Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown Review - One Man Army

I don't think anyone had a turn-based tactics game set in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe on their bingo card, but here we are. Perhaps an even more unlikely combination is that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown is developed by Strange Scaffold.

Strange Scaffold is a developer known for robust zaniness and unconventional concepts, so their spin on the half-shell heroes is just that: Unexpected. Known for working as a team, the turtles are a force to be reckoned with, but Strange Scaffold turns the concept on its head and asks, "What if the Turtles split up?"

Lone Wolves -- or Rather -- Lone Turtles

Indeed, rather than taking control of all four Turtles at once, this tactics title asks players to control one character per level. Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo are all doing their own thing in a post-Shredder, post-Splinter world, and that's led them down different paths.

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown, levels feature grid-based tiles a la Fire Emblem. Levels are dynamic and throw new obstacles at you as you're told to rush forward to an objective or slay a certain number of enemies. All the while, you have Foot Clan goons ready to pounce on your Turtle. You are, essentially, a lone wolf blazing a path forward against uneven odds.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown's greatest strength is the solo aspect of gameplay; it's also the game's greatest weakness. Like I said, each level has a designated character, so you're forced into the role of a specific Turtle. This gives each character an even amount of playtime to explore their diverse set of abilities.

That said, I can't help but wish that all four turtles could be played at once. Sure, we've seen the whole gang fight together numerous times, but that's what makes Ninja Turtles what it is. Level design is somewhat toned down to be minimalistic to balance around controlling one unit per level.

The gameplay is very safe and doesn't try anything daring. Would we had all four turtles together fighting against hordes of Foot Clan, I can just imagine the great synergy and chaos that could ensue.

The Turtles' Tools of the Trade

But for all my gripes, Strange Scaffold does an admirable job of making every Turtle feel distinguished and powerful on their own. The Turtles' abilities reflect that of their personalities: Leonardo is a brutal force to be reckoned with and easily the most powerful of the four. Donatello uses gadgets to maneuver around the map and shock his enemies.

Meanwhile, Michelangelo skates around on his board with high mobility, flipping around enemies. Raphael, probably my least favorite of the bunch to play, is still a powerhouse, especially with his Berserker ability, which leeches health from KO'd enemies.

Combat generally revolves around careful consideration of spending your limited amount of action points. Wise usage of these points and positioning your unit well is crucial for survival, especially being one character. You can get surrounded by the Foot Clan pretty easily if you're not careful.

One crucial component of the Turtles' attacks is buffs and debuffs. Like in Leonardo's case, getting a KO with his Rad Slash attack grants a stack of Radical, which increases the damage of his next attack. In a similar fashion, on KO, Leonardo's Feint Cut adds a stack of Evasion, allowing him to completely dodge an attack.

It's all about the manipulation of these buffs rather than just trying to defeat as many Foot Clan ninjas as you can. Of course, debuffs play a huge part in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown as well. Donatello, for instance, can use Stun Kunai to cause the Stuck debuff, keeping enemies in place for a round.

Playing with debuffs, especially Stuck, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown appeals to the tactical gamer in me. Throwing down Donatello's shock traps, applying Stuck, and watching multiple enemies get KO'd in a single round is cathartic.

Goin' on a Rampage in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown

Once you get the hang of how each turtle plays, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown isn't all that challenging. The first few levels are a little tricky, just because you're not familiar with their skills. After a few rounds, you'll start going through Foot Clan baddies like nothin'.

Leonardo is especially powerful, and for most of his levels, he is nearly invincible if you use your abilities competently. It's great to fulfill that power fantasy, but victory feels like it comes too easily.

Moreover, enemy variety is lacking. There are only a handful of enemies, and most of them are simply standard goons with three health. Those can be taken out in a hit or two. The more powerful ones are just slower and tankier, and a few other enemies thrown into the mix, like ninjas that spawn with their own stack of Evasion, hardly pose a challenge.

It is fun to faceroll these enemies and plow through levels. A lot of the Turtles' abilities allow for you to push enemies. Pushing enemies off the edge of the map for a cheap kill is always satisfying. So, while I do enjoy the combat and variety each of the group brings, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown is lacking in terms of difficulty and enemy variety.

A Blasé Adventure for the Gang

My understanding of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lore is, admittedly, surface level. I dressed up as Leonardo as a kid for dinner every night, enjoyed the occasional episode of the show, and I still play the games that come out. Still, I'm not an expert with the story by any stretch of the imagination.

With that in mind, one of Strange Scaffolds' strengths is writing. Unfortunately, I just don't see that strength on display here. The idea that Shredder and Splinter are dead and the group is out on their own is a concept that opens the door to multiple intriguing narratives. Most of the dialogue just isn't compelling. 

The Ninja Turtles comprise such strong personalities, and while the tech-geek side of Donatello or the rapscallion nature of Michelangelo shines through in some instances,  nothing about it really captivated me. It's a breezy game, too, so there's little time for the narrative to get rolling when it can be completed in five or so hours.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown Review | Final Thoughts

The art style is something I'm conflicted on. I'm a fan of the classic look of the Turtles, and the figurine-like models of the characters and enemies can be endearing. The UI, with its punk, grafiti-like aesthetic oozes with that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle charm. The rest of it, well, it's a bit bland.

Levels take place in four areas: The streets of New York, the sewer, the subway, and the rooftops. Spend a moment on the subway as Leonardo, and you've pretty much seen how the rest of his levels will look. The sewers, yeah, they're the same throughout Donatello's handful of levels, too.

Despite some gripes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown is a charming and competently made tactical game. It feels a bit subdued, especially with the focus on controlling one single Ninja Turtle per level. Despite this, the Turtles themselves feel distinct enough, and there's just the right amount of strategy for it to be a good-but-not-radical time.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown was reviewed over approximately 5 hours of gameplay on PC with a key provided by the publisher. All screenshots were taken during the review process.