Much like the dig that South Park did to The Simpsons, or us asking about Mario, is there anything that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been in when it comes to games? If your answer is roguelikes, well, you’re in luck: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is very much that, starring our lovable reptile ninjutsu practitioners and a host of their friends and enemies from throughout their run both on TV and in comics.
Once again, Splinter is missing, and knowing that it must have something to do with their main baddie, Shredder, the turtles jump into the fray, or better put, the nearest portal, in order to try and rescue their old man. This time however, things are a little different, since with each defeat they are transported back to their lair and have to start everything anew.
Their main objective is reaching the rooftops where their dad supposedly disappeared in, and that the journey there takes them through various areas of New York, each split into combat arenas as well as featuring boss fights with a wide array of TMNT canon foes. You get to pick from the four heroes in a half shell, along with their buddy Casey Jones, who was just recently introduced in the latest DLC aptly titled Casey Jones and the Junkyard Jam, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
For the first time ever, my good ol’ pal Michaelangelo can be considered top tier in a game after languishing as a reject in the reject pile for decades, but all things considered, the cast is relatively well balanced and play well together when in multiplayer. You can join in online with randos or friends with up to four of you going at it in a group, or, better yet, do that locally on your couch. Splintered Fate plays from an isometric perspective, in the vein of Hades, with a similar structure gameplay-wise.
With each new room you clear, you are given access to a handful of upgrades you can pick from, ranging from special powers to buffs to your core stats for that particular run, either for a long or short period. Aside from that, you collect a few different knick-knacks that you can use to gain permanent ups to your characters, with which you slowly get a better chance at finishing a run and seeing the story through.
After many runs myself, I can safely say that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is one of the friendliest roguelikes I have ever played. The aforementioned upgrades unlocked for the entire group and not just the fighter you are using, making switching around a much easier pill to swallow when joining in a game where someone has already picked your main, and the entire gameplay loop regardless of whether you are playing alone or not rewards both skill and persistence, with various side challenges that you can choose to tackle if you feel like gambling a run’s success.
With its new DLC, the game feels like it’s going places, and thanks to a fervent community to play with, it seems like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate won’t be dying off anytime soon. With any luck, developer Super Evil Megacorp will keep adding new environments and characters from TMNT’s rich lore for those of us with nostalgia for the brand. I’ll certainly keep coming back to this if they do.
