Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge was already one of the best side-scrolling beat ’em ups on the market, but with the Dimension Shellshock DLC it’s even better. Whether you just want some new characters to play through the campaign with, or a whole new mode designed to test your skills, this DLC has something for you. And perhaps also a little bit more.
As if Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge didn’t have enough characters for you to pick from, the Dimension Shellshock DLC introduces two more. You might not be familiar with Karai, a former Foot Clan member turned Turtles ally, or Usagi, a samurai rabbit that’s also been known to help them from time to time, unless you really are quite familiar with the heroes in a half shell. But it doesn’t matter: whether you know them or not, you’ll soon come to appreciate what they add to this brilliant game.
Both characters look great and are wonderfully animated; their personalities really shine through in their actions. Karai makes short work of her enemies with powerful punches and kicks, but isn’t averse to drawing her sword from time to time or making use of her powerful ninja skills. Usagi, on the other hand, is a nimble little fellow who slices and dices his foes with his trusty samurai sword. It’s certainly worth taking them both through Story or Arcade mode, leveling them up so you can explore their full repertoire of skills and get used to their movesets.
In fact, reacquainting yourself with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge if you haven’t played for a while, or at least getting some practice in with Karai and Usagi, is recommended before you jump into Dimension Shellshock’s new Survival mode. Here, a new character development system is employed, meaning the levels earned elsewhere with your favourite characters are thrown out of the window. Instead, it’s all about finding Crystals. Start a new run with any character and you’ll find yourself fighting waves of enemies in a brand new environment. And between each wave you’ll be offered up two rewards, adding a Roguelike element.
Related: The Best Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Games You Can Play Right Now
Your goal here is to collect enough Crystal shards to complete a Crystal, opening up a portal to a new environment and increasing the difficulty. With limited lives and no continues, however, it’s a tall order to make it through the handful of stages on offer, all inspired by various stages of Turtles history. Typically you’ll start off in Edo Japan, but other stages on offer here include a the black and white pages of a comic book, and even retro 8-bit streets. Collecting Crystals in these stages is also how you permanently level up your characters in this mode, bolstering their life bars, unlocking new colours, and more.
If there’s one thing that we’re not overly impressed with when it comes to Dimension Shellshock, it’s the power ups offered up between the completion of stages. Many of them just aren’t worth picking up unless you have to. If you’re ever offered a choice between 20-30 Crystal shards or a vial that doubles your damage output but also the damage you receive, for example, it’s better to play it safe and take the Crystal shards. In fact, any pick-up that has drawbacks just isn’t worth the risk given the abundance of ones on offer that are so helpful. Some of the best pick-ups here are rather exciting though: choose one that has an image of a Turtles villain such as Bebop, Rocksteady or even Shredder, and you can take control of them for a short while. This we love.
If you have any love for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, the Dimension Shellshock DLC should be considered essential. It’s as simple as that. Both characters included here are wonderful to take control of and bring yet more variety to the game, and Survival mode adds a fun and lasting challenge in which no two runs are ever exactly the same. Ultimately, it makes a brilliant game even better. What more could you ask for?
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge – Dimension Shellshock DLC Review – GameSpew’s Score
