For years, fans have longed for the chance to step into the shoes (or shells) of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael. The possibility of a VR experience where you can actually hold and swing a katana, leap from one Manhattan skyscraper to another and share a pizza with friends is a Cowabunga dream.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City is out now, and it offers just that. This game is available on Meta Quest and PC VR on April 30, 2026. But the game reminds us that it’s not enough to have a great idea.

The Great: Parkour, Punchlines, and Co-Op

Donatello engages a massive rhino mercenary using his signature Bo staff in the streets of New York.

First-Person Turtle Power. Image Credit: Meta Quest

The one thing Empire City does well is making you feel like a ninja. Perhaps the best thing about Empire City is the parkour. Be it grappling to a ledge, moving in mid-air, or double-jumping across the streets of East Side or Chinatown, the experience remains smooth and satisfying.

Accompanying the parkour is a great script. The brothers’ dialogues are still as funny as ever. The conversation is true to the original TMNT status quo with witty quips that make it fun to hang out in the sewer base (at least for a few hours).

Donatello discusses tech upgrades in the lair, showcasing the game's witty, character-driven dialogue.

Planning the Next Move. Image Credit: Meta Quest

The best aspect of the game is the four-player multiplayer mode. Watching your friends’ characters replicate your real-world reactions and movements adds social complexity to the game and covers up some of the game’s technical shortcomings. Whether you’re dancing or playing basketball at the base, the “brotherhood” of TMNT is the best part of this game.

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Combat and Progression: A Mixed Bag

One of the game's three primary hubs, Chinatown, features a distinct urban aesthetic for parkour and exploration.

The Neon Glow of Empire City. Image Credit: Meta Quest

Empire City begins with a tutorial level where you can sample all four turtles. Each of them possesses a set of skills and a special area of focus. This concentration power becomes activated when it is filled to capacity by killing the bad guys. 

It provides you with temporary benefits like more damage and quicker focus accumulation, depending on which turtle you choose to play. There is also the sewer lair with a separate lab, which functions as a physical skill tree. 

In this case, the scrap that is gathered during the game can be purchased to purchase items, other perks, and level up to gain increased health and more perk or inventory slots.

Virtual Reality combat should be immersive, but in Empire City, it can be airy and flat. It’s all too easy for attacks to pass through enemies, and the stealth system is too lenient, with AI enemies often failing to notice when their buddies have been killed.

In a good sense, progression is character-based. Donatello is all about tech, while Raphael is more towards damage and health. But a major issue is that the progress system isn’t shared. If you put in hours of gameplay and level up Leo, and then want to play Mikey, you have to start over with his upgrades.

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Grinding and Dull Hubs Need Improvement

The brothers' lair serves as a physical skill tree and social hub for four-player cooperative play.

Home Sweet Sewer. Image Credit: Meta Quest

Sadly, the excellent parkour is wasted on three tiny open-world maps. The maps, East Side, Chinatown, and the Docks lack life and diversity, according to many players. The game is more focused on freeing areas from the Foot Clan. 

However, it can be undone almost immediately, making your actions feel pointless and the gameplay a bit repetitive. Some players have reported that the quest system feels tedious and full of non-rewarding tasks. 

In addition, some players have complained that some missions are not triggering and that there are UI issues. With a playtime of only six hours, these problems make the game awkward.

Final Verdict

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City is an average 5/10 game per IGN. It provides a taste of the ideal TMNT VR simulator but is otherwise hollow. If you’re a real fan and have 3 friends to play with, you might find some enjoyment in the madness. But for most others, it might be better to wait a few patches or until it goes on sale.

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