TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge [Xbox]

Developed by Tribute Games, TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge is a delightful throwback to Ninja Turtles arcade beat-em-ups of the 90s, whilst having a fresh new feel that makes it a dream to play. All the baddies you love to hate are back, from Shredder and his Foot Clan, to Bebop and Rocksteady - and even some of the less familiar ones, too - and they’re all causing carnage, so it’s up the to Turtles to save the day!

You can play alone or with up to 5 other players, either in parties online or in local co-op, meaning you can have the whole turtle gang working together. With crossplay enabled, you’ve also got the benefit of having a wider pool of players to play with; being able to play with other people online through matchmaking is great if you’ve not got a regular group of friends that can all jump on together at the same time (a common issue as the friend-group gets older, each with their own jobs and kids), and makes the game far more enjoyable on the harder difficulties.

There’s a How to Play section to teach you moves beforehand, such as the fling toss, Cheer up (to boost allies), taunts, Radical Mode (which you’ll unlock once you’ve levelled up) and more; and getting used to the variety of moves in your arsenal - including the slight differences between each character - will help you deal with your enemies easily. Being able to interact with environmental hazards, smacking cameras into your enemies, is extremely satisfying - and can be a lifesaver if you find yourself in a tight spot - especially if you’re trying to complete the level without taking any damage.

With that classic Ninja Turtles style, Shredder’s Revenge is absolutely gorgeous to look at. Characters are brightly coloured and well detailed, against ever so slightly more muted backgrounds making them stand out. It’s a stunning retro styled look, with gorgeous animation and fantastically detailed across both the environments - such as the Channel 6 TV Station, the hover-board based missions, and the Zoo, to name a few - and characters, with each of the turtles showcasing their own iconic weapons. The soundtrack is turtle-y awesome too, with a great selection of varied tracks composed by Tee Lopes that just evoke So. Much. Nostalgia. Whilst there’s no voice acting in the cutscenes, you do get little snippets of the characters’ voices as you brawl, which is great to hear - and the level intros also rank high on the nostalgia-meter.

There are seven different endings available for you to achieve, depending on which character you complete Episode 16 as - so thankfully you can just replay that episode as each character, rather than starting the whole game again six extra times! The experience gained as each character remains tied to them however, so a fully levelled up character will stay that way if you switch them out to another character, allowing you to then build up the new character from scratch. There are hidden collectibles in each level, such as character cameos from the likes of April’s boss, Burne, who you’ll need to rescue - and rescuing characters will lead to their own side-objectives for items to find, such as Burne’s newspapers or Attila’s disgusting bugs.

TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge is a fantastic beat-em-up and is a lot of fun to play, whether you’re playing alone or with friends. With an arcade mode available too, with a limited number of lives and continues, and no saved progression, this gives you another way to play if you’re wanting to go for a more classic arcade experience. If this sounds like something you’d love to try, then you can pick it up for £22.49 on Xbox, but you can also play it at no extra cost via Xbox Game Pass, if you’re a subscriber.

In the end, we decided to give TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge the Collecting Asylum rating of 9/10.

Are you interested in TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge? What do you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!

- V x

Thank you to DotEmu for the TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge Xbox review code!