There have been too many Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games to count over the past few years, but one of the best is May’s Tactical Takedown. Previously only released on Windows PC, developer Strange Scaffold is bringing it to Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X next week on Thursday, Aug. 14.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown is a turn-based strategy game that finds the Turtles separated. In each level, you control one of the teens as he makes his way through the sewers, subways, rooftops, and streets of New York, battling Foot Clan ninjas at every turn. Each Turtle plays differently, offering good variety in the game’s combat and mobility. The Turtles are full of heart and emotional depth as well, with Raphael being central to some of my favorite moments from the game.
Tactical Takedown is an amuse-bouche in that it’ll only take you a few hours to complete, but a new Remix Mode offers reason to come back for more. According to a press release, Remix Mode will add new enemy types, more difficult encounters, and even more builds for the customizable Turtles. The base game isn’t overly hard, but some of those Foot ninjas can pack quite the blow as is, so Remix Mode will require even more careful planning.
Tactical Takedown is the latest from developer Strange Scaffold and continues the studio’s string of small-scale hits, like Clickolding, I Am Your Beast, and El Paso, Elsewhere. Creative director Xalavier Nelson Jr. spoke with Polygon in May about the studio’s approach to game development, saying, “I feel like it’s more crucial than ever to make games efficiently and quickly, because as we can see from where the rest of the industry is at, you almost can’t afford to do otherwise.”
You can play Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown on PC now. It’ll drop on Xbox and Switch on Aug. 14, though there’s no word yet regarding if or when it will arrive on PlayStation 5.