Latest news with #TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles:Shredder'sRevenge
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Marvel Cosmic Invasion's greatest superpower is the sheer beat-em-up variety its heroes allow for
Tribute Games is following up its work on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge with yet another licensed beat-em-up that pays homage to the genre's glory days. After repeatedly playing through two stages of Marvel Cosmic Invasion as multiple characters, this is one beat-em-up that's shaping up to be the real deal. If you're going to get any developer to make a modern, yet undeniably old-school, version of a Marvel beat-em-up, it's hard to imagine a better fit than Tribute Games. Having already worked pixelated magic in its own right with original titles, Panzer Paladin and the criminally underrated Flinthook, the studio did brilliant justice by everyone's favourite pizza-eating reptiles with 2022's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge. That's why, after recently getting hands-on with multiple superheroes across two stages, I can comfortably say Marvel Cosmic Invasion is on track to be just as charming and punchy to play (if not more). The main thing that separates Cosmic Invasion from Shredder's Revenge in my eyes is easily the increased character count on offer here. Featuring a wide gamut of familiar playable heroes from across the Marvel universe (all of them not yet revealed) there's simply a greater degree of combat and power variety on offer. True, Tribute Games did an impeccable job at distinguishing Donatello's staff's extended reach from Michaelangelo's speedier nun-chucks, but most attacks in the turtles' outing occurred at ground level. This is far from the case in Marvel: Cosmic Invasion. The first stage I got to play was a great example of this, following our heroes' pursuit of a street-level villain called Beetle throughout New York City. Swinging across the screen as both Spider-Man and Venom feels gratifying as expected, yet the need to judge the arc of their swing exactly helps differentiate them from the likes of Storm, Nova, and Phyla-Vell, who all have the ability to fly. Especially when played with another person in co-op, covering both halves of the screen in this way is much easier providing you have the perfect team setup. It makes for a style of play I never felt locked into thanks to Cosmic Invasion's generous decision to let players switch between two heroes on the fly. My preview build of the game sadly included no story content – outside of character barks – to speak of, but this hero-switching ability I'm sure will be explained in-universe as being the result of Annihilus' villainous acts. For now, however, I found fighting through the city streets of New York to be a great way of mastering Marvel Cosmic Invasion's specific rhythm of beat-em-up combat, which mostly boils down to light attacks, special attacks, and one screen decimating manoeuvre. That said, all 15 characters are specific to one of several unique class types, allowing the likes of Nova and Spider-Man to shoot enemies from afar using energy blasts and webs respectively while others don't have ammo to stay wary of. A modern marvel It should go without saying just how much of a, well, marvel this game is on the visual front. Character sprites are satisfyingly chunky in a way that makes each's set of animations appear all the more characterful, even if it does mean that larger characters such as She-Hulk always end up taking up a large portion of the screen. It's the little details with regards to how all are animated that I got the biggest kick out of, such as how Eddie Brock will briefly appear in amongst Venom's pixels whenever his tentacles are prone to lash out and swirl, or obviously on the rare occasion I played as him and was knocked to the ground. The second stage of my preview took place on a helicarrier, with the team in hot pursuit of Taskmaster and a curiously shrunken-down Modok. Again, the narrative circumstances for the latter remain a mystery for me, but it was here that Tribute Games really showed off the ways in which a stage's environment can impact combat. The main way ended up being holes blown in the floor that I was always at risk of falling through. It sounds easy to avoid but not always when the action on screen is this chaotic. Far more interesting, however, were the laser gun turrets that appeared towards the end of the stage, which if kicked in the right direction will automatically shoot at enemies. Doing this helped saved me a lot of time. I sadly wasn't able to play as the two most recently revealed heroes, Silver Surfer and Beta Ray Bill, but my favourite two-character team so far ended up being Venom and Nova. Venom proved particularly useful since automatic grabs aren't a thing in Cosmic Invasion, with this ability instead reserved for the hulking symbiote who can then slam or throw enemies around with ease. Nova's flying ability, meanwhile, makes taking on flying oversized bugs less of a chore, while his energy blasts feel more satisfying to pull off than Storm's giant gusts of wind. Truth be told, there's a lot of crossover here with how heroes handle, but there's still plenty of combat variety to be found when choosing certain team-ups. If there's one major concern I have about Marvel Cosmic Invasion right now, after playing through two levels, it's that it just might be too easy. Even alone I found that I could mash through most enemies without much challenge, purely due to how overpowered most (if not all) of these heroes are. Especially when you throw in the fact you technically have two health bars to fall back on, at least judging by the two stages I repeatedly played through, I can't imagine myself ever seeing the 'Game Over' screen. Hopefully Tribute Games has a few more enemy types saved for later on primed to truly test players' beat-em-up skills. In almost every sense, then, with Cosmic Invasion Tribute Games appears to have very much understood the assignment – at least in terms of gameplay and sheer character expression. Story elements are still being kept under the studio's hat, so we'll need to wait until closer to release to see whether the game has cooked up something new here. Even without a good narrative hook, though, for friends looking to recapture the days when arcade beat-em-ups ruled the world, Marvel Cosmic Invasion is shaping up to be another solid addition to the genre's modern oeuvre, understanding this universe's characters to no end and letting you feel uniquely powerful as all of them.
