The first reactions to Tribute Games’ TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge are in and let’s just say that I’m ready to order pizza and kick some serious shell. There aren’t a lot of games I look at and go, “That’s gonna be a 10/10 for me, I just know it,” but every trailer had me convinced that this would be a strong contender for game of the year for me – and I’m not alone in thinking that.
Gene Park writes for The Washington Post, “Shredder’s Revenge achieves everything it set out to do and will go down as an instant classic for its genre. No matter what era, whether it’s 1987, 1989, or 2022, it would be one of the finest, most exciting video game experiences of the year, honing an arcade formula as ageless as Turtles in Time.” Park also points out the obvious homage to the classic beat-em-um style of previous Turtles games, calling Shredder’s Revenge, “a potent reminder of why the foursome have remained icons to anyone lucky enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with friends and strangers in the arcades of the ’80s and ’90s.”
This is exactly why I’ve been so excited about this release. These classic Turtles games are something I’ve always enjoyed and I have fond memories of scrambling for more quarters after being hit one too many times by that wrecking ball in Turtles in Time. It was the era of solid beat-em-ups like the Simpsons game where Marge used a vacuum as a weapon, and an era that I could tell Tribute Games was working to recapture.
Sam Machkovech writes for Ars Technica, “Since getting my copy, I’ve completed the game’s campaign four times and hosted gameplay sessions with a number of friends, and I’m still not tired of the fun.” Machkovech goes so far as to say that this might be the best 2D beat-em-up ever made! Other review scores give the game high marks across the board. It’s a great time to love being a turtle!
Many continue to express their love for the game, particularly the part about being able to play as April O’Neil. Admittedly, this is also a highlight for me. April’s usually the one you have to rescue at the end of a stage in these retro Turtles games, so her joining the brawl is fantastic.
Rebekah Valentine, a reporter for IGN, tweeted about playing the game with Imran Khan, a news editor at fanbyte. Both expressed their love for the fact that you could play as April. “I just want to say I like being April and smacking ninja dudes around with a big microphone,” says Valentine. Khan added that when you beat a stage with April, she drops the mic. “She deserves to,” says Khan.
TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge has been high on my list of anticipated games since it was originally announced. I try not to get my hopes up, but I really did look at this and name it a favorite of 2022 before getting to play it. It just looks like something right up my alley and seeing all the positive press just makes me more excited than I already was.
TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge is available now on Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox, and Steam.
(Featured image: Tribute Games)
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