic play experience is solid. Your characters run around in standard, flat rooms with simple layouts. Bad guys drop in, your turtles (and other friends) fight them, and once one or two (or sometimes three) waves are defeated, the players move on. Room by room, dungeon by dungeon, the characters clear through the space, fighting their way with simple but effective controls, all to see how far they can get.

The Turtles and Co. are easy to control, with a basic attack as well as three recharging specials. Their dash (which can be upgraded to give them multiple dashes in a row) quickly recharges over time, and it gives them an escape to avoid damage. Then they have a special strike, as well as a tool they can use, each of which slowly charges as you attack enemies. Leo, for example, can perform a powerful dash strike, and he also gets shuriken to throw at enemies. Figuring out which combination of strikes and tools you like for your starting character will help determine which of them you want to play with, long term.

And you will want to play long term because the game has a long upgrade path, with currencies earned in game, for you to work through. As you play through the game you’ll start earning Dragon Coins, and then later (after getting through a certain amount of the game) Dreamer Coins, each of which grant permanent stat boost. You can spend your Dragon Coins on upgrades to attack, health, damage, specials, and everything else that makes your character powerful. Your Dreamer Coins, meanwhile, give you better odds for boosts, bonuses, and currencies as you’re playing through the game.

That’s to say nothing about other collectibles, like Karai Pauldrons and Shredder Claws that you pick up from defeating bosses and completing runs, that gate off certain upgrades until you’ve proven yourself worthy. It’s a lot, but it feels very rewarding as you get your next major upgrade, your next set of boosts, your next power. It all creates a very smooth upgrade experience that encourages you to dive in and play again.

And then the game introduces even more ways for you to vary your experience. Once you complete a full run and take out Shredder for the first time, the game then brings in special portals. These can buff then enemies, or debuff you, making the play experience harder. But every portal also increases coins earned and other currency drops as well, encouraging you to take some (or all) of the debuffs just to see what happens. At a certain point you accept some of the portals as you play so you can get more benefits, finding that right balance to make your play experience interesting and fun.

That’s not to say the game is without some flaws, mind you. Even now, two years later, it’s still a little buggy at times, with some hit detection issues on larger enemy attacks, and some times where I find that my character isn’t reacting as quickly as I’m trying to make them. I also experienced one pretty big error in a Bebop and Rocksteady fight, where my partner got into the second phase of the fight, while I was stuck on a barrier on the other side. Bebop then came after me, leaving the play area, meaning I couldn’t fight Rocksteady, my partner couldn’t fight Bebop, and the whole fight got really wonky. These kinds of issues aren’t common, but they do come up from time to time, making me wish the game had just a little more polish.

It wasn’t experience-breaking, though. I really like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate for everything it gets right. I honestly couldn’t get into Hades back in the day, getting bored with the play loop and having little that really caught me and made me want to keep playing. Maybe it was the TMNT license that sucked me in, but I found I was more willing to give this title a chance, and then I was soon sucked into the experience. It might not be perfect, but it is a lot of fun, and it’s the first TMNT game that deviated from the standard arcade experience that I’ve actually liked. Konami had a winning formula back in the day, but with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate developers Super Evil Megacorp have just about found the right formula to get me back into playing TMNT games again.