Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate

Personality, creativity, and co-op multiplayer elevate this Hades-like beyond its rough edges.

With a gameplay loop that effortlessly integrates the heroes in a half-shell into the world of roguelikes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is a fun and approachable 'Hades-like' that's best played with pals. However, despite the power of the IP and a co-op addition, it doesn't pack enough of a punch to avoid unfavourable comparisons to Supergiant's classic and constantly feels like it's on the back foot because of it. There is fun to be had here, but those who have spent time in the Underworld will find it hard to shake the feeling that this central loop has been done much better elsewhere.

It works as a Hades clone with an IP that might make it more enticing for some, but an unfinished story and technical issues might make a disciplined spirit take pause.

It may be easy, at a glance, to look at Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate and dismiss it as “we have Hades at home.” There’s a nugget of truth there, as we are looking at an action roguelike clearly inspired by Hades, with a smaller scale in many ways. But does Hades have co-op, or the TMNT? Nah, dudes. Splintered Fate has a specific goal, and it definitely delivers on that goal. It’s a fun time, with a lot of structural solidity and the fun co-op gaming vibes you should expect from a TMNT game. It doesn’t feel cheap or sloppy at all, and even singleplayer can keep your attention for several runs over dozens of hours. I’m still working on it despite winning several loops already, and spinning around like a maniac with my boy Mikey still doesn’t feel old yet.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate doesn't quite reach the heights of its obvious inspirations, but it's a good time anyway.

TMNT: Splintered Fate is a fun, approachable roguelike that finally gives the turtles a solid action-adventure with replayable loops and co-op charm. It’s not perfect — the genre has seen deeper systems elsewhere, and the base Switch version shows its hardware limitations — but it’s a worthy purchase for TMNT and roguelike fans alike. While the Switch 2 edition is the definitive way to play, Switch owners will still find a lot of enjoyment with this one, albeit with some limitations.

If you’re just playing because you like rougelikes, you’re not going to like Splintered Fate. But if you’re a fan of TMNT, you’re going to look past all the shortcomings and the gameplay itself, and you’ll enjoy the TMNT flair.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is a good action game in the roguelike style, with a lovely aesthetic that's "respectful" of the comic book tradition, as well as overall solid and fun gameplay. The co-op mode adds several levels of fun and strategy to the game, which, however, suffers from the classic problems of (almost) all titles in the genre: irremediable and irreversible repetitiveness. That said, at a very affordable price, the game could prove to be an unexpectedly valuable time-killer, especially if you have a friend to play it with.

In the first run, the game is slow, and if you're not into the Ninja Turtles universe, it's an uphill battle.

It happened, it finally happened! It's been too long since I've enjoyed a good TMNT game but I am so happy to say Splintered Fate delivered a good time. Roguelites have been hot for a while now and throwing the TMNT skin on top of one makes a lot of sense. I think more recognizable IP's should branch out and try new genres like Splintered Fate here. Easy recommend for Turtles fans and roguelite enthusiasts alike.