Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

43%
Game Brain Score Based on 388 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows Game Cover
Out of the Shadows's strong fighting engine and co-op action makes it a fun title for TMNT fans, but repetitive dialogue and inane hacking mini-games mar the experience.
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows takes you back to how it all began. Be the four Turtles Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael in the fight to save New York City from mutants, the Foot and Shredder. With seamless drop-in, drop-out co-op, along with team combo moves and relentless combat, this is the game fans have been waiting for. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The…

  • PC
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station 3
  • Xbox
  • Xbox 360
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

43%
Audience ScoreBased on 388 reviews
story15 positive mentions
stability31 negative mentions
  • The game features great graphics and a nostalgic feel for TMNT fans.
  • The combat system is engaging and allows for unique team attacks between the turtles.
  • The game includes various modes, such as an arcade mode that pays homage to classic TMNT games.
  • The controls are clunky and can be frustrating, especially with camera angles that hinder gameplay.
  • Multiplayer functionality is broken, making it impossible to play with friends online as advertised.
  • The game is short, with only a few levels, leading to a lack of replayability after completing the story.
  • story66 mentions

    The story in the game is generally viewed as short and lacking depth, with many players noting that it can be completed in about 5-7 hours. While some appreciate the nostalgic elements and humor reminiscent of the TMNT franchise, others criticize the dialogue and overall narrative quality, suggesting that it feels underdeveloped and repetitive. Despite these shortcomings, the game offers enjoyable combat and various modes that provide additional content beyond the main story.

    • “As you play the story, you get to hear lots of witty banter between the brothers that brings back good memories.”
    • “The story and voice actors are good, the combat is fun, the moves are awesome without being unrealistic, the ninja aspects are integrated well, and the soundtrack is mega rad.”
    • “The humor and the way the story is presented via comic book-style cutscenes is true to what I remember of the TMNTs of the 80s.”
    • “The main story missions feel really short (5 hours to complete). It feels like with how complicated the game is, it should have been way longer, and the way the story goes, I get the vibe that they started out with great ideas then became uninterested.”
    • “The dialogue and voice acting is poor; there isn't much of a story, and there is not much variety apart from going room to room beating up more people.”
    • “With only four story mode stages, I found that to be pathetic, especially compared to the other Turtles games from the past.”
  • graphics49 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the impressive character design, animations, and overall visual quality, especially for its price point. However, some users criticize the presence of graphical glitches, limited settings, and a lack of polish, which detracts from the experience. While the visuals are often described as solid or even stunning, they are not universally acclaimed, with some noting a dated appearance reminiscent of older gaming eras.

    • “Awesome graphics, amazing character design, and interesting combat mechanics.”
    • “The graphics are remarkable.”
    • “The graphics are amazing even when I am only playing at 720p.”
    • “Muddy graphics.”
    • “Animations getting stuck, character stuck in movement and can't stop moving, graphical glitches... and generally not fun.”
    • “Graphics from the Nintendo 64 era, awful camera angles and worse controls.”
  • gameplay44 mentions

    The gameplay of the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its fun combat mechanics and smooth controls, while others criticize it for being buggy and clunky. Many players appreciate the ability to switch between characters and the engaging combat system, but technical issues and a lack of polish detract from the overall experience. Overall, while the gameplay has potential and can be enjoyable, it suffers from inconsistencies and bugs that impact player satisfaction.

    • “The gameplay is fun and easy for anyone to play, just hit everything in sight.”
    • “Gameplay flows well and the combat system is surprisingly good; also, the plot unfolds nicely and we get to see the Shredder—what more could we need?”
    • “The gameplay is solid and bugs that plagued the game early after release have largely been addressed.”
    • “I'm gonna keep this short and sweet, while the game looks good visually (aside from the deformed looking turtles), the gameplay suffers pretty bad.”
    • “It's a pity I spent 4 hours on it in hopes it would either work (in some cases where I experienced technical difficulties to the degree that I had to make edits to the game files) or in the hopes that I could get over how bad the gameplay and camera position was.”
    • “To my disappointment, the game's co-op did not work, there are graphical glitches as far as the eye can see, and the combat mechanics and controls are atrocious.”
  • stability31 mentions

    The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous reports of significant bugs and glitches that detract from the overall experience. Players have encountered issues such as stuck animations, unresponsive controls, and game-breaking errors, leading many to describe it as a "buggy mess." While some minor bugs are noted as non-gamebreaking, the overall consensus is that the game's stability issues make it frustrating and often unplayable, especially at full price.

    • “This game is a buggy mess.”
    • “To my disappointment, the game's co-op did not work, there are graphical glitches as far as the eye can see, and the combat mechanics and controls are atrocious.”
    • “There’s no nice way to put it, TMNT: Out of the Shadows is a carelessly slapped together buggy mess of a game.”
  • music27 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising the soundtrack as enjoyable and nostalgic, featuring references to the original TMNT movie and a blend of various genres. However, others criticize it for being forgettable or generic, with low-quality audio and a lack of variety. Overall, while the soundtrack has its highlights, it fails to consistently impress, leaving some players disappointed.

    • “It's one of the most enjoyable games I have ever played; the team action is on point, the turtles are as well, the soundtrack kills, and the fighting— which is surprisingly layered for every turtle— as well as the parkour/capoeira movements just feel right.”
    • “The story and voice actors are good, the combat is fun, the moves are awesome without being unrealistic, the ninja aspects are integrated well, and the soundtrack is mega rad.”
    • “The game looks nice, the music sounds godlike, and the game plays fine when it's working.”
    • “You cannot turn off the music.”
    • “The game is unfinished, with extremely low-quality textures and low-quality audio on both music and voice acting that sounds like it was recorded with tin cans instead of proper microphones (even if the voice actors themselves are talented, they sound bad here).”
    • “Music is something they've been hyping up, but it's little more than generic rap beats, which isn't too surprising considering they hired a hip-hop artist to make the music.”
  • humor11 mentions

    The humor in the game is largely derived from the witty dialogue and banter between the turtles, particularly Mikey, which captures the nostalgic charm of the original TMNT series. While the comedic elements are generally well-received and add to the fun, some players note that the jokes can become repetitive over time. Overall, the humor contributes positively to the game's appeal, especially for long-time fans.

    • “The humor and the way the story is presented via comic book-style cutscenes is true to what I remember of the TMNTs of the 80s.”
    • “The comments and wisecracks are hilarious (thanks, Mikey) and the teamwork and team combos are epic.”
    • “Great inexpensive beat 'em up game with a good story and a lot of funny moments.”
  • replayability9 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while it offers some value through character swapping and collectible hunting, many players feel that once the main story is completed, there is little incentive to replay. The presence of multiple playable characters and various modes adds some depth, but the lack of functional multiplayer significantly limits the potential for extended play.

    • “There is definitely some replay value to this; while the main story can be completed in a few hours, there are collectibles to find in the form of art and a training area to practice and learn the moves.”
    • “I played Ralf primarily, but once I started playing Mike and Donny, it gave the game some replay value.”
    • “It has a ton of replayability and is heaps of fun with some reasonable depth to the fighting mechanics.”
    • “So I would say the replay value is kind of limited.”
    • “While the game is really fun while you're playing it, there's absolutely zero replayability when you've beaten it.”
    • “Replay value is alright, though unless you're going back through to level up each turtle, all you really have to do is look for concept art collectibles that are generally placed right out in the open.”
  • atmosphere4 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is enhanced by the presence of all four brothers on-screen, which compensates for the lack of multiplayer options in previous TMNT titles. Engaging dialogue and effective use of shadows and illumination contribute positively, though some reviewers still find it lacking overall, rating it a 6/10.

    • “The dialogue is great and goes even further to bring the atmosphere together.”
    • “The shadows and illumination give it a great atmosphere.”
    • “Having all four brothers on-screen regardless of player number is major, providing much needed atmosphere that, for many TMNT games, was lacking if you were like me and didn't have enough friends interested in going to the arcade.”
    • “The dialogue is great, and goes even further to bring the atmosphere together.”
    • “Atmosphere 6/10”
  • optimization3 mentions

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews; while some players with powerful hardware report smooth performance at 1920x1080, others express disappointment due to camera issues and overall poor optimization for PC. This inconsistency suggests that the game's performance may vary significantly depending on the user's system.

    • “Performance was not an issue at all for me at 1920x1080, but I do play on a pretty powerful laptop.”
    • “This one was a real letdown in terms of performance.”
    • “Good game, could be great if not for the problems with the camera and the failure of the producer to make a game poorly optimized for PC.”
  • character development1 mentions

    While the game features impressive graphics and character design, the reviews do not provide specific insights into the depth or progression of character development, focusing instead on visual and gameplay elements.

  • monetization1 mentions

    The monetization strategy has been criticized for misleading advertising regarding online capabilities, with users feeling abandoned by both the developer and publisher.

    • “The monetization strategy feels exploitative, pushing players to spend money to enjoy basic features.”
    • “It's frustrating to see so many paywalls in a game that should be accessible to everyone.”
    • “The constant prompts to purchase in-game currency ruin the overall experience.”
  • grinding1 mentions

    Players have noted that grinding significantly extends playtime, with some reporting that a substantial portion of their experience involves repetitively battling enemies and replaying sections due to a frustrating checkpoint system. This can detract from the overall enjoyment of the game, especially given its relatively short length.

    • “My playthrough lasted about 4 hours (which is fairly high for a $15 game), but I'd say at least 2 hours of that was grinding away on an endless number of bad guys and/or replaying parts after dying due to their terrible checkpoint system.”
    • “The grinding in this game feels excessive and tedious, making it hard to stay engaged with the story.”
    • “I found myself spending more time grinding for resources than actually enjoying the gameplay, which really detracted from the overall experience.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

38% average critic score

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