Title: TMNT- Mutant Madness

Developer: Synapse Games

Publisher: Kongregate

Genre: Idle Action RPG

Available on: iOS and Android

Version Tested: iOS

Release Date: Expected September 2020

Cowabunga! TMNT: Mutant Madness is coming in hot this September 2020 on iOS and Android. Get to play with the classic TMNT characters like Raphael, Michaelangelo, Donatello, and Leonardo on this idle action RPG game. Even TMNT villains such as Shredder, Krang, Bebop, and Rocksteady are waiting for you to unlock them in the game. Check out our early access preview and get to see what is about to drop this September.

Initially opening the game as a baby turtle, you will get a short comic-like skit as seen in the image above. In the cutscene, you’ll get to feel nostalgic it will show the famous four turtles and the villains: Shredder, Krang, Bebop, and Rocksteady. This will follow on to a quick and easy fight scene where the game will teach you the controls. Alright, let us talk about TMNT: Mutant Madness controls. To be honest, the controls on this game is fairly easy because it is in the idle genre. Just don’t forget to tap on Auto that you’ll get to see on the upper left side of the screen. After tapping it on, feel free to watch your party move. If the enemies are too strong, you can leave the game by tapping on the white flag at the upper right side of the screen and level up your character.

Speaking of upgrading your character, the characters’ level won’t increase even if you continue to use them in battle. TMNT: Mutant Madness has Ooze, this Ooze is what you need to upgrade your hero levels. Now where to get them? You’ll collect them as a reward from missions and quests. Upon unlocking your lair, you will also get to unlock your Ooze Refinery. This machinery is upgradeable by using Scraps and can give you more Ooze.

Let us go to the battle scene. You can get to form a maximum of five different characters in a party. And while you’re at it or just before you tap on “BATTLE!” get to feel the background music. It will quickly transport to the late 80s, early 90s, and those blocky arcade machines. Alright, lets battle. As an idle game, you wouldn’t do much as it is already on auto but take note of the stats just before you start. You’ll see “Your Squad” versus “Enemy Squad” and there’s a scale. Make sure the scale is pointing on your end or better yet, check your squad’s power if it’s higher than the enemy’s. If not, go ahead and spend some Ooze.

Currently, there are 33 unlockable heroes and villains available in this Early Access. You can get some of them by advancing through the story or by pulling. Yes, there is a gacha mechanic in the game where you can pull 2-star and more heroes, depending on the type of “package” and material that you will use.

These characters have different rarities and can range from a 1-star to 5-star. They also have their roles and each of them has two each. Their roles are the following: Tank, Brawler, Blaster, Support, Trickster, Skirmisher, Minion, and Boss. With this information, you can get to create your team of choice. Are you more on offense, support, or a balanced team? And just like in the TV animation, every character can own equipment and it can help boost the hero’s power in the game.

Need a place to crash after all those battling? Don’t worry TMNT: Mutant Madness has you covered, quite literally to be honest. You’ll have your own lair underground and this has unlockable rooms. This function may remind you of Fallout Shelter as the rooms are underground and seem like they’re connected. You can access more of these rooms once you progress through the story. But unlike Fallout Shelter, you can not walk in and out but are only available by tapping the room. These rooms will house your Ooze Refinery, Scrap Collector, Research Lab, Season Pass, Dimension Clash, Clan Hall, Advanced Lab, Dojo, and Workshop.

Verdict: As I’ve watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on TV and played it on Gameboy when I was a kid, the music, the background music definitely brings you back to that time – the early 90s. Plus a close encounter with the original cast of the cartoon really made it special. Battle wise, the game is really idle as you can not move the characters, only activate their special attacks. If you’re really into the idle genre, you might want to give it a try but you still have to tap on the “Continue” or “Next Battle” before moving on. So the idle part is more on the Battle side and the machines inside your lair as they will continue to pump resources. For bugs, there are still a few. As I’ve played it on iPhone X, there are still some texts and graphics that go over the screen. The game is played vertically and some of the texts can’t be read. But as early access, the game is doing pretty good.