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The Verge
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
TMNT: Tactical Takedown is a radical twist on turn-based strategy
I usually struggle with strategy games. They're typically too hard for me, and I often get overwhelmed at managing multiple characters or squads. But I couldn't put down Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown, which blends ideas from strategy games and classic TMNT arcade games to keep things snappy, easy to play, and full of action. One way Tactical Takedown — developed by I Am Your Beast maker Strange Scaffold — keeps things simple is by having you play as just one character in each of the game's 20 levels. The four turtles have different movesets; Leonardo, for example, uses his swords to aggressively attack enemies, while Michelangelo can zip around the playing field on his skateboard. You're able to customize each turtle's arsenal by buying new moves, but I didn't change the movesets at all and got through the game just fine. Battles take place in a grid overlaid on small chunks of very TMNT locations, like a street, sewer, or subway system. Every turn, you have six 'action points' to spend as you please, whether that's moving around the level or attacking bad guys. You just press a button to use one of your moves, no menu required, which speeds things up considerably. You have six hearts and three 'lives' — lose a life and the game will quickly flash a 'Continue' sign before letting you choose where you'd like to drop in the level to keep the fight going. (You also lose a score multiplier.) The levels feel like tiny dioramas, and while characters will move into a kick or a punch when attacking or a fall when taking damage, they aren't actively animated moment to moment. It all creates the sense that you're playing with action figures. Perhaps Tactical Takedown 's best trick is that the levels are constantly shifting around you. Every once in a while, the game will show you that a new piece of land is going to drop in on the next turn, and after that spot is in place, you'll get a warning that another part of the level is going to fall away. It means that you're constantly dealing with new terrain, layouts, and hazards like poisonous sewage or cars driving by while also strategizing on how to fight bad guys. Sometimes, after adding a new chunk of a level, the game even flashes the word 'Go,' encouraging you to move forward like you would in an arcade game. Even better, if there isn't a wall, you can send enemies flying off the edge of a level into the void, defeating them instantly. It took me a bit to understand that the game wants you to do that as much as possible; occasionally, there will be a lot of bad guys in a level, and the only way to efficiently take them out is by sending them to their doom. For me, it all came together in a level where you play as Leonardo in a subway tunnel. The level started on a subway platform, and then the game signaled that a subway car would appear. I navigated my way onto the subway car, and the platform fell away. After a few turns on the subway car, it 'arrived' at the next subway stop, and I had to hop off. It really felt like I was 'advancing' through a level in a faster-paced game, and all while managing a legion of enemies with Leonardo's swords. The genre is usually slow, but when you get in a good rhythm, Tactical Takedown almost feels as crisp as the TMNT arcade games — despite being a turn-based strategy game.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown comes out on May 22
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown will be released on May 22 for PC via Steam. As the name indicates, this is a turn-based strategy RPG. It also happens to be the first turn-based game in franchise history. It's being developed by Strange Scaffold, who made the fantastic El Paso, Elsewhere. There's a new trailer with plenty of gameplay, which is always nice. One thing that sets this tactical RPG apart from rivals like Unicorn Overlord is that the battles take just a few minutes to complete. As a matter of fact, they look even zippier than the streamlined fights found in the Mario + Rabbids series. The story sounds downright depressing for a TMNT game. 'Splinter and Shredder are dead, and as the Turtles approach adulthood, they're not just growing up... they're growing apart,' a description reads. To that end, most of the levels are played solo with just a single turtle. Come on guys. Hash things out over a large pizza pie! There's no price yet, but preorders are open. Publisher Paramount Game Studios has yet to say anything about a potential console release.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown PC Demo Out Now
It's time to clear out those hard drives. Steam Next Fest has commenced bringing tons of demos for Steam users to check out between today and March 4. One of the many exciting demos present for the event is the previously announced Strange Scaffold turn-based strategy game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown. For the Steam Next Fest demo of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown, players will be introduced to the game with a short tutorial and a modified version of the game's first chapter to take on the iconic villainous Foot Clan. This give users a glimpse of what to expect when the inevitably releases later this year. 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown is the first-ever turn-based TMNT video game,' reads the official description. 'Inspired by the classic cartoon, you'll experience a bold new approach to the world of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Splinter and Shredder are dead, and as the Turtles approach adulthood, they're not just growing up… they're growing apart.' When Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown releases, it will include 20 'constantly-mutating' levels as the titular turtles face off against the Foot Clan and their new leader. It will also feature an original story by Strange Scaffold, the developer behind I Am Your Beast, and El Paso, Elswhere. 'Building a truly powerful licensed game requires a deep respect for the source material, love for the fans, and a willingness to challenge tentpoles of the universe to create something that both surprises and delights,' said Xalavier Nelson Jr., founder of Strange Scaffold when the game was revealed. 'Bringing that kind of experience to life requires an equally powerful relationship – so I will be forever grateful to Doug Rosen and the team at Paramount for their collaboration, and putting their trust in our team to make an original take on the world that soars. I get to make a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game where the very first lines of dialogue establish that Shredder and Splinter are dead. Who else can say that?' The post Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown PC Demo Out Now appeared first on - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
