In my home, the film “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” from 2023 was an unexpected delight. Both my kids and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. When Outright Games announced the release of TMNT Mutants Unleashed, a game inspired by the movie, I was excited to extend that wave of turtle mania into the gaming world. However, the excitement didn’t last long, as Mutants Unleashed ended up being quite a mixed bag, despite having some promising ideas and a presentation that echoes the movie’s style nicely.
Mutants Unleashed offers a surprisingly rich storyline that picks up right where Mutant Mayhem left off, showcasing the repercussions of the turtles’ recent success and newfound acceptance. With the emergence of more mutants, humorously referred to as “Mewbies” by our teen heroes, there’s plenty of action-packed gameplay. The story also brings in new faces, including a group of teenage comrades for the turtles to bond with. As is typical with Outright Games’ titles geared towards younger audiences, the voice acting is quite robust. The dialogue effectively captures the essence of the film, and while the narrative leans more towards a side story than a grand adventure, it remains an engaging escapade.
Given TMNT’s history with beat-’em-up games, I was eager for some exhilarating co-op combat. Unfortunately, the combos and combat systems felt half-baked. It leans towards character action rather than traditional brawling, which would have been a fine choice had the combat been more polished. Each turtle has unique abilities and skills, and although multiplayer is limited to two players, the combat is straightforward enough for everyone to dive in and enjoy, making it accessible for all ages. However, as Mutants Unleashed targets an older audience compared to Outright Games’ usual toddler-friendly offerings (like Bluey or Paw Patrol), the shallow combat can be disappointing.
To my surprise, Mutants Unleashed also includes some interactive social segments reminiscent of Persona and recent Fire Emblem games. Players can take turtles to various events with friends, yet these segments are drawn out, slow, and mostly lack voice acting, which unfortunately bogs down the game’s rhythm. This also detracts from the co-op experience, as it doesn’t significantly contribute here. The game stretches to around 15-20 hours, but the content doesn’t hold up well over that duration. On top of that, the Switch port suffers from a few technical issues and notably long load times. It took so long to start up that I initially thought the game had broken.
TMNT Mutants Unleashed has quite a few promising elements, yet they don’t quite come together as hoped. The combat is adequate, but nothing stellar, and the intriguing social RPG concept doesn’t quite hit the mark. It’s especially disappointing because the writing, which supports a rather engaging storyline, shines. I can’t help but wish the game had gotten a bit more development time because the potential for something truly awesome is undeniable. Sadly, it never quite rises out of the sewers.
