Step into their shells and save the city, as one of the Ninja Turtles.
Embody your inner ninja as Cortopia Studios (Escaping Wonderland, Gorn 2) and Beyond Frames Entertainment (Ghosts of Tabor, Silent North) bring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) to virtual reality (VR).
In TMNT: Empire City, the Shredder is dead and the turtles have been away on a well-deserved, year long vacation. The game kicks off with the brothers being called back home by April, who warns of issues being caused by the Foot Clan.
In the wake of the Shredder’s demise, a power vacuum has been created within the clan, as a fight ensues to see who will lead them moving forward.
You’ll quickly find out who has filled the leadership void, once you’ve had a chance to run through the game’s extensive tutorial. This gives you an opportunity to play as each of the four turtles and see how each of their signature weapons suits your gameplay.
With that, let’s dive into the mechanics of the game.
Becoming one of the TMNT brothers is meant to be immersive and fluid. You’ll use the grip buttons and thumbsticks for grabbing and moving, with face buttons being used to jump – ‘A’ – kick/ dodge – ‘B’ – and open your inventory ‘Y.’
Your weapons are on your back, grabbable by reaching over each shoulder. Of course you’ll use these as your main tool each fight, but there are things you can pickup along the way like shuriken, smoke bombs and more – these are stored in your inventory.
Kicking is good too and helps push enemies back if you’re feeling overwhelmed. It should be noted that a kick icon will appear on Foot soldiers and if you’ve filled the meter before you kick, you’ll be able to activate some additional damage with your weapons. The rest of the time hitting ‘B’ will dodge you out of harms way.
Each of the brothers fills the meter differently, for example, Michelangelo’s will fill by spinning the nunchaku, while Donatello’s fills by using your bo with two hands.
There are advanced combat techniques which enable you to attack after jumping in the air and performing a forward motion with your arm, however, this is a little difficult to achieve every time and takes a bit of practice.
Doing things like crossing large distances by jumping and air dashing are as easy as hitting the ‘A’ and ‘B’ buttons.
Also, it’s good to know that you can store two different kinds of items on you when you start – for example a health injector and smoke bombs. If you don’t feel like using the face buttons on your controller, there’s a handy shell icon floating around your belt which you can tap to open the inventory.
Jumping to gameplay, the Empire City’s semi open world setup allows you to choose between Leonardo’s twin katanas, Donatello’s bo staff, Michelangelo’s nunchaku, or Raphael’s double sai’s, before each mission.
In addition to the main story missions where you’re going up against Mashima, a foot clan wizard who looks a lot like Mortal Kombat’s Raiden, there are outposts to liberate and side missions to take on along the way.
You can even find blueprints for new gear and can collect trash across the city which Donatello can repurpose to net you items and buffs.
Upon diving into the entry level and learning which of the turtles you prefer, the boys are making their way back together as they search for an item giving off a significant amount of dark energy. When you finally find out what the item is, the three brother who you do not embody disappear to the roof where Karai, the leader of the Japanese sect of the Foot Clan appears in a pseudo-boss fight.
After you deal enough damage to her, Mashima appears and the game can truly begin.
Once you awaken, you’ll find out from Splinter and April that the clan have taken over parts of the city, setting magical barriers and outposts for control.
Outposts, like in Far Cry, require you to defeat enemies – along with taking on a task such as destroying a machine or solving a puzzle. Once you clear the outpost, you’ll see the crime rate drop.
As you progress through the game, liberating the city and dropping crime as you make your way to the inevitable fight against Mashima, fans will come across a few familiar bosses along the way.
This is where Bebop and Rocksteady come in.
Thanks to the magic of VR, you’ll feel their overwhelming presence. Despite being a heroic ninja, playing as one of the turtles in these battles will make you feel just how big and threatening they can be, as they force you to move with all the agility you can muster while thinking on your feet.
Surviving these encounters and the rest of the game can be hard, but because the turtles are so technologically savvy, your watch details not only your health, but tapping it brings up a map, the crime rate, and other game details.
The watch actually functions very well and is a definite asset to which you should pay attention.
As you work to rid New York from the Foot Clan, it’s also good to keep your eyes out for those blueprints mentioned earlier.
Back in the lair, there’s a workshop and printer where you can use the blueprints you find to create boosts such as increased health, health injectors and other items which will aid you throughout your game. These cost the trash you collect – broken down into three categories – so keep your eyes out for litter strewn about the city as Donatello truly takes the “one man’s trash” proverb to heart.
The one odd thing longtime fans of the series might notice is that while playing, you’re mostly going out solo. Unless you choose to play multiplayer and take on the game with others, you’re pretty much going it alone.
This is in stark contrast to the television shows, the movies and comics, where the brothers and their family ties are what make them a strong force against Shredder and the Foot Clan.
It would be great to have the other turtles by your side controlled by the computer as you tackle the game outside multiplayer, but this isn’t really a downside and more an observation.
Finally let’s wrap by talking about the graphics.
The game looks damn good in headset, and while playing with a Quest headset gives off a more cartoonish comic book esthetic, that’s not to be overlooked or seen as a downside. Graphically the game design takes the comic books as inspiration, while channeling the vision of Cortopia to make something that feels familiar, but with subtle unique touches.
In the end it works and does so very well, as things play out very well without any issues or hiccups along the way.
Overall TMNT: Empire City is a stellar VR entry which will entice both series fans and newcomers looking for a new game. The ability to play your way, coupled with a consistent mechanics system that afford fluid and fun combat, makes this a game in which you can get lost.
Each turtles unique attributes and abilities means that you can play the entire game as Donatello and then come back and have an entirely new experience as Raphael – especially since learning each unique weapons each takes time and skill.
It is always a treat to get a well-known series appearing in VR – it’s even better when the game launches in a good state. This proves itself to be a quality title that should satisfy most gamers. It’s just too bad that the one platform left out from receiving this title – PlayStation VR2 – would really benefit the game further, with the enhanced technological capabilities which come with the headset.
Regardless of that, this is certainly a welcome addition to the ecosystem which has been lacking in truly standout titles of late.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City was reviewed on the Quest 3 after receiving pre-release access.
