The concept of a Ninja Turtles roguelike is pretty cool. Throw in four-player co-op, and you have a recipe for a pretty sick game. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate executes that recipe pretty well and, at least in one form of its existence, has proven to be a great title for Turtle fans. The version I played, however, is held back by control issues that, to quote The Sopranos for no reason, prevent it from having “the makings of a varsity athlete.”
Before we get into my somewhat vague setup, I want to explain what Splintered Fate is and what I like about it.
Splintered Fate is a co-op roguelike set in the world of the TMNT. More specifically, the game takes on the look of a darker, more action-oriented depiction of the Turtles, similar to some of their comic runs, as opposed to their more stylized cartoon appearances. The game kicks off when Master Splinter is kidnapped by the Foot Clan via a mysterious portal, and it’s up to the Turtles to get him back—sent back to their sewer dojo each time they’re defeated.
Splintered Fate does some things right, and under the right circumstances, it could easily be a fan favorite. It already is in some regards, but I’ll get into that later.
Specifically, I like how punchy the combat feels. Attacks have weight and area, especially with my favorite Turtle, Leonardo. Each Turtle has unique combos, tools, and upgrades to find across a solidly built roguelike loop that makes the game highly replayable and very interesting in co-op.
Regarding the roguelike mechanics, the game feels pretty easy and lacks meaningful depth or variation. I beat the first boss and stage in under 10 minutes and didn’t struggle until the second. The levels don’t have branching paths, leading you down a straight line, and after my first run, I had enough currency to permanently boost my attack damage by 50% and health by 20%.
That being said, the game is fun to play when it isn’t held back by input issues.
Movement feels very slidey. You’ll often find yourself moving in a direction, take your fingers off the directional key, and keep moving for upwards of five seconds. Attacks sometimes register late or in strange directions, and key inputs generally feel late nearly half the time.
These problems may be different on a controller, but the reason they exist makes you notice other issues as well.
Splintered Fate is actually a port of a mobile game. A great mobile game, mind you, but when you realize everything was ported rather than built from the ground up, it becomes clear why the input issues exist.
The team that ported Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate clearly didn’t do an amazing job, with some errant code or bugs popping up during the transfer.
As I mentioned, realizing it’s a mobile port makes you notice other little things. Many textures feel small or strangely optimized, menus and HUD elements feel bulky, and the controls for navigating them feel clunky. The lack of depth in the roguelike loop also becomes understandable, considering the limitations of mobile hardware.
I’m not arguing that a game is bad or doesn’t deserve to be on PC just because it was originally made for mobile. I can’t argue that for Splintered Fate, especially since I enjoyed it, and it clearly has a positive following on Steam.
What I will say is that the game could have been ported better. Input delays can severely hamper enjoyment, and the game looks like a mobile game on a bigger screen.
In addition to improving the controls, I feel the developers should have taken more time to expand upon the game. No longer limited by mobile hardware, simple expansions on the core gameplay could have easily taken Splintered Fate from a 7 to a 9 or 10, making for a far better title that holds up to other games on the market.
As it stands, Splintered Fate is a fine enough game, though you can tell it was created for your phone. It’s fun enough for a few hours, but I’d say the game is carried a lot by the TMNT branding and doesn’t hold up to other roguelikes. While fans may disagree, I think we can all agree that the controls and input delays need improvement.
The Final Word
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is a fun co-op roguelike; however, it shows the limitations of a straight mobile port and could use some work, both on the depth of its content and its controls.
Try Hard Guides received a PC review code for this game. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is available on Steam, Epic Games, and Nintendo Switch.
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