What a time for a TMNT fan to be alive! The franchise is as popular as ever thanks to some new shows, the Seth Rogen-produced movie ended up being surprisingly good, and we have plenty of options when it comes to TMNT video games. We can either relive our childhoods with the magnificent Cowabunga Collection, or we can play a brand new outing thanks to Shredder’s Revenge, one of the best arcade beat ’em ups of all time. Things have been so good, we basically don’t even need anything else in the realm of gaming.

You heard that, GameMill? We don’t need another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game! Why didn’t you read the room? Oh well, I guess it’s too late to complain. Here’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants, for better or worse. Emphasis on worse.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants (let’s just call it Wrath of the Mutants from now on) is actually a port of a 2017 arcade game. And when I say “arcade game”, I mean it, cabinet and all that. This subsection of the gaming industry is basically dead nowadays, with just a handful of Japanese fighting cabinets and the occasional Raw Thrills title comprising the entirety of a year’s release catalogue. It’s the kind of forgettable arcade time waster you end up playing for about five minutes when you’ve already had a few cold ones at your local Dave & Buster’s.

The thing is, when you’re at a Dave & Buster’s, you’re just spending some extra cash in order to have some extra fun (most likely under the influence) with a mediocre arcade title, not to mention the addition of the nostalgic atmosphere surrounding you. When it comes to owning and playing Wrath of the Mutants on a console, well, it’s basically impossible to not say “I could be playing Shredder’s Revenge instead” just after the same aforementioned five minutes. Even though, mechanically speaking, it works (it’s a mindless button-basher, but with responsive controls), it’s just lifeless. It’s completely devoid of joy. In simple terms… it’s not Shredder’s Revenge.

For starters, Wrath of the Mutants is actually based on the 2012 reboot, created by Nickelodeon. I find it very odd to revive a game based on that particular iteration of the franchise, as it had already ended by the time the arcade had originally hit parlors way back in 2017. It’s not old enough to be nostalgic. It’s also one of the ugliest and least charismatic iterations of the TMNT franchise, all due to some really ugly visuals and character designs. Instead of “cowabunga”, they keep saying “booyakasha” as if they were trying to impersonate Ali G. Rocksteady and Bebop don’t even call them “toitles”. Instead, the rhino has a Russian accent, and the damn warthog is lean, effeminate, and constantly tries to impersonate Michael Jackson, “shamona” and all. It’s charmless.

I don’t know if the game is this ugly because of its source material or because it feels incredibly cheap. Maybe a bit of both? I could comfortably say that the TMNT games released for the Gamecube, the ones which featured cel-shaded graphics were more pleasing to the eyes than this game. It’s devoid of style, charm, or any meaning post-processing effects. It might run well, sure, but it’s incredibly bland to the eyes. It’s not just the dated character designs, but also the repetitive enemies and uninspired levels. Oh, great, a sewer level. Such creativity. Oh look, NYC streets. I have never seen that before in a TMNT game.

What’s worse, the sound design feels basically incomplete. As previously mentioned, the voice acting might stem directly from the show, but it’s just lifeless. Why “booyakasha”? Why is Rocksteady Russian all of a sudden? Believe it or not, that’s the best aspect about the game’s sound design. At least there’s actual voice acting. The soundtrack is nearly nonexistent. There’s just a faint, borderline mono tune being hummed at really low levels in the background. No adrenaline, no excitement. Every single TMNT game I can think of has already featured banger soundtracks. Even the bad games. Wrath of the Mutants‘ soundtrack is so bad it almost feels like it’s incomplete. Given how this game is 7 years old, I don’t know if that can even be used as an excuse.

Had Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants been released in, say, 2021, I would have definitely complained about it, but I would have also said there was no better option for us fans out there. In a post Cowabunga Collection and Shredder’s Revenge world, however, this game feels almost like a joke. I don’t know who this game is for. By being so dull, so lifeless, so devoid of joy and excitement, Wrath of the Mutants actually stands out like a sore thumb. The only positive aspect about it is that its controls are actually quite. Then again, so are the controls in Shredder’s Revenge. I just can’t. There’s no need to even give this game any bit of attention when vastly better alternatives are easily and widely available for all platforms.

Graphics: 3.5 I could comfortably say that the TMNT games released for the Gamecube were more pleasing to the eyes than this game. It’s devoid of style, charm, or any meaning post-processing effects.	Gameplay: 8.0 Mindless button-bashing. Nothing inherently bad about it. It works as intended. It’s not exciting in any way, but it gets the job done quite well.
Sound: 3.0 There’s a bit of voice acting, but the soundtrack itself is just plain dead. Where’s the action? Where’s the excitement?	Fun Factor: 3.5 It would have been more acceptable if we were living in a world where access to good TMNT games was limited. That is not the case. By being so dull and lifeless, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants stands out like a sore thumb.
Final Verdict: 4.5

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PC, Switch and Arcade.

Reviewed on Xbox Series S.

A copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants was provided by the publisher.