REVIEW-IN-PROGRESS: TMNT: Splintered Fate is a rock-steady roguelike

I am a 42-year-old man and I still enjoy the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I mean how could I not, as they were a formative part of my childhood. A constant presence on the TV through the original cartoon and video games, a big part of my toy collection, a welcome scene at the movie theater and so on. The turtles have been there for decades and I’ve been right there with them. While I might not be as deeply involved in every facet of the TMNT empire nowadays, you can bet I keep up-to-date on wherever the mean green machine is popping up.

When it comes to games, I obviously spent quite a bit of time working through the TMNT beat’em-up empire. The history the turtles have with the beat’em-up genre is very well known to turtles fans and gamers alike, as there’s a ton of titles to pick from, and almost all of them are good to great. That includes the most recent entry, TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge, which was an excellent tribute to the 90’s turtles games while still offering something new.

While beat’em-ups have been the bread-and-butter of the TMNT franchise, there have been attempts at other genres over the years, and with mixed results. The latest title to try and break the turtles out of their beat’em-up shell is TMNT: Splintered Fate, which oddly enough, is an homage to not just another genre, but a very famous title within that genre.

Hades is easily one of the most well-known and successful roguelikes out there. The game pulled in a ton of awards and players alike, with plenty of people still exploring the depths of the underworld in the hopes of coming out the other side. With all that attention, it’s no surprise to see other companies attempt to replicate the success of Hades, which brings us to TMNT: Splintered Fate from Super Evil Megacorp.

There’s no two ways about it, TMNT: Splintered Fate is Hades with a different skin. If you’ve played Supergiant Games’ 2020 smash hit, you’re going to feel right at home with TMNT: Splintered Fate. Pretty much all the trappings of Hades are here, but instead of trying to escape the underworld, you’re setting out to rescue Master Splinter from another realm. It may not be a game filled with originality, but there’s no denying TMNT: Splintered Fate is still one shell of a good time.

It is honestly impossible to talk about TMNT: Splintered Fate without bringing up Hades. Anyone who’s played that title is immediately going to see the parallels here. Sure, TMNT: Splintered Fate has the core mechanics you’ll find in most roguelikes, but the ways in which they’re presented is pretty much ripped from Hades. The powering up of attacks and abilities, the expansion of your home base, the opportunity to upgrade your stats with random options, the path for permanent stat boosts…it’s all here.

For those unfamiliar with Hades or roguelikes, here’s a breakdown of the gameplay loop in TMNT: Splintered Fate. You start out on your first run to rescue Master Splinter, which basically consists of moving from room to room to clear out enemies. Defeat all the enemies and you’ll be presented with a random assortment of options for enhancing yourself. Make your choice, move on to the next room and do it all over again. You’ll eventually happen upon mini-bosses, rooms with shopkeepers for upgrades, stage bosses and so on. Push through until you die, which returns you to your home base to start the run all over again. The more times you play through and die, the more chances you’ll have to permanently enhance your turtle of choice while back at TMNT HQ (a.k.a. your sewer lair). As the deaths add up, new wrinkles will come into play that aid you in becoming a stronger, more fierce opponent. Eventually you should find the right combination of skills, know-how and techniques to tackle the entire mission ahead of you.

One area in which TMNT: Splintered Fate differs from Hades is how progression through stages works. In Hades, there are set types of room layouts that randomly slot in as you make your way through a run. In TMNT: Splintered Fate, you’ll always go through the same rooms in the same order, but enemy placement/type can change. It’s a small, but notable difference, as I’m sure some players will be a bit disappointed to see room structure remain exactly the same with each run, but for me this really wasn’t a big deal. It was a bit disheartening to see at first, but quickly became a non-issue thereafter.

The other area where TMNT: Splintered Fate feels different from Hades is the overall level of polish. Please don’t think this means TMNT: Splintered Fate is a bad experience by any means. In reality I’d say it’s pretty damn great, but it’s just not up to the level of AAA polish that Hades has. The visuals in stages can be a bit drab, the animations can be wonky at times, and the “oomph” from landing attacks doesn’t quite hit the same way as Hades. It’s also worth noting that framerate can be unstable, but not anywhere near a hindrance. This wobbly framerate is seen through the movement of your turtle, as things go from above 30fps to 30fps from time to time. The good news is that the game offers you the option to lock things at 30fps, which does away with the problem completely.

While those might be the areas where TMNT: Splintered Fate fails to measure up to Hades, there are some other spots where it, at the very least, gives the game a run for its money. Very surprisingly, the game has a pretty fantastic soundtrack. There are a number of tunes here that really set the tone for the environment, and they’re quite moody and enjoyable. One truly shining example for me was the song that plays in the turtles’ lair, which is a reflective and melancholic song that really drives home the point of how empty the lair feels without Splinter, and how sad the turtles are that he’s been kidnapped. I’m not kidding, the track is so damn good that I put down the controller and just took the song in, and it nearly brought a tear to my eye!

Other areas where TMNT: Splintered Fate excels are the voice acting and story. I’m not going to pretend that what we get here story-wise is on par with Hades, but it’s a better-than-average tale. While the bones of it might be very basic, there’s some really nice writing that captures the personality of each turtle. They all have their moments of humor and playfulness, but there’s some sullen and serious moments as well that were nice to see. All of this is brought to life by a stellar voice cast that nailed the roles. This voice team puts in a performance that definitely deserves to be praised, as it can stand toe-to-toe with the actors behind most animated TMNT entries.

Pick your turtle of choice, set out on a run, fight tooth-and-nail to rescue Master Splinter, fail, get better, grab upgrades, rinse-and-repeat. Whereas Hades is one of the best in the roguelike genre, TMNT: Splintered Fate is much better than a cash-grab, time-killer or shameless rip-off that you might have expected it to be. The hooks Hades sinks into you are very much at play here, and I found myself having a lot of trouble pulling away. That feeling of “just one more run” is certainly present, and seeing yourself make progress, be it by inches or miles, is truly addictive.

Closer to carbon copy than homage to be certain, but the end result is all the same. What worked in Hades works in TMNT: Splintered Fate, and it’s still damn fun. For longtime turtles fans or newcomers, this game is a no-brainer. For the Hades or roguelike diehards, TMNT: Splintered Fate is definitely worth a look. Honestly, even if you have just a passing interest in Hades, I’d be shell-shocked to learn you didn’t enjoy your time with this one.