The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles get a radical new release by DotEmu and Tribute Games for PC and console. Modeled after the classic arcade and SNES games, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge follows Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo as well as April O’Neil, Master Splinter, and Casey Jones as they take on the Foot Clan, Kraang, and the merciless Shredder who attempt to take over New York and the world. While the game can be played solo there’s a heavy emphasis on co-op and playing with friends.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is a 2022 beat’em up game, it is developed by Tribute Games and published by DotEmu. It is currently available on PC, Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

Editor’s Note: A Playstation review code for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge was provided by DotEmu in support of this review. Slight spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge’s story may be present within this review.

Time to raise some shell in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge.

Hard to believe this game was announced over a year ago, but here we are. Initially revealed in March 2021, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge was expected to be released that same year but was unfortunately hit with a delay. Though it had some changes and edits from it’s original unveiling the game upon it’s final release is exactly what you’d hope it to be. Taking immense inspiration from the classic Konami titles such as Turtles in Time, the game is an adaptation that’s original to DotEmu & the appropriately named Tribute Games.

Shredder’s Revenge features co-op which allows your friends to drop in at any time.

THE GOOD: If you’ve been longing for the return of the days of classic TMNT games with a bit of a modern flavor then Tribute Games & DotEmu have you covered. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is not a remake or remaster of one of the older titles but does take some nods from them. The pixel art looks beautiful and moves well with modern game design. It’s a beat’em up so you can expect hordes of enemies to eventually fill the screens as you play with your friends. Up to six players can be brought in form the start or at any point in the playthrough meaning this is not only one of the few TMNT games where all four Turtles can be played at once but also the first to go beyond that. So two additional friends are given the pick of April O’Neil & Master Splinter and later Casey Jones.

In regards to the design of the characters themselves everyone appears to be rather spot on. Tribute Games seems to have used a multitude of source material between TV adaptations, comics, and other games to mold their incarnation of the characters’ personalities and movesets. It’s a rather faithful approach with everything coming together rather nicely. The music is great and I could see video game ost fans getting their hands on soundtrack for a regular listen. A couple of lyricted tracks were provided by rappers like Wu-Tang Clan & Ghostface Killah and it matches the game’s atmosphere just fine. Rap & hip-hop has always had a weird complimentary effect on TMNT and this is just continuing the tradition.

While not a remake or remaster Shredder’s Revenge borrows plenty from the old Konami titles.

The story follows the Turtles, Master Splinter, April O’Neil, and Casey Jones as they face the combined might of the Foot Clan & Kraang. Shredder has devised a plan to enact his revenge on the Turtles. They battle across much of New York and eventually end up in Dimension X. After one last desperate attack Super Shredder is unleashed but is ultimately defeated. There’s a few secrets to uncover in story mode such as easter egg & cameos of classic characters like Irma Langinstein and the Punk Frogs. Side quests can be unlocked but these are usually limited to fetch quests.

With seven playable characters Shredder’s Revenge has a lot of Turtle Power, dude.

THE BAD: The game is about three hours per run in story mode and there’s no plans for DLC expansions currently. Music while an entertaining listen felt super limited, for example the same boss track was repeated for several bosses throughout the game. There’s also some audio issues with the voice acting and sound effects that can kind of break immersion. Some of the level designs can get slightly repetitive as well. Shredder’s Revenge also lacks longevity with really only Story mode and Arcade mode which is a much harder version of the former being playable.

Shredder’s Revenge is classic co-op at it’s finest.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is a nice return of a sorely missed gaming franchise. Though not without some hiccups the game successfully (and mostly) revamps what the concept of the classic entries provided that’s sure to inspire plenty of game devs who’re lucky enough to get their hands on the legendary IP going forward. It’s not perfect, but if you ever needed an excuse to play a chill game with friends this is definitely one of the good ones.