I at all times picked Donatello. Again after I was slightly child, taking part in Ninja Turtles with my brother or with my mates, I’d at all times be the one to seek out the closest broomstick and unscrew the broom half, which might immediately rework me into the purple bandana-wearing hero in a half shell. Then my compatriots and I might go on missions to seek out the Shredder’s hideout and rescue April (performed by a feminine pal who in all probability needed to be a Turtle, however agreed to be April as an alternative). We’d save April, defeat the Shredder, and rejoice with some pizza. It was superior.
As an grownup, I’ve continued to acquire Ninja Turtles motion figures, learn Ninja Turtle comedian books, and play Ninja Turtle video video games. However that particular feeling of being a Ninja Turtle, that feeling of complete immersion into playtime, is one thing that I believed was reserved to childhood. Then I performed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire Metropolis and for the primary time in a long time, I managed to really feel that once more.
Developed by Cortopia Studios, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire Metropolis is the very first VR Ninja Turtles recreation — and it doesn’t disappoint with the distinctive expertise it offers. The sport is all in regards to the Turtles getting concerned in a turf warfare happening inside the Foot Clan. It’s set after the Turtles have defeated the Shredder, spurring two factions of the Foot to vie for management of the military of ninja thieves. There’s the New York faction led by the obscure character Mashima, and the Japanese faction led by Karai, a reasonably integral character to most variations of the TMNT. Karai operates as an ally within the recreation, however solely to some extent, because it’s unclear if she truly desires peace between the Foot and the Turtles, or if she’s simply utilizing you to realize management of the group. That ambiguity is a large a part of the story.
You and as much as three mates (Empire Metropolis helps four-player co-op) play because the 4 Ninja Turtles on a mission to take down the Foot in two separate sections of the town: Chinatown and the Decrease East Aspect. You try this by defeating members of the Foot Clan, taking down Foot equipment, and sneaking round numerous Foot-controlled warehouses to assemble clues as to what Mashima is as much as. Some all-star villains together with Bebop and Rocksteady, function bosses.
That entire sneaking round factor was one of many components of Turtle gameplay that I by no means realized I used to be lacking earlier than. Whereas I like the old-school Konami sidescrollers, they’re actually nearly beating the crap out of Foot Troopers and the mutant bosses. There’s no covert “ninja” a part of the expertise, however Empire Metropolis has that in spades as you sneak round warehouses, in alleyways of New York Metropolis, and on the rooftops of buildings. That form of ninja motion is only one of some ways the sport immerses you within the expertise of being a Ninja Turtle.
The most important a part of that, in fact, is simply attending to play as one of many 4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Trying down and simply seeing three thick inexperienced figures is a trippy expertise, then getting to make use of their weapons — all of which deal with fairly in another way — is a whole lot of enjoyable. Regardless of Donatello being my favourite Turtle, I principally performed as Michelangelo, as I discovered him best to make use of. My VR ability degree remains to be someplace beneath “novice,” so there was one thing in regards to the free-wheeling nature of Michelangelo’s nunchucks that I discovered forgiving to my lack of precision.
Actually, the few points I had with the sport simply appeared to stem from my very own private VR rising pains. For instance, It took some time for me to determine how to not get snuck up on in a combat by an unseen villain behind me, as you’re often preventing a couple of Foot Troopers without delay. I additionally struggled with merely getting quick sufficient to get previous a timed part of the sport.
There are only some of these timed sections although; for probably the most half, the sport helps you to go at your personal tempo, selecting which part of the town you wish to deal with first and even switching between the 2. You may as well simply dangle across the metropolis and discover by climbing up fireplace escapes and drain pipes to go dangle on rooftops. One of the best place to hold although is undoubtedly the Turtles’ lair within the sewers.
The Turtle Lair is your base of operations the place you’ll be able to change out what Turtle you’re taking part in as. It’s additionally the place you’ll be able to check with Splinter and the place April principally heads up the entire operation (she is basically the TMNT equal to Oracle within the Batman: Arkham video games, as she’s in your ear, supplying you with obligatory directions by means of the sport). One of the best a part of the lair, although, is that it’s actually customized. Every of the 4 Turtles has a wildly completely different bed room that speaks to their respective personalities, so whereas Donatello’s room is a messy hodgepodge of tech, Leonardo’s room is a meticulously neat Zen sanctuary. The primary developer of this recreation, Cortopia CEO/inventive director Ace St. Germain, is a large Ninja Turtle nerd and you’re feeling that with easter eggs and deep cuts all through, however you by no means really feel it greater than you do within the lair, which is simply bursting with character and a whole lot of enjoyable to only hand around in.
The deep Ninja Turtle information that went into this recreation is very rewarding for a die-hard fan like me. Whereas I’m positive the informal TMNT fan will nonetheless get a kick out of taking part in with ninja weapons, beating up Foot Troopers and exploring the sport’s part of New York Metropolis, I felt like I, particularly, bought to understand all of what the sport needed to supply.
In addition to even simply Easter eggs, I appreciated that the story was a intelligent mix of the unique comics’ “Metropolis at Struggle” story from 1992 and the IDW comics run which started in 2011 and remains to be going robust. I additionally appreciated that the artwork type within the recreation felt prefer it got here straight out of the IDW comics, with many character designs that really feel impressed by artists like Mateus Santolouco and Sophie Campbell. To enhance these characters, there’s additionally a hand-drawn, comedian book-y aspect to the environments too, which solely enhances that immersion.
That degree of element factors to the sheer love of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise that was put into this recreation. Together with that love additionally comes a deep understanding of what individuals would need out of the expertise of being a Ninja Turtle. You need the weapons, you need the ninja motion, you need New York Metropolis, and also you need the characters you already know and love. This recreation nails each single little bit of that — and once you wish to take a break, you’ll be able to chill within the sewer and scarf down some digital slices of pizza. In fact, that will not fill your abdomen, nevertheless it simply may fulfill one thing a lot deeper for individuals who grew up pretending to be Ninja Turtles with mates.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire Metropolis is out now on Meta, Quest, Steam VR, and Pico. The sport was reviewed on Meta Quest utilizing a prerelease obtain code supplied by Cortopia Studios. You will discover extra details about Polygon’s ethics coverage right here.
