It’s hard NO get excited when you launch it Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind and listen to the nostalgic guitar riffs of the theme song. The game begins by sending the gang back to the 1990s, then jumps straight into action: tumbling and fighting against waves of patrollers deployed by iconic villain Rita Repulsa. The guards – or hunters, if you’re playing alone – make their way through a sandy valley and a few rooftops before getting into a speeder and taking out the bad guys in a chase through the canyon in the first few levels. Everything leads to the first gigantic fight, during which the guards transform their vehicles into the Megazord. What should be a marquee battle is actually a watered down, timing-intensive version of it Breakout!! — a gigantic disappointment that lasts for the rest of the game.
That’s not it Rita’s return is bad, but the good parts are restricted to repetitive side-scrolling levels that shine mainly through the nostalgia of the genre and series. The locations and graphics are stunning recreations of iconic locations from the series, but ultimately there isn’t enough variety in what you do in these locations: both enemies and move sets are restricted, and, frustratingly, there is very little speeder evolution in the pursuit and fights of the Megazords. While 2022 release Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revengefrom developer Tribute Games and publisher Dotemu, I felt alive and spirited, Rita’s return it feels tardy and dated – it doesn’t have the iteration or depth you’d expect from a re-imagining of a 1994 classic. Shredder’s Revengewas also a state-of-the-art take on the classic TMNT brawler, with mechanically compelling combat and a variety of enemies; Rita’s returnby comparison, it feels clunky. This comparison can be harmful Rita’s return: I came into this experience expecting an evolution of a classic like Shredder’s Revengebut what Digital Eclipse created is more like playing a 16-bit fighting game back in the day. There’s nothing like a game that was created in 2024.
If you’re looking for a plain experience that’s a real throwback, you’ll probably have more fun Rita’s return. Then you’re in for a nostalgic treat: the colorful world is full of references and grotesque enemies you’ll remember, like Chunky Chicken and Turkey Jerk. The best parts Rita’s return they are the aesthetics of the setting and its characters, as well as seeing where the game will take you next. A gigantic “change” compared to other brawler games is the Time Disruptor, which sometimes carries over to the battlefield. It has a timer set and if it isn’t destroyed before it self-destructs, the timeline will go back for a while, meaning you’ll have to fight all the bad guys you’ve already defeated again. However, it doesn’t add much difficulty or meaning – it just fills the time.
Perhaps this is what the Digital Eclipse team needed: Rita’s return It took just over two hours to complete. It’s not much shorter than that Shredder’s Revengebut the repetition made everything blurry. Rita’s return ends up relying too heavily on nostalgia, creating something that may be too close to the SNES game it draws from rather than deepening the genre.
Adjustment: This story has been updated to correctly attribute Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge developer Tribute Games and publisher Dotemu.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind was fired December 10 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One. The game was reviewed on Windows PC via Steam Deck using a pre-download code provided by Digital Eclipse. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions on products purchased through affiliate links. You can find Additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy can be found here.
