Master Splinter will be a playable fighter in TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge

The sidescrolling beat ’em up Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge attracted a fair bit of hype after its announcement. It has some notable talent behind it, with some of the developers behind Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game and the team who published Streets of Rage 4 contributing to the project. This combined with the TMNT franchise’s beat ’em up history meant that players had plenty of reason to look forward to the game’s release. In August of last year, developer Tribute Games piqued players’ interest further with the addition of April O’Neil as a playable character. Now, it looks like fan interest isn’t going to die down anytime soon, as Tribute Games announced that Master Splinter will also become playable in Shredder’s Revenge.

Tribute Games went into detail regarding the design process behind Splinter in a recent PlayStation Blog post. According to the post, the developers unanimously wanted Splinter in the game so they could further explore his status as a skilled combatant. TMNT media often depicted Splinter as passive, so Shredder’s Revenge presented an opportunity for the developers to let him really cut loose.

How does Splinter play?

In-game, Splinter utilizes a fighting style that emphasizes quick strikes while exuding an aura of calm. Notably, he makes use of his cane for many of his attacks, and any successfully landed cane move can lead to a combo-initiating ground bounce. Additionally, Splinter possesses a “flying special attack” that comes in the form of an “astral projection strike.” He even has a special move that specifically references the opening credits sequence of the 1987 TMNT animated series.

It appears that Tribute Games put quite a bit of love into designing Splinter for Shredder’s Revenge. The developers have not yet revealed a release date for the game, but they anticipate that it will arrive “later this year.”