The first trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin was released today, setting the tone for what we can expect from the video game adaptation of the popular TMNT graphic novel.
Unlike other versions of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which are often geared towards kids and younger audiences, The Last Ronin was a darker and grittier story featuring turtles. The story took place in a futuristic, battle-ravaged New York City where all but one of the Turtles have been killed by the Foot Clan. The lone surviving Turtle, whose identity was a mystery until the final pages of the first issue, embarks on a seemingly hopeless mission seeking justice and revenge for the family that he lost.
The five-issue miniseries was launched by publisher IDW in 2020. It was written by Kevin Eastman, and based on an idea he conceived with TMNT co-creator Peter Laird in the 1980s.
The actual teaser trailer doesn't offer us much -- there's no actual gameplay shown -- but just the tone alone seems to suggest this will be a game targeting a more mature audience. In an interview with Polygon earlier this year, Doug Rosen, senior vice president for games and emerging media at Paramount Global, offered some top-level details about the game. He described it as a third-person, action role-playing game, likening it to Sony's God of War titles. Although we're used to TMNT featuring co-op gameplay, the nature of The Last Ronin's story means it will primarily be a single-player experience. In addition to playing as the last remaining turtle -- whose identity I will keep hidden to avoid spoilers -- Rosen suggested that other characters could also be playable via flashback sequences.
TMNT: The Last Ronin is being developed by Black Forest Game, a studio best known for the remakes of Destroy All Humans! and Destroy All Humans! 2. No release date was provided; however, it will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. In the interview with Rosen, the game was said to still be a "few years off."
The reveal of this video game adaptation comes just a few weeks after IDW offered the first details about the upcoming sequel comic, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution.