A newly announced TMNT game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown, will see Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello eschew their usual genre of sidescrolling beat-em-up for a new turn-based adventure.
TMNT: Tactical Takedown comes from developer Strange Scaffold, the minds behind Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator and this year’s I Am Your Beast. The developer promises a “bold new approach” to the TMNT universe, and not just because of the game’s turn-based tactics gameplay, a first for the franchise. It’s also due to the game’s story, which will see the Turtles growing apart as they teeter on the edge of adulthood in a world where Master Splinter and their arch nemesis Shredder are both dead.
According to the game’s Steam page, there will be 20 levels for players to battle through, divided into four campaigns focusing on different characters. Battle arenas will “grow, shrink, and add new threats each turn,” with the game’s visuals adopting a comic-book-style look combined with mini-figurines and dioramas. TMNT: Tactical Takedown will also sport a “multi-genre” soundtrack from El Paso, Elsewhere composer RJ Lake.
Each Turtle will have a customizable move set that looks to capitalize on their unique fighting styles while also allowing for clever use of the environment. Despite being turn-based, the game’s debut trailer shows plenty of moving around, as the Turtles leap and bounce off enemies and reposition to set up their attacks for success.
There is no release date for TMNT: Tactical Takedown just yet. It also looks like the game is currently only announced for PC, but that could change in the future.
The TMNT have been busy in the world of video games recently. TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge, a return to the classic style of sidescrolling beat-’em-ups the heroes in a half shell are known for, released in the summer of 2022, followed by TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection, a package of 13 old-school TMNT games, just a few months later. This year alone has seen the release of two TMNT games: The co-op roguelike TMNT: Splintered Fate and action-platformer TMNT: Mutants Unleashed (set in the same world as the well-received 2023 TMNT: Mutant Mayhem film).