The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have a new mission in TMNT Splintered Fate, a new roguelike that looks a lot like the turtles’ take on Supergiant Games’ Hades. What sets TMNT Splintered Fate apart, obviously, is the inclusion of the turtles as playable characters and cooperative gameplay.
In the turtles’ new adventure, master Splinter is missing. Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael take to the rooftops, streets, and sewers of New York to find their sensei, unraveling the mystery behind who’s kidnapped him in an “evolving narrative,” Paramount said, written by comic book author Tom Waltz. Along the way, they’ll encounter allies like April O’Neil, Metalhead, and Casey Jones, who will offer clues about Splinter’s whereabouts.
Since this is a roguelike, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will earn randomized power-ups and expand the turtles’ unique combat abilities with each run. In the above trailer, we see a list of selectable power-ups that will affect one of the turtles’ combat abilities, giving him an area-of-effect flame strike, faster attacks, or increased damage while at low health. Like Hades, there’s an evolving progression and further elements of randomization: Room layouts will changes and bosses will have various modifiers to spice up familiar battles.
TMNT Splintered Fate is the latest in an increased push to bring the Ninja Turtles to video games, following on last year’s one-two punch of retro game compilation Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection and throwback beat-’em-up Shredder’s Revenge. Paramount has much more planned for the turtles, including a AAA adaptation of graphic novel The Last Ronin. Even bad guy Shredder got some exposure recently, graduating to Operator status in Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0.
Beyond games, the Ninja Turtles are starring in a new animated movie later this year, and taking a detour to Hawkins for a Stranger Things crossover.
TMNT Splintered Fate is developed by Super Evil Megacorp, the studio behind mobile hits like the MOBA Vainglory and battleground shooter Catalyst Black. The game is available now through Apple Arcade, and is playable on Apple TV, iOS, and Mac computers.