Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge Review

As a big TMNT fan growing up in the ‘90s, I’ve been waiting for the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge since it was announced in March 2021. With a few members of the development team at Tribute Games having worked on the incredible Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and publisher Dotemu (who have previously published titles such as Streets of Rage 4, another great beat ‘em up), this was bound to be a smash hit oozing with nostalgic charm, right? Let’s find out if this title can live up to the hype!

With TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge being a modern-day take on the late ‘80s/early ‘90s classics in the franchise, it’s safe to say that the story here isn’t the focal point. The opening moments see Bebop and Rocksteady causing havoc (as usual!) at Channel 6, so it’s up to you and a team of up to five other players to kick some shell whilst exploring well-known locations from the series, with an all-star cast of baddies to beat up!

The visuals are on-point with that retro look, but made with modern TVs/monitors in mind. Animations are slick, combos are flashy, and character models are faithful to the original series. Pixel art has never looked so good! Whether you’re smacking Foot Clan goons whilst on your hoverboard or dodging herds of stampeding zoo animals, each environment pops with colour and detail that really gives the game that classic cartoon vibe.

The audio is an absolute perfect 10 for me. The remixed opening theme of the 1987 cartoon is an absolute banger, a modern take on the classic, with some seriously heavy drum beats that had me excited before I’d even started a new game! Another huge positive is that the original voice cast for the half-shell heroes return, and combined with overly dramatic sound effects and a suitably radical soundtrack (including a particularly hard-hitting track from members of Wu-Tang Clan!) TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge should be included in every “Best Audio” category in this year's various Game of the Year awards.

Gameplay is the main draw here — like the majority of beat ‘em up titles — and oh boy is it an absolute blast. Not only from start to finish, but then again and again, with so much replayability and so many challenges to conquer you’ll be glad it isn’t an arcade machine rinsing you of all your cash.

It’s also really simple to play; one button is for your standard attack moves (as well as a charged attack), one to unleash a special move — usable once a meter has been fully charged — one for jumping, and another to dodge. Using these in combination with one another will unleash some very satisfying combos, with more abilities being unlocked as you level up in story mode.

Now, story mode will be familiar to anyone that’s played the previously mentioned Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Each level is accessible from an overworld map, and within these levels you increase your score by defeating enemies and completing challenges. Earn enough and you’ll level up, thus increasing your health or granting you new special attacks. It’s a satisfying gameplay loop, and with each character having different movesets, it encourages you to replay the story multiple times. My first run through took around two hours on the easiest difficulty, offering very little challenge (perfect to get younger ones involved!). Bumping up the difficulty will extend the experience, as I found I had to replay levels in order to level up a character to give me an edge on whichever level I was struggling with.

Those of you wanting a more arcadey feel will find joy in the arcade mode. A limited stock of lives and continues, and no saving! It’s a tougher time for sure, and I personally preferred the story mode, but for hardcore players, it’s a great option.

In closing, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge may be one of the best — if not the best — TMNT games to date. It’s incredibly faithful to the source material and it had me grinning from ear to ear throughout the majority of my time with it. With an absolutely killer soundtrack, gorgeous pixel art, super stylish animations, and easy pick-up-and-play mechanics that don’t dampen the fun factor; this may well be one of my favourite games of the year. Turtle Power!