TMNT: Splintered Fate – Casey Jones & The Junkyard Jam DLC Review – Sudden Death Overtime

TMNT: Splintered Fate – Casey Jones & The Junkyard Jam DLC Review

Okay, so you’ve played Splintered Fate, you loved it, you’re done. What’s next? Why not leap back in for a hot minute with Casey Jones & The Junkyard Jam? I blew through the DLC in question this weekend, and you know what? You’ll easily get your money’s worth out of this one. Casey is cool, the stages are well-designed, and we can always use more Splintered Fate content. Really, any excuse to get back into this game is a good one.

When last we left our heroes, they were powering through a series of portals to find their beloved master Splinter. Junkyard Jam sees Casey Jones join the fight, though for uhhhh different reasons. He wants his car back, and the frogs have stolen it. I guess rescuing Splinter is a neat little bonus for Jones. The DLC adds a handful of new stages, a couple of new bosses, and some new artifacts to the mix. All of this is secondary to Jones himself, who is the real main draw. He feels like something of a glass cannon, which I didn’t expect.

Tough Yet Fragile

One big appeal of Splintered Fate is how different every turtle plays. If you want a bruiser, an agile striker, or a technical fighter, you’ve got options. Casey Jones is another fresh angle on the roguelike brawler. He’s very powerful, but his hit points just melt away under pressure. His tool attack is a temporary boost that drives his damage even higher than usual. If you’re looking to smash foes to shards with a scuffed-up hockey stick, Casey is your man. The one major downside is that he’s much harder to use in the endgame.

I folded Casey Jones into my repertoire after completing a handful of runs with the regular turtle team. This means that I can’t progress much further without taking on some serious challenges. Casey Jones is a comparatively tough fighter to master on short notice, so I spent a lot of time getting into his particular rhythms. In practical terms, this meant me getting bodied over and over until I got the hang of Jones and his moveset. On the flipside, the Junkyard Jam stages are pretty breezy on standard difficulty.

An Excellent New Route

Which isn’t to say they aren’t fun! I have a blast every time I burn through these levels. In particular, they present a vastly superior alternative to the usual third section of the game. I’d happily never endure that Bebop/Rocksteady fight again, thank you very much. The final boss is a delightful battle, one crammed with zippy AOE attacks and other reflex challenges. The real struggle comes with the endgame version of this area. You’re weighed down with a miserable stack of debuffs by this point, so you’re work is absolutely cut out for you. Casey Jones is (in my opinion) the least suited for the later stages on challenge mode. He’s just too focused on massive strikes with longer windup times.

Junkyard Jam is a pretty short DLC, all things told. On the other hand, it’s priced appropriately. A new heavy hitter and a much better third section is totally worth the asking cost. And the expanded artifact selection is a nice bonus as well. And yet, Casey Jones himself is a mixed bag of sorts. He’s powerful, but said power comes with some drawbacks. You can get through a standard run well enough, but he’s a real liability in the endgame. On balance though, Casey Jones & The Junkyard Jam is a perfect excuse to play more Splintered Fate. If you’ve been looking for a reason to jump back in, this DLC is a good one.

***A Nintendo Switch code was provided by the publisher***