Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge Review

"Turtles in Time"

Campaign

July 3, 2022 at 9:12pm
By Jason Stettner

One of my earlier gaming experiences was with Turtles in Time. I loved that game, and I still do to this day. It’s actually something I’ve considered getting a particular arcade machine of, it’s just an amazing game. Many, many years later we’ve been given what I’d say is a spiritual successor to that very experience.

This is entirely its own thing, but it beautifully beckons back to those good old days and I love it. This is so much fun to play and it’s just an epic joy ride the whole way through. You’re basically brawling across levels dealing with iconic Turtles villains.

It’s action packed and it can be experienced with up to six players locally or online which is thrilling. It was so much fun to have a whole squad there just whipping away at the bosses or regular enemies that would come our way.

It’s not necessarily a long game being about two hours in length, but that was just perfect for the genre. It was that sweet spot that left me satisfied while also craving more so I hope they do follow up on this one. You can of course replay levels if you’d like to level up characters and you zip around on this neat open map to find the levels you want to play.

Gameplay

Being a beat ‘em up you’ll be working through levels hacking away at anything that gets in the way. You have various moves to pull off and the odd ultimate ability to unleash occasionally. You’ll have to deal with lives or reviving one another to make it further. If you want an even more difficult challenge the arcade mode could offer that as well. I found it to be well balanced with a wide range of enemies and very distinct bosses the whole way through.

The art direction is just simply stunning. It’s a balance of what came before while also revolutionizing that in an ever so satisfying way. It felt like the game I’ve loved my whole life while being fresh and new. What an experience. I don’t know how they nailed it, but they most certainly did. Now, I did have a the odd connection issue when playing with others. Not the biggest deal with the world, but the one small thing that was an issue.

The Conclusion

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge was a glorious return to form being the best of what came before while advancing that in a very satisfying way. I had such a good time playing this, it was incredible to enjoy that setup with others online. It brought some really fun moments being just the right sweet spot of length.

It didn’t feel like it was overly demanding, but gave a challenge and it was constantly fresh. They really did have some fun with this one and if you’re a Turtles fan you’ll be blown away. If you like the brawler genre then this is near the top for sure. What a great time, I truly hope we see another follow-up down the road.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge Review on Xbox Series X

Rating Overall: 9.5