Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge – Dimension Shellshock Review: An Update Sweeter Than Pepperoni And Marshmallow Pizza

When Tribute Games first released Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge last year, it was an instant hit and a welcome addition to the resurging beat-’em-up genre following the success of Streets of Rage 4 and Fight’N Rage. Turtles fans couldn’t get enough of its brilliant colors, 6-player Arcade mode, and off-the-wall combat. So when the new Dimension Shellshock DLC was recently announced, offering a new game mode for players to sharpen their ninja skills, vibrant color palettes to help change up your favorite hero in a half shell’s looks, and the addition of a few new fan-favorite characters to assist in cleansing the city of the evil Foot Clan, I was more than a little excited to dive in.

Now,  having handed out countless beatdowns to Shredder and his minions over the past week, I can happily report that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge – Dimension Shellshock DLC doesn’t miss a beat, delivering a fresh injection of quality content to an already fantastic beat-’em-up package.

A Shell-Shockingly Fun Addition

The Shredder is one of the many boosts you’ll get in Survival Mode to increase your chances of winning.

Adding to the original game’s replayability, Dimension Shellshock’s new survival mode was hands down one of the most enticing parts of Dimension Shellshock’s entire experience for me.

This mode plays out pretty much like you’d expect, with endless hordes of foes that you’d normally face in the game continually coming at you with extreme prejudice and a desire to dine on turtle soup. With each round you complete, you’ll receive helpful boosts to increase your chances of survival. Some boosts can be double-edged swords, such as one that doubles both the damage you deal and receive. Other times, they can be highly beneficial, such as one that causes sushi to drop every 10 seconds for increased points. Some boosts can even transform you into other characters, like Bebop or even the Shredder himself – which, as far as I’m concerned, is probably the best boost you can get in the game. After all, who doesn’t love the Shredder?

Along with trying to survive against waves of enemies, players will also be tasked with picking up crystals as they fight through legions of foot soldiers, mousers, and other familiar foes. These shiny trinkets are also awarded as a prize once you’ve completed the round.

After collecting the allotted amount of crystals, the bar on the bottom right-hand side will fill up. Once filled, you’ll be gifted with a massive gem that not only increases the challenge difficulty but permanently bolsters certain stats for your favorite characters and unlocks even more rewards, giving you an even greater incentive to try and complete more rounds.

No doubt about it, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge – Dimension Shellshock‘s Survival Mode is incredibly satisfying and succeeds in adding yet another layer of replayability and excitement to the game. However, that’s not all the DLC brings to the table to entice players to return to the ravaged streets of New York City. Tribute Games has also graciously delivered our terrapin tetrad a pair of new playable characters, to help keep the world safe and players parked in their seats.

Even Ninjas Need Help

Two familiar faces join the party!!

Like every TMNT fanatic out there, I could barely contain my excitement when I learned that Karai and Usagi Yojimbo were joining Shredder’s Revenge‘s already-packed roster. Sticking to what made the base game’s debut crew so much fun to take control of, Tribute Games has once again managed to knock it out of the park with this dynamic duo, who each bring with them their own unique playstyles to master.

Here we see Karai demonstrating why she’s the best ninja there is!

Much like Master Splinter, Karai is a bonafide ninja badass with the potential to be one of the best characters in the game once you learn her combos. She’s nimble, has plenty of multi-hit moves that help build her meter up faster, and her charge attack brings foes closer to you, making it a bit easier to deal with those nuisances that like to run away. Not only that, Karai’s dizzying air combos are insane, and her super attack can hit just about every enemy on-screen if you place yourself just right.

Everyone’s favorite wandering rabbit, Usagi Yojimo, mastering the air combo technique.

Unlike his kunoichi counterpart, Usagi Yojimbo is slightly lacking in the power department but more than makes up for it with speed and incredible ground and air combo capabilities. This rapid rabbit ronin can seriously blitz foes and land loads of hits, easily keeping your super meter and combo counter up while shredding a boss to ribbons or juggling enemies in quick succession. While his super attack may not take out as many foes as Karai’s, it’s still a hard-hitting tool to utilize when in need of some breathing room, or just to add more hits.

That said, Shredder’s Revenge – Dimension Shellshock still manages to maintain its unique character diversity with its two new additions. Hopefully, Tribute Games will continue to do so with future character releases. So whether you are playing solo, with a friend, or online, don’t hesitate to toss both of these veritable powerhouses to your team and watch the baddies hit the floor.

Cowabunga Dudes!

As a huge fan of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the beat-em-ups in general, I was thoroughly impressed with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge when it released last year, and Dimension Shellshock continues this trend with some incredible content, making an already quality entry in the genre so much better.

While I would have liked to have seen a few other characters, such as Mando Gecko and Tiger Claw, included in the roster of playable characters, that’s just nitpicking. In the end, it’s honestly tough to find much to complain about when it comes to Dimension Shellshock, which makes it easy to recommend to just about anyone who enjoyed Shredder’s Revenge.

If you were looking for the perfect excuse to dive back into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, look no further than Dimension Shellshock. With an addicting new game mode that will test your ninja skills, two new unique and exciting characters to master, and the chance to control the Lord of Kitchen Utensils himself, it’s a must-play update to an already stellar title.

Final Verdict: 4.5/5

Available on: PC (Reviewed) PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Switch, PC ; Publisher: Dotemu; Developer: Tribute Games; Players: 1 – 4 (local) 1–6 (online) ; Released: August 31, 2023; MSRP: $7.99

Full disclosure: This review is based on a copy provided by the publisher.