Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed Review

Not since their heyday in the 1980s and 1990s have the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles felt more relevant. Therefore, it’s not at all surprising to see a licensed video game tie-in with their latest iteration. Using the excellent 2023 animated movie as its base, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed hands players control of the next mutation of Leo, Donnie, Raph and Mikey. However, like most mutants, there’s more to Mutants Unleashed than it initially seems.

On the surface, the new game from developer A Heartful of Games is a bright and colourful brawler. It mimics the hand-drawn aesthetic of the new movie well, distinguishing Mutants Unleashed from recent retro beat ‘em up Shredder’s Revenge and its original cartoon style or the recent Wrath of the Mutants re-release, based on the Turtles’ 2012 designs.  

The core gameplay consists of simple, button-mashed combos and using your favourite Turtle to defeat the enemies in any given area. Each Turtle has their own signature weapons and personalised special moves, but the four brothers largely play much the same. There’s also not a lot of challenge to enemy encounters — including the boss fights — so whilst it’s solid enough it begins to feel very repetitive after just a few hours. Outside of combat, there are some light platforming sections and a variety of collectables to pick up, but it’s all in service of stringing together very similar compact combat arenas in a handful of hollow locales.

However, once we’re led down the manhole, it’s revealed that Mutants Unleashed has had its hack-and-slash movie tie-in genes spliced with the DNA of the Persona series. Trust me, I was as surprised as you are. Whilst the result is far from a fully fleshed-out role-playing game, the RPG mechanics present in Mutants Unleashed extend beyond the everpresent XP building and upgrades to relationship-building side quests and ‘due dates’ to complete main missions. All of which is overseen by a time management system. Don’t get me wrong it’s all very surface level — and a touch unnecessary — but the effort has to be applauded.

Regrettably, the level of ambition in Mutants Unleashed is matched by the prominence of its flaws. The game often struggles to keep a consistent frame rate during combat sequences with more than a handful of enemies, slowing down significantly at certain points during my playthrough. Excessive load times are also an issue, especially when I was often met with a loading screen after just a few minutes of actual gameplay. A handful of bugs added a low level of frustration to the mix too. Combine all of this with the lack of gameplay variety and it becomes a recipe that even Mikey wouldn’t let grace his pizza.

It’s unfortunate because the story that brings all of these elements together is very good. Much like the visuals, the writing in Mutants Unleashed carries the same tone as the latest TMNT movie and animated series. All four of the principal voice actors reprise their roles for the game as well, maintaining the Turtles’ brotherly back-and-forth dialogue that is so endearing. So whilst the gameplay grew stale quickly, the story and characterisation (even for those whose voice actors didn’t return) kept me going. The side stories — in particular, Raphael’s solidarity with a would-be paralympic swimmer — offered further glimpses into the Turtles’ respective personalities and how they want mutants to be seen as a positive influence on New York City. 

Alas, solid story beats aren’t enough to shoulder the weight of a lengthy campaign. The reward of a new slice of story content isn’t enough when weighed against the grind of lacklustre gameplay. I’d argue that it’s criminal that a TMNT game doesn’t have a four-player co-op mode, but I don’t think Mutants Unleashed could handle it. My brief time playing the game with one partner was chaotic enough as it was.

I really want to like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed. It captures the feel of this iteration of the Turtles well, the rough around the edges, sketchy, aesthetic is wonderfully replicated, and the story feels a lot like an episode of TV. All of this should be commended, as should the developers’ desire to push for more than just a straightforward licensed tie-in. Sadly, the gameplay grind gets old too quickly and it just isn’t enough to sustain all of the game’s high-reaching ideas. This leaves Mutants Unleashed feeling a bit like a pizza with the right toppings, but an undercooked crust.