Express Tribune
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Scott Pilgrim EX announced by Tribute Games as new beat-em-up adventure
Scott Pilgrim EX, a brand-new beat-em-up game, has been officially announced by Tribute Games during the 2025 Summer Game Fest, as reported by Mike Minotti of VentureBeat on June 6. Known for developing the fan-favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge and the upcoming Marvel Cosmic Invasion, Tribute Games is returning to the retro-inspired action genre with a fresh take on the beloved Scott Pilgrim franchise. Though not a direct sequel or remake, Scott Pilgrim EX draws inspiration from the legacy of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game, a 2010 side-scrolling brawler that garnered critical acclaim for its pixel art style, nostalgic gameplay, and soundtrack. The Scott Pilgrim universe originally began as a comic book series by Bryan Lee O'Malley and has since expanded into a cult-classic film and animated adaptations. While specific details remain limited, the announcement trailer showcased classic beat-em-up action, cooperative multiplayer, and stylistic callbacks to both the comics and earlier game. Tribute Games, known for its polished pixel art and fluid gameplay mechanics, aims to reintroduce Scott Pilgrim to a new generation while appealing to longtime fans of the series. The original game, re-released in 2021 after years of fan demand, became a cult classic. With Scott Pilgrim EX, Tribute Games signals a return to that beloved style—potentially with new characters, features, and levels. More information about platforms, release dates, and gameplay specifics for Scott Pilgrim EX is expected in the coming months as Tribute Games continues development.
Engadget
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Engadget
The dev behind TMNT: Shredder's Revenge is making a Scott Pilgrim beat-em-up
Tribute Games, the developer behind the fantastic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge , is back with its take on another comic book IP. Scott Pilgrim EX is a beat-em-up coming to PC and consoles in 2026. This looks like a real evolution of its work with those pizza-loving turtles. There's a large map to explore with plenty of secrets, seven playable characters and, most importantly for Pilgrim fans, a brand-new story. Vegans, robots and demons have taken over Toronto! This seems only nominally better than ex-boyfriends. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. The developer promises "countless creative combos" and all kinds of quests "across space and time." The graphics and soundtrack are both absolutely soaked in retro goodness. If the idea of a sidescrolling Scott Pilgrim beat-em-up seems eerily familiar to you, it's not the Mandela Effect. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game was first released all the way back in 2010.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The dev behind TMNT: Shredder's Revenge is making an original beat-'em-up
Dotemu, the developer behind beat-'em-ups like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge and Streets of Rage 4, is back with another slice of side-scrolling retro goodness. This time, however, the company's eschewing a tried-and-true franchise in favor of an original IP. Absolum is a fantasy beat-'em-up that's being co-developed by Guard Crush Games and Supamonk. The game looks to retain the core beat-'em-up mechanics the developer has become known for, but with some flourishes. Dotemu boasts of "branching paths to explore," which is giving me Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse vibes. The developer has also implemented roguelike mechanics of some kind, with it going so far as to describe the game as a "rogue-'em-up." We don't know the details of these mechanics just yet. We do know that Absolum will be playable as a solo campaign or in a co-op mode, offering both local and online play. Gamers will be able to choose from four different fantasy-themed characters. Also, the animation looks pretty dang gorgeous. It'll be available for Switch, PlayStation and PC later this year. Just because Absolum is a brand-new IP, doesn't mean that Dotemu has given up on reviving classics for modern audiences. The company is also publishing Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, a game that's actually set during the events of the NES original.
