First announced back in June, the "Dimension Shellshock" DLC for TMNT: Shredder's Revenge is out now on consoles and PC. The $8 downloadable content adds two new playable characters, a co-op survival mode, and additional color palettes for each character. These additions will add new life to the game for experienced players, especially those who like a challenge.
Upon installing the DLC, players will be able to select the two new characters in any game mode. Usagi Yojimbo is a guest character, a samurai rabbit created by Stan Sakai. Usagi usually lives in his own universe of anthropomorphic animals, but he has met the Turtles in various comic book and animated crossovers in the past. Karai, the daughter of Shredder, is the other new character. She didn't show up in the 1987 TMNT animated series, so Shredder's Revenge marks her first meeting with the classic animated versions of the Turtles. Both new characters can be fully leveled up in Story Mode, and they can be independently leveled in Survival Mode as well.
Survival Mode is a new gameplay mode in which 1-6 players travel from dimension to dimension, battling extra-tough hordes of Foot foes along the way. As with Streets of Rage 4's Survival Mode, the heroes must clear a scene of enemies before choosing between two possible rewards and then moving on to the next scene. Rewards include various temporary powerups (less exciting than the semi-permanent ones from Streets of Rage 4); the ability to temporarily play as bosses like Shredder, Bebop, and Rocksteady; and dimension crystal shards. The only downside to the reward selection here is that the rewards don't display descriptions before you pick them, making it hard to choose wisely.
Dimension crystals play heavily into Survival Mode progression. Collecting enough shards to complete a crystal will allow the team to move to the next area, reviving any fallen players and increasing the overall difficulty. After the run ends, the complete crystals collected will contribute to the levels of everyone who played. Character levels in Survival Mode are independent of Story Mode, so leveling up each hero is a new experience. Higher levels add more health, super move meters, and even lives, allowing the player to survive for longer in the challenging mode. Oh, and you can unlock a few extra color palettes too.
As with any survival mode, players will encounter bosses periodically. You'll face different pairs of bosses from the main game, which adds some fun variety. There is a super tough final boss (who also appears in other modes) as well. After defeating the big bad, the team can choose to cash out or travel further into the dimensional vortex. Beating the final boss was hard enough for my team, so we haven't ventured beyond him just yet.
Survival Mode is a lot of fun, but it definitely seems to be tuned for co-op rather than single-player. Playing solo, the enemies can be overwhelming at times, and there's nobody to pick you up if get downed. Co-op allows players to revive each other. That can be tough when enemies are too thick, but my team quickly learned to protect the player who was performing the revive whenever possible. You can't bring back a dead player unless the team clears the entire dimension, and that could mean a lot of sitting out for the deceased teammate.
While we had a blast with Survival Mode, I predict that it will be too challenging for some players. Would the two new playable characters be worth the DLC's price of admission even if you ignore Survival Mode? I think so, but it depends on how much you enjoy the game. Shredder's Revenge is one of last year's best beat 'em ups, so any reason to return to it is welcome. If you have a co-op crew with which to brave the new mode or revisit the Story and Arcade modes, you'll have a shell of a good time with "Dimension Shellshock"! Shame the DLC doesn't add new Achievements/Trophies, though.
"Dimension Shellshock" costs $7.99 on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and Steam. It requires Shredder's Revenge to play. The game itself supports up to 6-player local and online co-op - see our co-op review for all the details, and stay tuned for more cool coverage!
TMNT: Shredder's Revenge sells digitally for $24.99 on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and Steam. The Steam version is fully Steam Deck compatible. Physical copies from Merge Games are available on Xbox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Switch for $29.99 each.
Xbox and Steam DLC codes were provided by the publisher for this story.