Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants [PC] | REVIEW

Based upon the Nickelodeon cartoon series that ran for five seasons from 2012, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants initially launched back in 2017 as an arcade-exclusive release (and without the ‘Wrath of the Mutants’ subtitle). Now, seven years on, it is finally making its console debut, bringing with it some additional levels to flesh out what is otherwise a pretty small (and very simple) side-scrolling brawling experience.

Check out some screenshots down below:

There’s not a whole lot of storytelling to be found in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants, with it seeing the titular brothers roaming through five different levels as they build up to a final showdown with the infamous Shredder. These levels include the likes of the streets of New York City, Dimension X, and, of course, the sewers, so they’ll be familiar locales if you’re a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan. There’s not much going on in them from a narrative perspective though, and whilst they do feature plenty of familiar faces (some friendly, most not-so friendly), I couldn’t help but to wish that the game had a bit more story to flesh out your adventure.

It’s something I put down to the game initially being an arcade-exclusive release, which also comes into play when it comes to the simplistic nature of gameplay. There aren’t many complicated mechanics in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants, with players moving with the left stick, attacking with the X button, jumping with the A button, and performing their Turtle Power ability with the Y button when charged. And that’s it… sure, there’s a jumping attack and you can throw objects, but they’re the sort of things players expect from the side-scrolling brawler genre. Again, this could be down to the fact that arcade games had to have a simplistic ‘pick up and play’ appeal to them, but as a modern console release, it just feels like it lacks depth.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants doesn’t feel challenging in the conventional sense, but rather in a way where it’s designed to cost players their lives… you know… like an arcade game does as a means to get players to put more cash in to keep playing.”

The same could be said about the difficulty, which sees enemies come out in big groups and easily land plenty of attacks on the player to drain their health. It’s similar with the bosses, which have an array of attacks that are hard to avoid if you hope to deal some damage yourself. Now, I know what you’re thinking: maybe I’m just bad at the game. However, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants doesn’t feel challenging in the conventional sense, but rather in a way where it’s designed to cost players their lives… you know… like an arcade game does as a means to get players to put more cash in to keep playing. It would have been nice to see that balanced out a bit better with the console release, though the fact that you won’t run short of continues does mean it never becomes a real issue when playing.

It might sound like I didn’t like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants, but, despite its simplicity, I did actually enjoy my time playing. Whilst the bosses weren’t perfect, there’s plenty of variety to be found across them, whilst facing off against iconic villains from the series was a treat (Baxter Stockman will forever be a favourite of mine). The power-ups you can use in combat are great too, whether that’s when calling in an ally to unleash some attacks on your foes or when getting to going gung-ho in your shell and smash your way across the screen. Again, these are things you’d have seen in plenty of other side-scrolling brawlers, but their use here is effective. There’s local four-player co-op too, which should DEFINITELY be utilised if you want to get the most out of the game – it’s how I spent most of my time playing, and believe me, it was FAR more enjoyable than playing solo.

Check out some screenshots down below:

However, whilst I did have some fun playing, it’s probably because it was all over in an hour and didn’t get a chance to grow too repetitive. Even with three additional levels and six extra boss fights when compared to the arcade release, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants is a VERY short game, whilst it doesn’t offer much else to bring players back for additional playthroughs. Sure, you could chase high scores on levels if you want, but with little depth found in the gameplay, it’s hard to feel motivated to dive in and see what you could do better.

It is worth noting that it’s considered a budget release, which makes the shortcomings and length more forgivable. However, even with a £24.99 price point, there are a LOT of better options available if want a side-scrolling brawler that offers a more fleshed out and exciting experience. Heck, Shredder’s Revenge is available for less and offers a LOT more bang for your buck if you REALLY want a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game, so there are options for players.

Developer: Cradle Games
Publisher: GameMill Entertainment
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2527580/Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles_Arcade_Wrath_of_the_Mutants/