What The Critics Are Saying About Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
Ever since its announcement, players have waited with bated breath to sink their teeth into "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge." The excitement was felt not only by fans of the beloved cartoon series, but also by the scores of players who fell in love with the classic "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" arcade games and titles like the Super NESs "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time" specifically. The new title looked like it would carry the torch of those iconic games, even leading some to ask whether "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge" was a direct sequel to its predecessors.
Now, critics are finishing their time with the game and have begun sharing their thoughts. By and large, critics seems pretty pleased with the title. While there's certainly the odd complaint here and there, reception has largely been positive, with most outlets reveling in the new life breathed into the old-school beat-em-up formula. Here's what critics are saying about "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge."
Shredder's Revenge is an homage done right
Many critics have been quick to point out that while "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge" looks and feels just like what most players probably remember of the old-school "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" games, they're a breath of fresh air when compared to how those titles actually played. For arcade titles and the beat-em-ups of that era, gameplay was designed around gobbling up as many quarters (or as much time) as a player had available. This often meant random difficulty spikes and enemies that progressively become harder while players' power remained relatively unchanged. In this sense, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge" feels like a totally new game.
Players won't find themselves at the whim of constant continue screens, as "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge" adds some new tricks to ensure players have what they need to go toe-to-shell with all the challenge that await them. As Mitchell Saltzman of IGN puts it, "Best of all, it transforms the arcadey quarter-munching design of combat into something much more skill forward while still maintaining the same button mashy appeal. Put simply, "Shredder's Revenge" is a prime example of how to reinvigorate the classic arcade beat-em-up formula.
Combat sees big updates but retains identity
It can be easy for a team working on an homage like "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge" to get carried away. Sure, there are some rough edges in classic beat-em-ups, but if too much of that is changed or modernized, the title risks losing some of the identity and old-school charm that helped make it into the icon it was. Like Theseus' ship, if a title has all of its parts replaced, will it still be the same boat? Thankfully, this isn't something fans will have to worry about with "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge," as the team behind the title opted for improvements and additions as opposed to down right replacement.
Much of the combat feels right out of the new game's predecessors, with a few wise adjustments to make the title feel right at home alongside contemporary games. The title sports charge attacks, power ups and plenty of weaponized props, as well as some much-needed features like dodging. It's something specifically called out by Game Informer's Marcus Stewart, who wrote, "chaining together aerial, running, and various special attacks provides enough depth to keep it from feeling completely one-note. I especially love using the dodge/recovery button to sidestep attacks, bypass defenses, or instantly get back in the fray when knocked down."
A few hiccups don't spoil the experience
For all the goodwill being poured over "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge," there are still a fee criticisms being levied at the title, though most of them are minor. For one, some critics have called out the length of the title and the lack of replayability. Clocking in at only a handful of hours, holding few differences between the Arcade and Story mode and lacking any meaningful unlockable content or progression, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge" is a game that critics believe will bring joy to players while they play it ... but won't do much to keep players coming back for more.
As PC Gamer's Dominic Tarason said, "Surprisingly, beyond Casey Jones (a reward for completing the game once), there are seemingly no unlockable extras. No hidden modes, no curveballs. While it's nice to get exactly what you ordered in a game, I've possibly been spoiled by some other modern beat-em-ups—stacked against its recent peers, Shredder's Revenge feels threadbare on the bonus front."
All that said, critics are willing to forgive shortcomings like this after spending some time with "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge." Mostly, they're smitten by the aesthetically perfect homage to an era where the heroes in a half shell ruled the arcades.