Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate – A Comprehensive Review
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The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) have captured the hearts of fans for decades, from their humble beginnings as comic book characters to becoming cultural icons through animated series, movies, and merchandise. Among the many adaptations, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate emerges as an exciting video game that brings the turtles back into action. This detailed review explores every aspect of the game, from gameplay mechanics and narrative to graphics and replayability, ensuring you get a complete understanding of what this title offers.
Gameplay: A Masterclass in Cooperative Action
One of the standout features of Splintered Fate is its cooperative gameplay. Players can embody Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, or Raphael, each bringing unique abilities and fighting styles to the battlefield. Whether you prefer Leonardo’s balanced approach, Raphael’s raw power, Donatello’s technical finesse, or Michelangelo’s agility, there is a character to suit every playstyle.
Core Mechanics
Combat: The game features a fluid combat system that blends button-mashing with tactical maneuvers. Players can chain combos, dodge incoming attacks, and execute powerful special moves unique to each turtle. The responsive controls ensure that every move feels impactful, with combat animations adding a sense of weight and intensity to every punch, kick, and special move.
Exploration: Levels are designed with a mix of linear progression and open areas for exploration. Hidden secrets, collectibles, and bonus missions encourage players to thoroughly search each environment. Environmental puzzles add a layer of complexity, requiring players to think strategically to unlock certain areas or gain extra rewards.
Co-op Multiplayer: The game truly shines in its cooperative multiplayer mode, allowing up to four players to team up. The synergy between turtles creates dynamic combat scenarios, making every battle feel fresh and engaging. Cooperative mechanics, like assisting a downed ally or combining special moves for devastating effects, add depth to the multiplayer experience.
Character Progression
As players progress, they can unlock upgrades and abilities, enhancing the turtles’ effectiveness in battle. The skill tree system allows for customization, ensuring no two playthroughs feel identical. Each turtle’s progression path offers a mix of passive buffs, such as increased health or attack power, and active abilities, like area-of-effect attacks or defensive shields.
Story: A Rescue Mission with High Stakes
The narrative of Splintered Fate centers on the abduction of Master Splinter. The turtles must navigate the seedy underbelly of New York City, facing off against the Foot Clan, mutants, and other iconic villains like Bebop and Rocksteady. The stakes are high, and the storytelling delivers a balance of humor, heart, and action that fans of the series have come to expect.
Key Highlights
Cinematic Cutscenes: The game incorporates beautifully animated cutscenes that advance the story while immersing players in the TMNT universe. These scenes are filled with dynamic camera angles, expressive character animations, and intense action sequences.
Engaging Dialogue: The witty banter between the turtles keeps the tone light-hearted, even during intense moments. The humor feels authentic, capturing the essence of the characters while balancing the darker aspects of the narrative.
Twists and Turns: The narrative includes unexpected plot twists that keep players engaged and eager to see how the story unfolds. The emotional stakes are heightened by moments of vulnerability, as the turtles grapple with their sense of duty and personal fears.
Visuals and Sound Design: A Feast for the Senses
Graphics
The art style of Splintered Fate pays homage to the TMNT’s comic book roots while incorporating modern visual effects. Vibrant colors, detailed character models, and dynamic environments make the game visually stunning. Each turtle’s design is faithful to their iconic look, with subtle updates that enhance their individuality. Enemies and bosses are equally well-designed, showcasing creative interpretations of classic characters.
Level Design
From the dark alleys of New York to underground lairs and high-tech facilities, the game’s environments are diverse and packed with detail. Each level feels alive, with interactive elements and background animations that add depth. Dynamic lighting effects and weather conditions, such as rain-soaked streets or dimly lit corridors, heighten the immersion.
Soundtrack and Voice Acting
Soundtrack: The soundtrack perfectly complements the action, blending upbeat tracks with intense battle music. Each level features a unique musical theme, reflecting its tone and setting.
Voice Acting: Voice acting deserves special mention, with each turtle’s personality shining through their dialogue. The voice actors deliver energetic and heartfelt performances, bringing the characters to life. Even the villains have memorable voice work, adding gravitas to their roles.
Features and Replayability
Core Features
Customizable Difficulty Levels: Players can choose difficulty settings that match their skill level, from casual gamers to hardcore action enthusiasts. Each difficulty level adjusts enemy behavior and resource availability, ensuring a tailored experience.
