Injustice 2: TMNT DLC - Review

Netherrealm has built a reputation for including some wild guest characters in its fighting games, but perhaps none has been as unexpected as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crashing the party in Injustice 2. While it may initially seem strange to see Leonardo clashing with Superman, or Donatello in a gadget battle with Batman, Netherrealm has done an exceptional job with fine tuning the Turtles to make each one of them feel unique, yet familiar, and all the while fitting in with the rest of Injustice 2’s super powered roster. (Read the full Injustice 2 review.)

The most important thing to note about the Turtles in Injustice 2 is that while this $10 package only takes up one character slot on the character select screen, all four are playable characters with similar but substantially different movesets.

For example, all Turtles share the Shellocopter, a quick and simple dash attack that can be used as an invincible wake up attack; Bombshell, an overhead hitting technique that can be enhanced to start combos; Krang Tang, an aerial dive kick; and a defensive maneuver called Turtling.

They each have character-specific moves that add up to four distinctly different playstyles.

But they each have character-specific combos and a pair of special moves that add up to four distinctly different playstyles. Only Leonardo can call for help to start up meterless overhead combos or throw projectiles; he’s good for players that feel comfortable in the mid-range and like to focus on safe, consistent damage. Only Donatello can use gadgets to completely negate projectiles, prevent an opponent from jumping, or suck them towards him; that makes him great for dishing out serious damage from long range and messing with an opponent’s gameplan. Only Michelangelo can hop on his skateboard and become a 50-50 mixup machine, making him an absolute wild man with highly unpredictable mixups that’re great for pushing opponents into a corner. And only Raphael can deal unparalleled close-range damage thanks to his powerful normal combos and an off-the-charts chargeable auto combo.

The one bummer is that the Turtles aren’t all that easy to use. Mikey in particular feels very execution heavy, with very strict timing windows for most of his big damage combos, which is a shame because he has some of the coolest-looking combos among the four. Leo feels the most intuitive, but his damage seems pretty lackluster.

As the pepperoni on the pizza, Netherrealm also packed in a ton of fun Easter eggs, including the “Big Apple, 3AM,” stickers on Mikey’s skateboard, the way the Turtles sit down and flash when they’re defeated as an homage to the old arcade games, and their win pose that’s a direct callback to the classic opening animation from the ‘80s.