Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City Review (Meta Quest)

An inner child is screaming at the top of his lungs in favor of a chance to embrace Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in a virtual reality headspace. But a thirty-something year old man who suffers from motion sickness, on the other hand, isn’t quite ready to leap with joy just yet. Frankly, I figured Empire City would be true to the source material, and to the point of the anthropomorphic turtles’ unnatural abilities to waffle down pizza and bust out backflips across city skylines at the same time. In my mind, I though that if Empire City was to include any of that, then I’d either be in for a brilliant time, or an absolute nightmare. Luckily, it wasn’t the latter; it was the former — pizzas and all.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City marks a first step for the sewer-dwelling ninjas in the Meta Quest headspace. With VR at the forefront of its shell, Empire City looks to take the next big leap in the right direction, with all of that signature TMNT seasoning—the back alley brawls, the investigating aspects, and the endless sourdough waffling—perfectly intact. But in this world, you aren’t battling in a side-scrolling Streets of Rage-like fashion; you’re vying to eradicate Empire City of some rather evil folk from behind the eyes. And yes, you can eat pizza. Again, that takes up a solid portion of the experience, naturally.

As luck would have it, TMNT: Empire City makes for an fitting introductory piece for the Meta Quest. Heck, it almost amazes me that it hasn’t been done before. Given that TMNT shares a stable bond with all of the usual aspects of an action-packed crime flick, it feels like a perfect addition to the shell. The slick and oh-so-stylish combat; the pulpy dialogue and sheer chemistry between turtles; and the bottomless roster that can foster and sustain dozens of engrossing tales. TMNT has all of that, and then some. The question is, does Empire City set the benchmark in the VR space, or does it fall short of its intended goal of capturing the beating heart of a beloved franchise? Let’s talk, dudes.

Empire City doesn’t hold you on a leash and dial you back to your seat to prevent you from unleashing your inner COWABUNGA. In fact, it launches you straight into a familiar world and grants you immeasurable access to several of the most notable features in the faithful TMNT universe. You reach out, scoff down a slice of pizza, and you venture out to the thick of the action, where you are greeted with more action than you could dare shake Master Splinter’s stick at. From behind the veil of the underground heroes in this tale, you quickly find yourself up close and personal with an Empire City that’s in economic distress — again. It’s intimate, it’s wild, and it’s effortlessly entertaining in all the right places. A plot doesn’t matter, because frankly, you’re a walking, talking, butt-kicking turtle who can finally breathe, act, and accomplish things that have never been implemented in a TMNT game before. Again, see the pizza reference.

While there’s no Beat Saber-like flailing and dicing to be found in Empire City, the game does offer a good deal of combat that’s highly reminiscent of the source material. And not just combat, but a quality variety of gameplay elements, with some stretching out to DIY investigations, and others that require you to solve some slick parkour puzzles. But at the heart of all of this is a genuinely entertaining experience that just feels great in VR. The simple fact that you can spend your time imitating one of the TMNT characters and enjoying the simple pleasures, like exploring iconic locations, conversing with familiar friends and foes, and interacting with objects and other small details, makes it incredibly easy to jump into. Heck, even standing in front of a mirror and flopping your arms about is a lot of fun, in a silly, pointless sort of way.

Above all, I’m glad that Empire City keeps its source close to its chest. Unlike the side-scrolling chapters that adopted an old-school arcade aesthetic, Empire City embraces a clean, almost modernized design that looks both elegant and comfortable. And I suppose the same applies to a lot of its neat touches, including its dialogue, its locations, and its comic book-like effects. It might not serve as the best VR game of the century, but it does, however, act as a brilliant extension to a cult classic franchise. The fact that you can jump into the fray and wrangle up to three additional friends to join you on your adventures is a cherry on top. Sorry, pepperoni on a hot fudge pizza. That’s the chef’s kiss, right there.

Verdict

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City is a bit like pineapple on pizza — you’ll either love it or you’ll hate it. If you’re a die-hard fan of the source material and adore the flavor of good old-fashioned VR-based shenanigans and floppy combat systems that just feel good no matter how you choose to flail your arms and waggle your fingers, then you should enjoy Empire City for all of the silly and seemingly punch drunk moments that it has to offer on its sourdough base. If, however, you struggle with virtual reality worlds, then you might be uncomfortable with the pace of this one. That isn’t to say that it brings about motion sickness. Though, to make it clear, it can be a little, well, full on.

To give credit where it’s due, Empire City does make for a fantastic addition to the Meta Quest library. Not only does it remain faithful to the source, but it also offers a good, albeit pulpy story with a ton of brilliant sequences that are evidently primed for the VR space. It can feel a little messy at times I’ll admit. But then, that’s a virtual reality game for you: unorganized chaos that you can tailor to your needs. It can be a barrel of laughs, and it can be a bold epic that can make you feel like an elite ninja in a turbulent world. Frankly, I’m just glad that you can consume pizza. I’m giving it an extra point for that alone.