Unlockable Skins and Easter Eggs: Dedicated fans will appreciate the numerous nods to TMNT lore, including unlockable costumes and hidden references. These rewards incentivize exploration and replayability.
Boss Fights: Each boss encounter is uniquely designed, requiring players to adapt their strategies and use the turtles’ abilities to their fullest. Boss battles often incorporate environmental hazards, making them more challenging and dynamic.
Replayability
The game’s replay value is bolstered by:
Multiple Difficulty Settings: Replay the game on harder difficulties for a greater challenge.
Hidden Collectibles and Achievements: Completionists will enjoy tracking down every secret and earning all achievements.
Experimenting with Different Turtles: Each turtle offers a distinct playstyle, encouraging multiple playthroughs to fully appreciate their abilities.
Post-Game Content: Additional challenges, such as time trials and survival modes, extend the game’s lifespan.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Engaging Cooperative Gameplay: Perfect for friends or family looking for a fun gaming session.
Authentic TMNT Experience: Captures the spirit of the franchise with its humor, action, and storytelling.
High-Quality Visuals and Sound: Immersive environments and stellar voice acting enhance the experience.
Replayability: Offers plenty of content to keep players coming back.
Diverse Boss Battles: Unique and challenging encounters keep players on their toes.
Cons
Limited Solo Appeal: While the game can be played solo, it’s clearly designed with multiplayer in mind.
Repetitive Combat: Despite the fluid mechanics, combat can feel repetitive during extended play sessions. A wider variety of enemy types or more complex AI could alleviate this issue.
Short Campaign: The main story might feel too brief for players expecting a longer adventure. However, the additional content helps mitigate this concern.
Why Splintered Fate Deserves Your Attention
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Final Verdict
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is a must-play for TMNT fans and cooperative game enthusiasts. Its engaging gameplay, charming story, and polished presentation make it a standout title. While it has a few minor drawbacks, such as its short campaign and repetitive combat, the overall experience more than compensates. Whether you’re a long-time fan or a newcomer to the TMNT universe, this game offers an enjoyable journey that’s worth your time.
Customer reviews for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is a roguelike in the same vein as hades, a very blatant copy of that game with a TMNT skin but somehow manages to be an incredible experience that is a great rouge-lite and the best TMNT game avaliable.Splintered fate started life as a mobile exclusive game that has managed to escape the shackles of apple and get ported to every console and pc. It was for this reason that I didn't really look into this game as i assumed it would just be a crappy phone game.However this is my favourite TMNT game yet. It's not as deep as hades but it's still an incredible game with tons of replay value, phenomenal voice acting, an interesting story and lots of playable characters and builds. Each turtle is playable with their own skills, each turtle has their signature weapon and they can be built with a particular element in mind, each turtle has their own passive abilities that can be upgrade. We also get a few characters via paid DLC which again adds a ton of build diversity and gameplay shakeups to be worth the small asking fee.The turtles and all the supporting characters are excellent, the dev team really understands the characters and the interactions between the characters is exceptional, I especially love the way the turtles talk to splinter, you really get a sense of the family bond they share. It's also not too kiddie thankfully, I love it when TMNT gets absurdly dark which this game doesn't do but it's also not catering to kids, it's a fantastic middle ground that keeps dialogue edgy enough without it going too far the other way and making it grimdark.Really my only complaints come from the UI, it really does feel like a mobile game when you are navigating menus and it just looks horrible.Otherwise this is a great game, if you're a TMNT fan you owe it to yourself to play this game.
