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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown

Strange Scaffold · released May 22, 2025

IndieStrategyPCXbox Series XNintendo Switch

Splinter and Shredder are dead. Help the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles tackle deadly new threats and the approach of adulthood in this fast-paced turn-based beat-em-up!

79
VGC Score
·No trend datamedium confidence
79%
At launch
90%
Steam all-time
77%
Press
100%
Recent sentiment

PC 79 · Xbox 72 · Switch 70

Screenshots & trailers

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (OpenCritic)7751
All-time Steam reviews90%84101
Metacritic user ratings0
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)100%971
Calibration prior (typical game)7250

Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 4 reviews sampled · 4 total reviews in window · weighted 2.3 up / 0 down · computed 17m ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (31)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 90
    trust 83May 22, 2025

    I never could have seen this coming, but it makes sense that such a talented indie studio would make an awesome Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game. Fun and challenging battles combine perfectly with a unique tabletop-like art style and an excellent soundtrack, making this game feel like a new side street off memory lane.

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    trust 75Aug 13, 2025

    The combination of turn-based strategy and beat-'em-up gameplay felt like a bit of a square peg, round hole situation, but Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown melds the two to deliver one of the freshest takes on TMNT that I've seen in a long time. It's a short-but-sweet experience that might not gel with everyone, but after 35 years of beat 'em ups and brawlers, this showcases the Turtles like you've never seen them before. And come on, that's pretty radical, dude.

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  • 75
    trust 75May 29, 2025

    TMNT: Tactical Takedown is full of great ideas that, while only half-realized at times, make for an undeniably fun tactics experience for gamers of all levels. As the first tactics game for both the Turtles and Strange Scaffold, there is certainly room for growth, but between the incredible soundtrack, the effective and high-momentum blend of tactics and beat-em-up gameplay, and how easy it is to play and enjoy, Tactical Takedown is a Turtles game worth checking out for its clever genre leap.

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    trust 70Aug 29, 2025

    A surprisingly strategy-oriented outing for the heroes in a half-shell, Tactical Takedown can be challenging, but feels great when you’re in the zone

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  • 70
    trust 68Jun 3, 2025

    TMNT: Tactical Takedown is a decent time if you love the turtles and aren’t expecting a revolutionary tactics game. It has heart, humor, and enough ninja action to keep fans entertained, truly my only issue is the writing in some areas but even its not enough to distract from how much fun this tactics game is; just like my first time trying pineapple on pizza, I was surprised with how much I really enjoyed this unique mash-up and wouldn’t mind another tactical Turtles game.

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    trust 67May 27, 2025

    TMNT: Tactically Takedown is a delightfully challenging game, once you get settled and accustomed to the pace.

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  • 75
    trust 66May 22, 2025

    Strange Scaffold have done it again and has made another wonderful romp that is well worth your time, this time adapting the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles name and world. Dispel any doubt: the indie studio's writing chops and style transfer well to the universe of the team of amphibian martial artists, bringing over so much charm and pizazz from the IP in its first-ever turn-based affair. With plenty of visual and audio flourishes and delights, you're transported to the franchise's heyday and better yet, while you're at it, you're engaging in some good old-fashioned tactics fun, using the turtle brother's skillsets to take down wave after wave of thugs. It might not be the most mechanically deep or hardest of the genre, but it's all worth it to see those lovable crime-fighting teens back in action.

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  • 80
    trust 66Aug 28, 2025

    I REALLY enjoyed this game. It looks and sounds fantastic. The combat is well-balanced (though possibly not taxing enough) I didn’t want to stop playing once I’d started (it has a ‘one more level’ appeal). It made me feel like I was playing out a comic book adventure, becoming the fifth turtle, and reliving my TMNT dreams of the late 1980s.

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  • 90
    trust 65May 29, 2025

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown is the second TMNT game I’ve played and reviewed in recent years, with great humor, music, and gameplay. I did find some occasional lag, which I think is because the game is unclear in communicating if an animation is “over” or not. It is also a shorter budget title, which seems to work very well for the property. If you’re even a casual TMNT fan, I think you’ll find something to love here, with a great story that hints at more to come in the future.

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  • 70
    trust 65May 22, 2025

    The turtle boys don't cut 'em no slack in a short but sweet tactics game that feels like the foundation for something much bigger.

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  • 70
    trust 65Aug 21, 2025

    With some unpleasant difficulty spikes and staid visuals, TMNT: Tactical Takedown won't be for everyone. But for those willing to overlook its idiosyncrasies, Tactical Takedown offers a compelling, yet brief, strategic challenge.

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  • 70
    trust 63May 22, 2025

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown is a bit lacking in terms of difficulty and enemy variety, and the story doesn't feel too creative. That said, the abilities of each Ninja Turtle reflect their personalities well and allows for some visceral tactical takedowns. Generally, it's a game that turn-based tactics fans should enjoy for a few hours.

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…and 19 more tracked reviews.

Patch history