Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate

Play it on: iOS

Hades is a very good game. People love it. But you know what the popular top-down roguelike action game was missing? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Well don’t worry, TMNT: Splintered Fate—released in 2023 on Apple Arcade—is here to fix that problem. And not only is it a solid Hades clone, it’s also a damn fine game on its own.

In Splintered Fate, the Turtles are shocked when their master, the mutant rat Splinter, is kidnapped (guess they haven’t played their other video games). Together, the four Turtles have to work together to take on randomly generated levels and collect various power-ups, making progress toward solving the mystery behind who took their rat dad and why.

While most TMNT games are 2D, side-scrolling brawlers, Splintered Fate plays more like Hades or Diablo, letting you see more of the action and making the Turtles feel a bit more powerful and radical. And because it’s on Apple Arcade, there are no microtransactions or other annoying instances of free-to-play bullshit to ruin the fun. Just you picking your favorite turtle—each with their own moves and abilities—and completing runs to earn resources that let you slowly upgrade the famous ninjas into deadly warriors. It might be new, it might be different than other TMNT games, but don’t sleep on Splintered Fate. Especially if you’re a big fan of Hades. — Zack Zwiezen