Ever since the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and cartoon first took the world by storm in the late 1980s, there have been plenty of video games based on the crime-fighting, pizza-loving teen heroes. While modern Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games have been hit-or-miss over the past few years, fans still fondly remember the side-scrolling beat-em-ups of the franchise’s arcade-era heyday. Streets Of Rage 4 publisher Dotemu and indie developer Tribute Games aim to recreate those classic titles with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, an old-school throwback that was announced early last year.

As the title implies, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge sees the return of the Turtles’ armored nemesis and his army of minions as they plot to take over New York City. The first two levels of the game take place at the Channel 6 building, where bumbling reporter Vernon is being held hostage by Beebop, and the streets of New York City, where the heroes chase down Rocksteady. Players can choose between the four turtle brothers, as well as April O'Neal and Master Splinter. Each character has their own special stats detailing their attack range, speed, and power.

Related: Elden Ring's Character Creator Produces Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Levels unfold in typical side-scrolling fashion, with the player(s) moving from left to right (as well as up and down thanks to the game’s vertical movement plane) as they take down waves of enemies and advance toward the boss at the end of each stage. Players can string together attacks to form combos and unleash certain moves while running or jumping. Grapples happen automatically when the player advances on an enemy without striking them, leading to even more attack options like shoulder throws and body slams. Controls are solid for the most part and easy to pick up on, but the automatic grapples could take some getting used to.

TMNT Shredder's Revenge Preview Combat

As they deal damage to enemies, players build up their Ninja Power Meter, which they can use to unleash Super Attacks that clear the screen of enemies. Players can perform a taunt by pressing a certain button, which can help fill their Ninja Power meter faster. TMNT has always been about teamwork, and other players can jump into Shredder’s Revenge at any time. During multiplayer rounds, players can share health, revive fallen teammates, and even unleash devastating team-up moves to clear the screen of robotic ninjas and mutant minions alike.

Of course, enemies can hit back, and the player is given a limited number of lives that diminish once their health meter is depleted. When the player runs out of lives, they are forced to either restart from the beginning of the level - at least until they run out of continues, which will result in a game over. In classic TMNT fashion, characters can replenish their health by eating delicious pizza found throughout a given level, and lives are also doled out when the player reaches a certain score. Uncovering special power-ups will let heroes unleash devastating whirlwind attacks and gain infinite Ninja Power for a brief moment.

TMNT Shredder's Revenge Preview Turtles Splinter

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge especially shines in its presentation, which skillfully captures the 2D brawlers of old with vibrant pixel sprites and smooth animation. Each playable character has their own animations that match their personalities, and hero and enemy alike give off hilarious expressions when hit. The music adds to this retro charm with catchy chiptune music for each level, and the original voice cast of the old TMNT cartoon returns to provide the in-game taunts and dialogue.

2022 looks to be a bit of a TMNT retro renaissance with the release of Shredder’s Revenge and the recently announced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection - a compilation of many of the old-school TMNT side-scrollers that Shredder’s Revenge draws inspiration from. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge appears to be a solid throwback to those older titles so far, and if the rest of the game is as fun as the first two levels, fans of the Heroes-In-A-Half-Shell could have an incredible gameplay experience to look forward to when it launches in full later this year.

Next: Every TMNT Game In The Cowabunga Collection

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge releases in 2022 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Nintendo Switch. A digital Steam code was provided to Screen Rant for the purpose of this preview.