TMNT Splintered Fate is everything good about Hades mixed with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
PLAY IT OR SKIP IT?
Play it! If you’ve been wondering if it’s a good idea to subscribe to Apple Arcade, now is the time. TMNT Splintered Fate launched exclusively on the iOS subscription service last week, and it takes the best gameplay ingredients of games like Dungreed and Hades and bakes them into a delicious Ninja Turtles pizza—and I’m not just saying that because I’m the resident TMNT expert here at TapTap.
TIME PLAYED
I’ve clocked in around five hours on Splintered Fate. This allowed me to complete several campaign chapters, with my best run getting to chapter three. You can probably finish this game in less time if you’re fully upgraded with all the boosts, special abilities, and character upgrades. Nevertheless, the speed it’ll take you to get through the game will depend on how you decide to upgrade your characters and what you purchase at the shops. The good news is that the narrative progressed whether I failed or succeeded, keeping the game moving.
WHAT’S AWESOME
• Graphics. TMNT: Splintered Fate’s colorful environments stood out to me, and the unique elemental add-ons to abilities made battles more vibrant and eye-catching. The character models were tastefully designed as well, with Splintered Fate taking some obvious visual cues from Hades.
• Voice acting. It’s always lovely when games go the extra mile and hire a cast of trained voice actors to lend their talents to the game. The seasoned actors in Splintered Fate bring these beloved characters to life in a way that got me more invested in the story. Especially as a mobile game, it would’ve been easy to leave this title text-based, to only use voice actors for certain major scenes, or worst of all, to use AI to generate the voices (a trend I hope dies in the cradle). Instead, a bunch of talented folks voice the entire game, which made for a more fun and whimsical experience. Those are exactly the feelings I’m looking for in TMNT.
• Multiplayer. The best part of any TMNT game is playing with a buddy and beating the hell out of the Foot Clan. Splintered Fate doesn’t disappoint when it comes to co-op. If you have a friend with the game, you can easily team up and fight together.
• Narrative. What can I say? I enjoy the classics. The hint to Splintered Fate’s story is in the title: The goal is to rescue a kidnapped Master Splinter from the evil Shredder. It’s a simple premise, but that works just fine for me. Add in fan-favorite characters like Casey Jones, and this game’s got everything needed to hook me in.
WHAT SUCKS
• Apple Arcade exclusivity. If you’re looking to play this one, you’ll need an iOS mobile device and a subscription to Apple Arcade, which sucks if you’re an Android user or someone who prefers playing games on the PC or TV.
• No online multiplayer. I begged and prayed, but unfortunately, my colleague Kef is such an Android lover that he wouldn’t switch to iPhone and play with me! But even if he made the change, it wouldn’t matter for Splintered Fate, since we don’t live near each other. If you want to play with a buddy for this game, you’re going to have to hang out with them in person. You won’t find any online connections here.
• Repetition. Some might complain that Splintered Fate’s roguelike gameplay style of dying and coming back is a bit repetitive...and they’re not wrong! Repeating the same chapters over and over can get a bit old, even if I was doing so with an upgraded character.
💬 Will you play TMNT Splintered Fate or skip it? Let me know in the comment section! And mention your favorite Turtle!
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