[h1][i]“Tell me... you didn't pay money for this.”[/i]
~Raphael, 1990 movie[/h1]It's rather amazing how legacies work. [b]Eastman[/b] and [b]Laird[/b]'s [b]Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles[/b] was a cheap comic published by guys who used to work in a building with a leaking roof (that infamous building in [b]Northampton[/b], [b]Massachusetts[/b], actually caused the destruction of some works). And it wasn't that good either. The early issues were fine, the ending wasn't bad, but there was all sorts of random crap in the middle. Yet it's hard to argue with the fact that it has an iconic status now and is often mentioned in major media (for example, it plays a rather big role in the [b]Dexter: Resurrection[/b] series). Same thing with the [b]1987[/b] animated series. At some point, they just stopped caring about both the animation (which became rushed and full of mistakes) and the story (at some point they started to do a painfully cheap "world tour" thing and spent, like, the whole season doing that). Yet ask any boomer out there, and they'll tell you it was, like, [b]Turtles[/b] at their very best. What I'm trying to say is that it's rather amazing how pop culture works. It was bloody [b]2024[/b]—quantum computers, AI, advanced space travel... Yet we got ourselves a new [b]Ninja Turtles[/b] game. I mean, what's next? A new [b]Elvis[/b] album?Don't get me wrong, though, I was quite excited about this game. Not because of nostalgia (as you may have noticed, I just don't do nostalgia), but because there's a very nice reason the [b]Turtles[/b] survived. The original idea "clicked." Teenage heroes wasn't a new thing for comics, mutants wasn't a new thing for comics, and ninjas, of course, was not a new thing either. But mixing all that together while adding that signature radness of the [b]80[/b]s created a very nice effect, something that, up to this day, was never repeated again. It's like with superheroes. Everybody knows and loves [b]Spider-Man[/b]. But who the f*ck is [b]Captain Ultra[/b], right? [b]Turtles[/b] work. And in a video game format? They work even better. I mean, we've got four easily recognizable (thanks to the [b]1987[/b] show that introduced us to colored masks) characters with their own signature weapons. The old video games (many of which you can find in the [b]Cowabunga Collection[/b]) certainly showed us how nicely that works. If anything, some of those video games were way better than what we had on the TV screen. So, enough with the "why," let's finally take a look at the game itself.And you know what? At first glance, I bloody loved it. It looks fine, it's based on [b]IDW[/b]'s comics (the first [b]100[/b] issues of which are, unlike the original run, considered a masterpiece by both critics and the audience), and... it's a roguelite. Think of it: [b]Turtles[/b] are perfect for the genre. Yet thanks to some of those old games, the first thing you think of when you hear "[b]Ninja Turtles[/b] game" is beat 'em up. Heck, when [b]Tribute Games[/b] brought us their own take on [b]Turtles[/b] ([b]Shredder's Revenge[/b]), that's exactly what they made—an old school beat 'em up game. Finally getting a [b]Ninja Turtles[/b] roguelite was like finally getting a [b]RoboCop[/b] FPS. OK, OK, we did have a [b]RoboCop[/b] FPS before and the new one wasn't even [i]that[/i] good, but you know what I mean. It was a big "[i]Freakin' THANK YOU![/i]" moment. And the best of all? [b]Splintered Fate[/b] is a nicely made game. A very minimalistic, sure (PC audience, for example, may get shocked by the lack of settings), but still, the gameplay here is rather smooth. [i]But.[/i]You knew there was going to be a "but," right? After all, this is a thumb-down review. Well, the problem with this game is that... it's short. Like, [i]short[/i] short. Let's start with the most important part—there are only four levels here. That's right. Four. Levels. [i]Four.[/i] Not forty-four. Four. But OK, those must be quite long levels, right? Wrong. You can clear a level in about ten minutes. Four levels. Ten minutes per level. That means you can clear the whole run in only forty minutes. There's one level that's sold separately, but guess what? It won't make your run longer. It'll just give you a choice at one point—you'll be able to choose which level to play next. The run itself is just that—[i]four levels.[/i]But no, you won't get the ending after finishing your first run. To get the true ending, you'll need to do at least eight runs. Which, technically, isn't a problem. We're talking about a roguelite game, right? The genre itself implies us to do multiple runs, while constantly getting stronger (hence the “lite” part). The problem is... it simply isn't fun enough. Those tiny, short levels just don't offer you enough variety. Sure, sure, you'll be able to pick up different abilities and stuff (and again, you constantly growing), but all in all, getting to the ending feels just like that—doing the same exact thing eight times. And after that? You'll feel like you're done with this game. And that, in my opinion, is [b]Splintered Fate[/b]'s biggest crime.I mean, let's just admit it—the whole genre relies on one thing and one thing alone: replayability. Your game either has the "one more run!" thing, or it does not. Simple like that. [b]Splintered Fate[/b]? It doesn't have it. The first run is fun. The second one is not so. The third one is boring. The fourth one is a routine. The fifth one is a torture. That's just how things work here.And it's a rather sad thing to see, really. I mean, [b]Splintered Fate[/b] has pretty much everything to become a big success. Genre-wise, it's the right thing for the franchise to have (it almost feels like characters were made for such game), it's based on really good comics and not just an old overrated show, characters are easily recognizable, the gameplay's smooth... Yet all of that is for nothing because it gets boring almost instantly.Should we blame it for that? I mean, they only ask [b]$13.99[/b] for it, but... I think we still should. Do the blaming, I mean. About five hours of fun is still not enough for the price tag, but honestly, it's not about price here. It's just like I said. A roguelite should be judged by time. If, like, a year later you keep returning to the game just because of how much replayability it has in it? It's a good roguelite. Some of us would instantly think of [b]Hades[/b], for example, especially thanks to how it had tons of unlockables, something this game failed to offer. [b]Splintered Fate[/b]? It's just that. A few hours of fun. That means it failed as a roguelite. That means it deserves a thumb down. Dixi.
