Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge - Dimension Shellshock Review

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge was an excellent homage to the classic side-scrolling beat ‘em ups of the past, so when Tribute Games announced the Dimension Shellshock DLC, I couldn’t wait to jump in.

Dimension Shellshock sees the addition of two new characters: Miyamoto Usagi, the samurai rabbit from Usagi Yojimbo, and Karai, a former Foot soldier turned good. Alongside the new characters, it also adds a new Survival mode, which will give returning players a challenge.

Both new characters can, of course, be used in the existing game mode as well as the new Survival mode and are fully fleshed out with new moves and colour palettes for you to unlock.

These new characters are relatively deep cuts from the franchise's past, with Usagi making multiple appearances across the various cartoons and comic runs especially. But both are really fun to play, even if this is your first time seeing them, and they fit in extremely well.

The Survival mode itself adds a little bit of roguelite to proceedings with a distinct, separate levelling progression. Here, the Neutrinos, another throwback to the 1980s TV series, need help recovering the crystals that power their time-travelling shenanigans.

This takes the form of you kicking the stuffing out of a variety of enemies across unique stages, ranging from Mirage-inspired black and white comic pages to beautiful Edo, Japan and 8-bit-inspired warehouses. After surviving each round, you will have the opportunity to pick one of two rewards before progressing onward.

These rewards include things like a constantly refilling super meter or, most excitingly, the ability to temporarily take on the mantle of the lean, mean, turtle-slicing machine, The Shredder himself or another iconic character. Commonly, you also get to collect multiple crystal fragments to assist in completing crystals.

Filling up the crystal meter allows you to move on to the next environment but also increases the difficulty. The crystal will also go towards levelling up your current character with things ranging from health bonuses to alternate colour schemes.

If you’ve taken a break from the core game, Survival mode starts off quite brutal, but it does become more manageable once you get into the swing of things and start unlocking bonuses. It’s a fun time, but there are questions over its longevity as there isn’t a ton of variety on display here.

But if you’re looking for an excuse to revisit this fun beat ‘em up, then Dimension Shellshock is easy to recommend. It has tons of nods for fans, the new characters are interesting, and the Survival mode itself is a really serious challenge, so be prepared to kick shell.