Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate [PC] | REVIEW

After hitting the Apple Arcade and Nintendo Switch last year, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate, the Hades-inspired roguelike from the team at Super Evil Megacorp, has now made its debut on PC, bringing with it action-packed, dungeon-crawling gameplay starring the world’s most famous turtles.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate sees a mysterious portal open in the turtles’ lair, leading to a chaotic ambush from the Foot Clan that results in the capture of Master Splinter. So, of course, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michaelangelo band together to rescue him, leaping through the portal and straight into enemy territory. It’s a simple tale that never gets too story-heavy outside of small interactions with characters, but it’s one that has plenty of cool references to the expanded TMNT universe that are sure to keep long-time fans happy.

One thing that is immediately eye-catching are the comic-inspired visuals. Look, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate started life as a mobile game, so you shouldn’t go in expecting the flashiest experience you’ve played, but it’s vibrant, the character designs look great, and there’s a comic book-like charm to each environment you battle across. It’s a lot grittier than your typical TMNT game too, which is something that I’m sure fans of the comic series will especially appreciate. Everything runs smoothly, with the game looking slick at a high resolution and at a 60fps frame rate, so you’re definitely getting a better experience playing on PC than you would elsewhere.

When it comes to gameplay, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate wears its inspirations proudly on its… well… shell. It adopts the isometric, room-based structure that Hades popularized, and believe me, it doesn’t shy away from its influences in the slightest. Each level is a series of randomly generated rooms filled with enemies, with upgrades and items awaiting players after each successful encounter. However, the similarities to Hades don’t end at the structure. From elemental upgrades to combat pacing and even the UI design, it’s clear that the developers of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate studied Supergiant Games’ roguelike hit. Yet, this isn’t a drawback – it’s a well-executed homage that provides fun, familiar gameplay with a TMNT twist.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is an enjoyable and accessible roguelike that caters to both fans of the genre and TMNT fanatics.”

Combat is fast-paced and rewarding, with it leaning into button-bashing in some instances with standard enemies but also requiring strategic positioning and planning when facing more formidable foes. Players must dodge, attack, and utilise special abilities (which are managed with a cooldown), ensuring there’s a good balance of offence and defence in every encounter. Power-ups and upgrades also add to the fun, providing elemental buffs that can be combined with each turtle’s unique abilities to create powerful synergies. It can be deceptively strategic, and whilst the game won’t overwhelm the player with intricate systems, there’s plenty of depth there to really bring some finesse to your character build.

Of course, there are four turtles, and one of the coolest aspects of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is that you can choose who you play as, with Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo each bringing something unique to the table. Leonardo combines dash attacks with shurikens for ranged versatility, making him the easiest character to play as. However, Raphael has a grappling hook to help get up-close to enemies, but it’s essential given that he has shorter range to work with. Donatello, who boasts higher health, can use gadgets to help out on the battlefield (such as a shield to temporarily protect him), though he’s arguable the weakest fighter of the bunch. Then there’s Michelangelo, who is nimble and good at dealing with multiple foes thanks to the effective area-of-effect damage of his nunchucks, whilst he can also (fittingly) taunt enemies to increase the damage they receive. There’s plenty of diversity to be found between the four characters and it’ll certainly incentivize players to experiment with each to see who works best for them.

Best of all? The game can be played in both local and online multiplayer, meaning you can bring together the blend of skillsets to complement one another in frantic adventures with friends. It’s a TON of fun to play too, with it arguably the best way to experience Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate. Each player gets their own upgrades after battles, color-coded attacks help players identify themselves in the action, and the game performs smoothly in both local and online play. Besides the fact that the quick-paced action of the gameplay is well suited for multiplayer, there’s something about playing TMNT games with friends again after spending hours with the classic games when younger that just felt special… I really enjoyed it.

Check out some screenshots down below:

One of Splintered Fate’s defining features is its accessibility, especially given the roguelike genre’s typical difficulty. With a strong TMNT fanbase likely to include younger players, Super Evil Megacorp has wisely lowered the game’s difficulty curve without removing the core roguelike experience. It definitely feels like a perfect ‘first roguelike’ for younger players, but you know what? I think gamers who haven’t gelled with the genre in the past might enjoy it too, especially if they have some endearment to the quartet. And hey, if you do want extra challenge, the post-game portals give players access to an increasingly challenging scenarios that’ll really put their skills to the test.

Developer: Super Evil Megacorp
Publisher: Super Evil Megacorp
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), Nintendo Switch
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2996040/Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles_Splintered_Fate/