Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate

Lore & Background

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is a roguelike brawler with action role-playing game elements, presented in an isometric view. Players control one of the four Turtles—Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, or Michelangelo—each with distinct playstyles: Leonardo is speed-based with low cooldowns, Michelangelo focuses on area-of-effect attacks, Raphael can chain combos, and Donatello emphasizes gadgets with a larger health pool. Combat includes basic attacks, dodging, tools, and a unique special move that can be charged. The game supports single-player and four-player local and online cooperative multiplayer with drop-in/drop-out functionality. A Story Mode offers reduced difficulty for a relaxed pace. Levels are procedurally generated across themed environments like the city and sewers, with randomized room layouts, enemies, and mini-bosses. Players collect Dragon and Dreamer Coins as currency, and artifacts that provide additional powers unlocked during runs. The Turtles' lair serves as a central hub for upgrading stats such as health, damage, and luck, and for interacting with allies like April O'Neil. Casey Jones becomes a playable character through the Junkyard Jam DLC expansion.

Reader's Guide

Super Evil Megacorp chose to make Splintered Fate a roguelike to differentiate it from previous Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles outings, aiming to capture a 'brawler arcade' feel with an emphasis on cooperative gameplay, which they felt was rare in the genre. The game was developed using the EVIL Engine and marked the studio's first title for Nintendo Switch and PC. Tom Waltz, a writer and editor for the IDW comic series, was brought in to consult on the writing, resulting in a universe partially inspired by the IDW comics but with its own tone—more adult than some Turtles origin stories yet not as dark as the comics. The game received generally favorable reviews, with praise for its combat, upgrade system, and progression, though some criticized comparisons to Hades (2020). Lead designer Daniel Stansens noted being flattered by the comparison but highlighted innovations such as allowing players to progress the branching narrative as any of the brothers in co-op. The game's release strategy involved a timed Apple Arcade debut followed by expansions to other platforms, with special enhancements per version—couch co-op for Switch and online matchmaking for PC. Two DLC expansions added Casey Jones and later Alopex as playable characters, along with new artifacts and game modes.

Did You Know?

• The game was announced and released on Apple Arcade on May 4, 2023, the same day as a one-shot tie-in comic from IDW Publishing.
• Tom Waltz, a writer and editor for the IDW Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic series, consulted on the game's writing.
• Casey Jones was added as a playable character through the Junkyard Jam DLC expansion released on February 5, 2025.
• A second DLC expansion released on February 25, 2026, added the mutant fox Alopex as a playable character.