really well made TMNT, the dialogue and voice acting is really well done. The writers here understand how to make a TMNT feel like one. The art is good, and of course the game play is also good. Its a fairly simple rogue-lite but still a lot of fun. The addition of couch co-op and online play is also a blast. Would recommend to TMNT fans thinking of getting it. It has gone on sale for about 50% off, so you could always wait if you're still not certain.
This game respects the fans. Nice sale bundles from time to time, and I appreciate the presentation (tactical takedown was cheap and didn't have voice acting nor turtle selection for the levels). Arcade mode is brutal but a nice free add-on, and the characters fight differently; I liked how Raphael could pull enemies towards him.Casey Jones and Metalhead were nice DLC add-ons. My only complaint is you may have to lower the music a lot to hear the characters talk. Saving is generous as well.
This game should be great in concept, but the online multiplayer is absolutely horrendous. Half the time I'm told multiplayer is unavailable, only to try again successfully. If you make it into a session, you're likely to get booted back to the menu or have your game freeze/crash during one of the room transitions.
Amazing game. Get Metalhead, He's busted. Stick some Utrom powers on Him. Also to get the final pieces for a lot of builds, you need to complete a recipe. This means getting two powers from different types, which will then make the legendary skill possible to show up in your run.I would look up recipe lists to help you finish your builds. For instance, for my Utrom build for MH, I needed to get a skill from Astral, in order to unlock the final piece for the Utrom build. This stuff wasn't apparent at first, I only found it out through researching the game.
Basically Hades but with TMNT. Pretty rad, fun enough that I could definitely recommend it on sale. Comparatively, strong builds seem to be less complex once you figure them out. Less depth, but also just easier to fall into and have fun. If you're looking to kill 25-30 minutes for a run this is a solid choice. Now for the negatives - It's kinda grindy. THERE IS AN ACHIEVEMENT LINKED TO DLC, but I believe you can get this through online play. Could definitely use some more information options, such as viewing your stats while in a run. After two DLCs I doubt this, or any other QoL updates will be implemented. It could definitely use a little polish, but the gameplay is pretty fun and a solid buy overall on sale.
Smash the Foot. Eat the Pizza. Save the Rat. Cowabunga. Repeat. Enough said would recommend for a simple good time. Not overly complex or deep. Enjoyable and happy to see DLC and more characters. Hope we get Slash.
Pretty fun game.
2 of the heroes feel weaker than the other 2.
Some of the skill pathways are much stronger than others.
Was a bit harder than I was expecting given that it is a TMNT game (thought it would be a kiddie game)...this is a good thing.
Wish it was a bit longer during runs, although they don't feel short, it seems like it could have gone with a couple more stages and bosses. The entire game feels somewhat shorter compared to other rogue likes.
Combat is quick, some enemies leave little room for continuous attacks.
Overall, if you like similar rogue-likes, I think you will like this game. The TMNT skin makes it that much better.
Game would be great if it worked. However the game consistently crashes, whether I am playing solo, couch co-op or online co-op. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it, and it happens to everyone with no fix in sight.
It's Hades, but 4 player coop. Sign me up.
It's Hades, but with a TMNT skin over it. Sign me up.
It has some bugs and issues, but nothing game breaking.
Hades is excellent. This is a clone, but the ninja turtle theme is fantastic. A bit short on levels so it becomes repetitive, but well worth the cost. An absurd amount of voice acting.
