The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have revolutionized comic books, cartoons, and of course, video games over their decades of pop culture dominance. Few licensed properties have given us as many incredible games as the heroes in a half-shell. I'm a proud owner of TMNT: Splintered Fate and can tell you it's another one worthy of this treasured lineage.
Stop me if you've heard this one, but Shredder has kidnapped Master Splinter in this roguelike. You'll level up, unlock new ninja powers and battle all the Turtles most famous enemies before a showdown with old Chromedome himself. Yes, we've done it a million times in a million games, but roguelikes may be the only genre as well suited to the Turtles as side-scrolling beat em' ups.
Splintered Fate is getting a huge free update Sept. 30, with a new game mode, more levels, and a new storyline. Arcade Mode is a fast-moving new way to play along with a "Hex and Flex" system to mix up the fun. The update will also include quality-of-life improvements, bug fixes, and visual improvements.
The paid update will add a character whose inclusion has been teased for a while now. Metalhead, the Turtles' robot buddy, has been helping from their sewer headquarters since the game launched. Now he's stepping onto the battlefield as the game's first all-ranged character, bringing laser guns and landmines to the swords and shuriken party.
To download the free update, just log into your game. The paid Metalhead DLC is $6.99. Splintered Fate is available on Xbox One/Series X and S, PlayStation 4 and 5, Apple Arcade, Nintendo Switch, and PC.